Top spacecraft engineer appointed to University backed by world leading satellite firm

Thursday 8 November 2012

Prof Aglietti will take up the post of Chair of Space Engineering at the Surrey Space Centre (SSC) at the University which has the largest academic space research group in the country.

He said: “I am delighted at the opportunity to join the Surrey Space Centre and I look forward to working together with my new colleagues.

“My top priority will be to strengthen the collaboration between the Centre and SSTL to create new synergies and ensure a seamless relation between the research carried out in the Centre and the practical applications pursued by SSTL.

These are challenging times for the economy and UK university funding; however I believe that the Surrey Space Centre is in an excellent position to produce the world leading, high impact research that is at the core of our mission as a research-led institution and a guiding principle of national and international funding bodies.

“I am a great believer in research-led teaching which is industry-relevant and offers an exciting learning experience, maximizing student potential and employability.”

Sir Martin Sweeting FREng, Director of the SSC and Executive Chairman of SSTL, said: "We are delighted that Prof Aglietti will be joining the Space Centre - whilst at Southampton he has collaborated closely with SSTL for many years on a number of our spacecraft and he will now bring considerable experience in space structures and mechanics more directly to our existing team."

Prof Aglietti’s background is in aerospace structures and mechanisms. He works closely with industry partners and covers both theoretical work and experimental activity.  His areas of expertise are spacecraft structural design, analysis and testing, and in particular structural dynamics.

He graduated with a first class honours degree in Aerospace Engineering, then worked in industry as a stress analyst at Alenia Spazio (Turin, I) and at ESA-ESTEC (Noordwijk, NL).

In 1995 he went to the University of Southampton to study for his PhD on Microvibrations of Spacecraft Structures and later obtained a lectureship in Aerospace Structural Dynamics. In 2001, he was awarded a personal Chair in Aerospace Structures.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and currently Head of the Astronautics Research Group at the University of Southampton.

Editors' Notes

Organisations

SSTL

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) is the world's leading small satellite company, delivering operational space missions for a range of applications including Earth observation, science and communications. The Company designs, manufactures and operates high performance satellites and ground systems for a fraction of the price normally associated with space missions, with 500 staff working on turnkey satellite platforms, space-proven satellite subsystems and optical instruments.

Since 1981 SSTL has built and launched 39 satellites – as well as providing training and development programmes, consultancy services, and mission studies for ESA, NASA , international governments and commercial customers, with its innovative approach that is changing the economics of space.

Surrey Space Centre

The Surrey Space Centre (SSC), in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (FEPS) at the University of Surrey, is a world leading Centre of Excellence in Space Engineering.

SSC, comprising over 90 researchers, develops new advanced & innovative technologies which are exploited by the space industry. It provides well-focused space engineering education, postgraduate & industrial short courses, space-related facilities, training the next generation space scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs & business leaders.
www.surrey.ac.uk/SSC  Twitter: @SpaceAtSurrey

The Royal Academy of Engineering

Founded in 1976, The Royal Academy of Engineering promotes the engineering and technological welfare of the country. Our fellowship – comprising the UK’s most eminent engineers – provides the leadership and expertise for our activities, which focus on the relationships between engineering, technology, and the quality of life. As a national academy, we provide independent and impartial advice to Government; work to secure the next generation of engineers; and provide a voice for Britain’s engineering community.

Contact Details:

Royal Academy of Engineering
Jane Sutton, Communications Manager: jane.sutton@raeng.org.uk

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited
Joelle Sykes:  j.sykes@sstl.co.uk

University of Surrey
Howard Wheeler: h.wheeler@surrey.ac.uk
Tel:01452 686141