STORY , PHOTOS , & VIDEO BY ERICA CORDER COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Rolls-Royce inaugural Ph . D . Day opens doors for innovative , collaborative research
Rolls-Royce is more than just automobiles .
That ’ s the message being spread by Joseph Krok , the university research liaison manager at Rolls-Royce . The company has , in recent years , turned its focus to aviation — specifically , aircraft engines .
“ As you can imagine , gas turbine engines are incredibly complex and highly technical ,” said Krok , who acts as a connector between the London-based company and universities across the globe . “ Because of that , we put a great deal of investment into our research and development of our products .”
A large portion of that research and development is based at universities , which are designated as official global Rolls-Royce University Technology Centers once they reach a level of “ critical nature ” to the company , Krok said .
Following decades of previous collaboration , Virginia Tech was so designated in 2014 .
Virginia Tech is one of 31 University Technology Centers across the globe — three of which are based in the U . S ., including the University of Virginia and Purdue University . Out of all 31 centers , Virginia Tech is the only one capable of testing measurement capability .
“ Our specialty is in making in flight measurements of engine performance to improve fuel efficiency and understand the health of the Rolls-Royce turbo jet engines . We also develop new measurement techniques that allow future engine systems to be more efficient , clean , and quiet ,” said Jack Lesko , associate dean for research and graduate studies at Virginia Tech ' s College of Engineering , who worked closely with Krok to establish the partnership . “ We also engage with Rolls-Royce in other areas of research , including manufacturing , marine , and electrical power systems .”
All three American universities came together to the first-ever U . S . -based Ph . D . Day at Rolls- Royce ’ s Indianapolis , Indiana , campus .
“ We felt like there was a need to develop a deeper engagement with some of our research students that are doing the work for us and could potentially come join us at some point ,” Krok said .
After taking a tour of Plant 8 , a 700,000-square-foot rotatives manufacturing plant located minutes away from Rolls-Royce ’ s downtown office building , students returned to campus for presentations and a poster session .
Eight researchers from Virginia Tech ’ s College of Engineering attended , sharing their contributions to the advanced systems diagnostics research focus area .
As Virginia Tech researchers , Andrew Boulanger and Vy Nguyen — a Ph . D . candidate and master ’ s student in mechanical engineering , respectively — presented their poster , met another student doing tangential work , and shared insights .
Boulanger and Nguyen study the effects of
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