Past student views and current activities
If you graduated from the department and would like to share your experiences, please email them the aero-webmaster@bristol.ac.uk.
Daniel Dodd
Having written a ten-page technical document on the issues concerning Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Martian Exploration, Daniel Dodd (a 3rd year Aeronautical Engineer) was selected to join 24 other European students at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ESTEC facilities in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
The aim of the three week workshop was to investigate and design a practical solution to the above UAV problem. Following lectures, presentations, company visits and group work, their team derived the voted “most feasible design”, the MAREA concept (see photo). The results from the student workshop will be used by ESA in future pre-Phase A studies.
Daniel says that although the workshop was challenging due to the language barrier, long working days and conflicting mentalities of certain nationalities, it was immensely rewarding, has given one a great insight into the working space industry and allowed for significant professional networking.
Other similar events organized by both the EUROAVIA group and ESA separately can be found on: www.euroavia.net and www.esa.int
Daniel Dodd. August 2006
Helen Webber
After successfully completing my Masters Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Bristol University I have been working at the European Space Agency (ESA), pursuing my particular field of interest of spacecraft and launcher propulsion systems. As a Young Graduate Trainee at ESA, in the Propulsion & Aerothermodynamics Division, my main activities have involved engineering analysis and design of spacecraft chemical propulsion systems and experimental activities in the electric propulsion laboratory, testing real flight hardware.
The picture shows the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) called Jules Verne, in ESA’s testing facility, which will be Europe's cargo spaceship for the International Space Station.
Through an intense but gratifying 4years of study, Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol has helped put me on the career path I had always hoped for. Studying at Bristol provides you with a very detailed and broad background in Aerospace Engineering and also allows you to gain invaluable experiences through its overseas and industrial connections. I was fortunate enough to spend my third year studying in California and two summers working for AgustaWestland Helicopters in Yeovil. If a successful career in aerospace engineering is what you are looking for, the University of Bristol can really help you on your way.
Helen Webber. February 2004
Ben Smith
"I graduated from the department in the summer of 1999, with a 1st in Aeronautical Engineering (H400). I then joined the British engineering company, GKN on their group-wide graduate programme. This gave me a broad experience in hi-tech engineering, and I was particularly attracted to the job because it guaranteed opportunities to travel and general business / management exposure. I worked for them at Agusta-Westland Helicopters in Yeovil, at an aerospace composites factory near Bristol, overseas in an automotive plant in Italy, and within an aerospace technical design office in Weston-super-Mare.
After almost five years in an engineering environment, I felt a slight change of course was in order and so secured a place on the CTC pilot training scheme in April of this year. This will culminate in a position as first officer flying for the low-cost airline; Easyjet in 2005. I am currently undergoing my initial flying training in Auckland, New Zealand, and working for my Airline Transport Pilot exams. My studies in Bristol are becoming more relevant to me now than ever before!
I’ve a passion for aircraft and engineering, and if you share that too, Bristol is a fantastic place to study, live and work in."
Ben Smith. August 2004
Roderick Ng
Roderick Ng, graduated with an MEng in Aerospace Engineering in 2003 and is currently working in Singapore as a Technical Services Engineer for Pratt & Whitney
"Upon completion of my National Service commitments in Singapore, I was fortunately to obtain myself a place in the H401, Masters in Aerospace Engineering, Course in Bristol. As one of the top Aeronautical Engineering departments in the UK, University of Bristol was the obvious choice for me to build upon my career’s foundation. My initial expectations of Bristol were very high and I was never once disappointed."
Roderick Ng. July 2004