The University of Bristol benefits from the concentration of the aerospace industry in the south-west of England and a key feature of our research is our close links with industry. We have also seen burgeoning links with the renewable energy industry. We have established formal technology partnerships including the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) in Composites, the AgustaWestland UTC in Vibration, and a composites technology partnership with Vestas Wind Systems. We have strong collaborative links with organisations such as Airbus (via a Framework Agreement and Airbus University Board membership), GKN, Airbus Innovations and DSTL (Defence Science & Technology Laboratory). We are also founding members of the UK Applied Aerodynamics Consortium, and partners in the Centre for Fluid Mechanics Simulation (CFMS). We have numerous research collaborations with industry via the UK Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK. We have strong international links with numerous European partners via previous and current EU grants, and non-academic centres including, NASA Langley, Los Alamos National Laboratories, JAXA and the US Air Force. These close relationships with industry, associated with substantial research funding from other UK and EU sources, ensure our research is industrially relevant and at the leading edge of technology, as reflected by the high proportion of research found to exhibit world leading impact in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) exercise. The department holds over £20M in research funding in the fields of aerodynamics, dynamics and control, and composite materials. The Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science (ACCIS) encompasses two UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded doctoral centres: a PhD Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Advanced Composites, and an EngD Industrial Doctorate Centre (IDC) in Composites Manufacture. The former aims to train highly technical researchers to satisfy industry needs, and also to develop next generation multifunctional composite materials. The latter aims to train research engineers with industrially based project work interspersed with short-course taught modules. A third CDT in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (FARSCOPE), led by the department, draws on research from across the Faculty of Engineering and is focused on developing a breadth of robotics science and technologies. As well as contracted research, we undertake a large amount of general research and consultancy from a variety of internal and external funding sources. An uninhibited approach to ideas encourages collaborative projects with others across the University. An indication of our research esteem is the selection by UK Government for ACCIS to lead the establishment of the UK National Composites Centre. The NCC is a £25 million investment supported by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the EU. A further £28-million Phase II development has recently been completed (October 2014) to increase the capacity of the NCC yet further and facilitate the inclusion of additional academic input to deliver world-class innovation in the development of composite materials. You may also be interested in our taught MSc in Advanced Composites, ourACCIS CDT PhD in Advanced Composites, our EngD IDC in Composites Manufacture, and our Future Autonomous and Robotic Systems Centre.

doctorate in aerospace engineering