Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics

The multidisciplinary department has made a major impact on engineering systems on land, sea, in the air and in outer space; from nano-scale medical implants to large-scale aerospace stations. Mechanical Engineering was one of the first departments established at City's forerunner, the Northampton Institute, in 1894; and, in 1909, City was the first institution in the UK to introduce Aeronautical Engineering courses.

Today, right in the heart of London, the department is renowned for its cutting-edge facilities, including newly upgraded wind tunnels, flight deck and motion simulators, advanced test-bed specialised in optical diagnostics for mapping internal combustion engines and high-speed turbomachinery, alternative fuels, heat exchangers and high-performance computing for numerical simulation and validation of engineering solutions. The department has strong links with industry (local, national and global), maintaining partnerships through research projects and student placements.

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Research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Aeronautics incorporates three expert centres that maintain strong links with industry and actively build our international reputation. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) showed a significant improvement in our research standing, with 79% of our staff rated 4* (world-leading) and 3* (internationally excellent), with research income of around £2-3m annually.

Aeronautics and Aerospace Research Centre (A²RC)

The centre undertakes activities in the traditional areas of aeronautics and flow control as well as emerging disciplines such as bio-fluid mechanics, energy harvesting, renewable energy, micro-fluidics and, bio-mimetics.

Thermo-Fluids Research Centre

The centre undertakes research in traditional and new emerging fields in the area of thermo-fluid engineering sciences and their applications.

Centre for Compressor Technology

The world-renowned centre of excellence in positive displacement screw machines established in 1995 featuring strong links with industry, spin-out companies and a major International Compressors Conference.

Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics courses benefit from recently redeveloped facilities with modern teaching lecture theatres equipped with the latest interactive AV systems and modern IT laboratories which are updated annually. A dynamic virtual learning environment (Moodle) provides students with access to online course materials, resources, interactive activities, assessment and communication tools. Specialist facilities include:

• Flight deck
• Motion simulators
• Wind tunnels
• Optical IC Engines
• Optical compressors
• Optical fuel injection systems
• Flywheel
• Formula car simulator
• Micro Turbine
• Cavitating flows
• High performance computing
• Flight test course.