We are delighted to invited alumni to the next webinar in our Ideas, Insight and Innovation series, taking place from 12:00 - 13:00 on Thursday 2nd May.
Register now to attend this webinar where Professor Dame Helen Atkinson DBE, FREng, DL, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing will be discussing the risks and challenges in achieving Net Zero in Defence Aviation.
Please note that the Zoom link for the webinar will be sent out one day prior to the event date.
If you are unable to attend this event but would like to receive the recording once this is available please book here.
If you are having any issues accessing your alumni account or booking onto the event please email alumni@cranfield.ac.uk and we will be happy to help.
Programme & speakers
Defence aviation net zero
The RAF has a goal to become Net Zero by 2040. There will be risks in making that transition and significant areas still to be explored and developed. Sustainable Aviation Fuels will contribute but there are materials and supply challenges. Hydrogen offers tantalising prospects but how are we deal with the safety issues both on the ground and in the air? What is the place of electric aircraft and electrification? How much can be contributed to achieving Net Zero through synthetic training, deepening understanding of non-CO2 emissions, and defining requirements to achieve net zero airbases and support equipment? Whole life-cycle sustainability will be an important consideration. What is the potential contribution of aircraft efficiency improvements and fuel-efficient airspace usage, including digital aviation? At a time of huge public awareness of the effects of aviation on the environment, the role of Defence Aviation in contributing to achieving Net Zero is an important topic.
Professor Dame Helen Atkinson DBE, FREng, DL, BA, MA, PhD, Drhc, CEng, FIMMM, FIMechE, FRAeS, DIC, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing.
Professor Dame Helen Atkinson DBE, FREng, DL, FRAeS, FIMMM, FIMechE
Pro-Vice Chancellor, School of Aerospace, Transport Systems and Manufacturing, Cranfield University
Professor Dame Helen Atkinson is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the highest honour for an engineer in the UK, and joined Cranfield University as Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing in September 2017. Professor Atkinson was the first woman President of the Engineering Professors’ Council (the body which represents Engineering in universities throughout the UK) in its fifty-year history and has also served as a Vice President and Trustee of the Royal Academy of Engineering. In 2010 she won a national award as a Woman of Outstanding Achievement in Science, Engineering and Technology for ‘Leadership and Inspiration to Others’.
Dame Helen is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (as a President’s nomination), a Fellow of the Institution of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. She has served on the Skills Panel of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (one of the world’s largest Engineering institutions), the Engineering Leaders Panel of the National Council for Universities and Business, and for five years was Chair of the Education and Skills Committee at the Royal Academy of Engineering. In 2021-22 she co-chaired ‘Tomorrow’s Engineering Research Challenges’ for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), a wide consultation on future engineering research directions for the UK. She has served as a government appointment on a major safety committee and until recently chaired ‘This is Engineering’ for the Royal Academy of Engineering, a campaign which aims to encourage more young people to consider Engineering as a career and which has had more than sixty million video views by the target age group.
She was made a Dame in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2021 for services to Engineering and Education.
Location & travel details
Online via Zoom.
Zoom details will be shared one day in advance of the event.
Who should attend
All alumni are welcome to attend.
Cost & concessions
Free to attend.