Global and local
As an integral part of the
world’s third-largest civil aircraft
manufacturer, Bombardier
Aerospace, Belfast looks to its
involvement with the Royal
Academy of Engineering’s research
schemes to make an impact on
its operations and on the local
community in its long-established
base in Northern Ireland.
Bombardier’s experience of the
Academy’s research schemes goes
back more than a decade and the
company is already developing
ideas for further involvement.
Gavin Campbell, Bombardier’s
Director of Design Engineering
and Technology Development,
said, “The company is selective in
picking partners for this kind of
initiative. It’s the standing of the
Academy that has attracted us.
There’s a reputation for excellence,
and the calibre of output that’s
expected from the appointees
is very high. It also provides
us with an independent and
valuable validation, not just of the
candidate but also of the field of
study that we’ve chosen.”
The impact of research
Bombardier Aerospace has had
a substantial presence in UK
engineering over many years,
principally through its acquisition
in 1989 of Short Brothers, one of
the great names of UK aviation and
engineering.
The company is the oldest aircraft
manufacturer in the world, having
secured the first-ever orders from
the Wright brothers for six Wright
flyers in early 1909. The company
set up a base in Belfast, Northern
Ireland in 1936.
“The new appointment reflects
not just the company’s research
priorities in terms of subject
matter, but also the way in
which it likes to approach the
organisation of research,” said
Campbell. Previously, the group
and the Academy had collaborated
on the appointment of Professor
Srinivasan Raghunathan at Queen’s
University Belfast.
Bombardier identities its priorities
in terms of future products and
processes and then looks to
see which technologies can be
de-risked to help achieve those
priorities.
“So we tend to look at the
universities to be continuously
trying to bring technologies
Bombardier Aerospace and Royal Academy of
Engineering’s jointly funded Research Chairs (Past and
Present):
Professor Srinivasan Raghunathan, Professor of
Aerodynamics at Queen’s University Belfast
Professor Brian Falzon, Professor of Aerospace Composites,
also at Queen’s University Belfast
112
PECM Issue 21
forward from basic research,”
Campbell said.
The relationship between
Bombardier and academia is,
however, evolving. “In the past,
professorial supervised research
would take place exclusively in
the academic environment with
large research facilities and highly
specialised research equipment,
and our work would be very much
on the applied side,” Campbell said.
“But more recently, we’ve helped
develop a cross-sectoral centre
for the research and development
of advanced engineering and
advanced materials technologies,
along with Queen’s and the
University of Ulster, and with
investment from the Department
for Business, Innovation and Skills
and Invest Northern Ireland.”
Professor Falzon’s role at Queen’s
University Belfast is intended
to be “the pivotal position in
the relationship between the
engineering community in the
company and the engineering
community in the university”, said
Campbell.
Measuring the impact
As part of an international
company, Bombardier Aerospace
supports work in several UK and
European universities. Campbell
said, “The recent chair at Queen’s
University, Belfast was the pinnacle
of its involvement with academia
in the UK. The direct support and
involvement of the Academy is
an important component in the
development of this research”.