Contact Mark Aizlewood

Areas of expertise

  • Aviation Management & Operations
  • Digital Twinning
  • Operational Analysis and Simulation
  • Systems Engineering

Background

Mark is currently Head of Aerospace Integration Research Centre (AIRC) and programmes. He is responsible for the centre's strategy and engagement, notably with founding partners Airbus and Rolls-Royce. The £35 million AIRC was opened in 2017 and conducts research in to the integration of aerospace technologies in to whole aircraft and the wider aviation system.

Mark has previously worked as Zero Emission Flight Lead and Aviation Team Lead for Connected Places Catapult, leading delivery of the Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure project for the UK Department for Transport and held the role of Secretariat for the Jet Zero Council Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group. Mark started his career at easyJet in a range of roles covering airline and aircraft operations, specializing in continued airworthiness, aircraft maintenance, operational sustainability, applied digital technologies and innovation.

Mark holds an Executive MBA from ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ and an MEng (Hons) in Aerospace Engineering from University of Hertfordshire. Mark is also member of the IET's Aerospace Executive Committee.

Current activities

Example projects delivered in the centre:

Out of Cycle NExt generation highly efficient air transport (ONEheart) - https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10003388

Landing Advances for a New Decade One (LANDOne) - https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10002411

Powerplant Integration of Novel Engine Systems (PINES) - https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=113263

Facilities in the AIRC include:

- An agile concept facility incorporating advanced flight simulators and an IDEAS area enabling teams to fully visualise their concepts to enable the development time from idea to implementation to be shortened

- Dedicated laboratories for research into future propulsion, mission systems, urban air mobility and robot automated assembly

- Over 1500m2 hangar space enabling research on full-scale aircraft and components

- Automated assembly rig currently using two full size A320 wings to development automated wing assembly lines of the future

- A thermal management systems facility incorporating a customisable representation of aircraft engine fluids and a 'drive-in' environmental chamber for examining heat management of engines concepts in representative aircraft environments

- IP design award winning Future Systems Simulator for simulation future aircraft concepts, developing novel Human Machine interface (HMI) concepts for improved aircrew decision making

- Structures rig for examining and validating different engine on wing configurations of future aircraft

Clients

  • BAE Systems PLC
  • Airbus SE
  • Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC