Sky's unlimited for international aerospace research project

The University of Nottingham has secured multi-million euro funding to lead a pioneering research project to create a blueprint for tomorrow's air transportation system. The Integration of Novel Aerospace Technologies research project, known as INNOVATE, brings together doctoral students from around the world with 14 industrial partners, including Rolls-Royce, GE Aviation and EADS, and expertise from The University Of Nottingham, led by its Institute for Aerospace Technology (IAT) . INNOVATE is a €3.8m Marie Curie Innovative Doctoral Programme and will take a multi-disciplinary approach to look at the whole air transportation system, to investigate the core technologies which will reduce the impact of air travel and increase its efficiency. Each early stage researcher will develop novel technologies inside each of the core participating Nottingham research groups leading to their PhDs, while contributing to the formulation of the blueprint as part of a team effort. The project taps into the University's world-leading research expertise in areas including gas turbines, power conversion and electrical machines, additive manufacturing, geospatial sciences and optimisation. Nottingham is the hub of the project and will be home to all of the early stage researchers; industrial partners will form the spokes and provide technical insight and professional practices, as well as placement opportunities to the cohort. The project is timely, as the aerospace industry faces increasing pressure from government and society to meet growing demand for air travel and to develop better performing, greener aircraft, with fewer carbon emissions.