Hydrogen powered planes
As part of HSO Lunchtime Lectures organised by Headington’s Science Ambassadors, the Science Department were privileged to receive Prof Peter Ireland from Oxford University’s Department of Engineering Science.
Speaking to an attentive audience of girls and staff, he brought to life a wide range of topics. Kicking off with a short history of aviation, he highlighted the challenges faced by the first pioneers of flight more than one hundred years ago. Contemporary issues associated with fossil fuels drove the narrative on to necessary redesigns of classic jet engines and his research with Rolls Royce.
Pupils were given a first-hand insight into how their GCSE and A Level studies in the Sciences form the basis for cutting edge innovation in industry. They also learned how, within the next decade, air travel should be powered by carbon neutral, hydrogen-based designs.
