Aerospace Engineering Podcast

A conversation with Kim-Tobias Kohn; pilot, entrepreneur and lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at the University of the West of England.

A conversation with Ian Lane, Senior Expert in Composite Analysis for Airbus UK, and Visiting Professor in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol.

In this episode I talk to Prof. Paul Weaver, who holds a Bernal Chair in Composite Structures at the University of Limerick, Ireland and is also a Professor in Lightweight Structures in the Aerospace Engineering department of the University of Bristol, UK. Lightweighting plays a crucial role in the aerospace industry, and Paul has worked on some fascinating concepts for more efficient aircraft structures with many industrial partners. In this episode we cover some of his past accomplishments and his vision for the future. Central to his vision of future aircraft is artificial metamorphosis, which is a term that Paul coined to describe structures that re-configure by dis-assembly and re-assembly. In this manner, future aircraft could gain the ability to adapt to changing operating conditions on the fly by entirely reconfiguring their shape. In this episode we discuss artificial metamorphosis, structural efficiency, material science, and so much more. For more Aerospace goodness please visit: Website: www.aerospaceengineeringblog.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/aerospaceengineeringblog

Today's conversation features Dr Chauncey Wu, who is a research engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Chauncey has worked at NASA for more than 30 years, predominantly in the field of structural mechanics, and has been responsible for designing and testing a number of space structures that have been launched into space. Some examples of his work include structural analyses on the LITE telescope that was launched into space in 1994, as well as the optimisation of rocket propellant tank structures, and conceptual design studies of lunar lander vehicles and habitat structures for the colonisation of the Moon. In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss: - Chauncey’s path to NASA as an undergraduate student - The history of NASA and the cultural shift compared to its predecessor, the NACA - The reason why rocket science is so hard - Chauncey’s recent research on a new type of lightweight composite material: tow-steered composites, which could be a game-changer for rocket booster designs - And much, much more

Welcome to the Aerospace Engineering Podcast. My name is Rainer Groh and I am researcher in the Aerospace Engineering department at the University of Bristol, where I work on developing the next generation of lightweight aerospace structures. For the last five years I have been blogging on my website: the Aerospace Engineering Blog, about the history of human ingenuity in aviation, and the tremendous technological advances in science and engineering that were necessary to get us to where we are today. With this podcast I want to make things a bit more personal. I will be interviewing leading pioneers in industry and researchers in academia to reveal their personal stories, their career paths, interesting projects that they have worked on in the past, and then look into the future to discuss what the industry might look like in the years to come. For each episode, show notes will be available at aerospaceengineeringblog.com/podcast and the links provided there will allow you to delve deeper into the topics discussed in the podcast episodes.