Faculty of Engineering

Industrial Sponsor: BAE Systems

The project: The successful candidate (Research Engineer) will be placed at the heart of future developments in one of the UK’s most prestigious companies at the forefront of composites developments since the industry first emerged.

Military aircraft have historically been characterised by long and costly development cycles and high manufacturing costs. Whilst the process delivered the highest possible levels of performance, it could not always take advantage of the latest technology.

Future aircraft requirements are expected to be very different, needing small numbers of unmanned aircraft to be designed and developed in short time frames and then manufactured efficiently in order to respond quickly to changes in the operational requirements. From a composites design and manufacture perspective there is a need to deliver low cost and ‘right first time’ manufacturing for safety critical applications. To achieve that the Research Engineer will need to identify step change technologies that can deliver value, quality and performance benefits. These might include novel tooling systems as well as modelling and simulation approaches to ensure defect-free manufacture.

About the IDC and the EngD programme: The Industrial Doctorate Centre (IDC) in Composites Manufacture aims to provide the UK composites manufacturing industry with Research Engineers equipped with the necessary advanced technical and leadership skills required for effective adoption of new knowledge and technologies in composites manufacture. The relevant industry areas include aerospace, automotive, marine, wind energy and construction. The IDC is firmly embedded within the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Composites, and is run in collaboration with the University of Bristol, Cranfield University, the University of Manchester and the University of Nottingham.

The four-year postgraduate research programme contains a taught component to provide EngD students (Research Engineers) with the necessary specialist knowledge and skills. Research Engineers spend 75% of their time at their company carrying out an industrially focused research project. The taught component is made up of a number of specialist units, which are taken during the first two years of the programme, and which are delivered at the National Composites Centre (NCC) in Bristol.

For further information on the IDC go to http://www.aengd.org.uk/engd-centres/composites-manufacture/

For further information on the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Composites go to http://www.epsrc-cimc.ac.uk/

Candidate requirements At least an upper-second class degree (or equivalent qualification) in engineering, physical science or applied mathematics.

Funding Successful applicants will be offered a stipend of £20,000 per annum plus fees.  Due to funding eligibility, the stipend and fees funding applies to UK applicants only. EU applicants are only eligible for the fees award.

Standard EPSRC studentship eligibility applies; non-eligible individuals are welcome to apply but must be able to find alternative funding arrangements and must be non-Tier 4 visa holders as the work placement element exceeds the number of hours allowed under Tier 4.

For further information see: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/Pages/eligibility.aspx

How to apply To apply please go to the apply button below.

In the Programme List select ‘Composites Manufacture EngD’, quoting this particular project.

Contacts For further information please contact Jo.Brooks@bristol.ac.uk

Deadline for applications The closing date for applications is 30 September.