Department of Aeronautical Engineering

Aeronautics was first taught at University of Sydney in 1931. The Lectureship was known as the G. A· Taylor Memorial Lectureship in Aeronautics and was founded in 1929 by a gift from the G. A. Taylor Memorial Committee to establish a Lectureship in Aviation or Aeronautical Engineering,

In 1937, with the threat of another World War looming and an increasing realisation of the importance of a strong air defence, the Federal Government commissioned a report to investigate the level of aeronautical research and training within Australia. The author of the report, an English Aeronautics expert called HE Wimperis, found that a greater degree of engineering research should be funded and that universities, in particular, should encouraged to undertake the required research investigations for which they should be properly equipped and staffed. Further to this he recommended that a Chair and a Department of Aeronautics should be established at one of the universities to ensure a steady supply of aeronautical engineers would be available should they be needed.

The University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne were the front runners for the Chair, both having already made forays into the field of aeronautics but it was Sydney which was awarded the Chair by the Federal Government with Melbourne given the sop of an Associate Professorship in Meteorology. It was argued that since Melbourne already had an aerodynamics laboratory and the only large wind tunnel in Australia that they should award the Chair to Sydney so that research in this area could be stimulated in both the major population centres of Australia. The result was that the Vice-Chancellor informed Senate in September 1938 that the Commonwealth Government had decided to provide financial assistance for the establishment of a Chair of Aeronautics, and for aeronautical and hydrodynamical equipment. A sum of £32,000 would be made available for capital expenditure in connection with the Chair and an annual sum of £3,000 for maintenance purposes. The State Government was also making a grant of £18,000 for an hydrodynamics laboratory. Senate authorised the Vice-Chancellor to advertise the Chair, and to have plans prepared for the new Aeronautical and Hydrodynamical Building. [1938 Report of Senate, 1939 Calendar, p. 1090-91]

The search for a candidate for the Chair was undertaken. This proved to be problematic as the first, and suitably qualified, candidate, Dr Ludwig Hopf, was found to be unacceptable by the British Air Ministry by virtue of his nationality (he was a German resident) although he was appointed as a reader. An alternative candidate for the Chair was found in Arthur Stephens, a Fellow of St Johns College, Cambridge and an experienced pilot with several years of aeronautical research under his belt; however it was not until 1941 that he arrived due to the British Air Ministry's requisition of him for special duties at the RAF base in Farnborough. In the meantime the position of reader was re-advertised, due to pressure of criticism of the curriculum from some of the graduates, and filled by David Perkins, as an assistant lecturer in aeronautical engineering.

The by-laws for the four year degree of Aeronautical Engineering were finally approved by the Senate in December 1940. The degree was structured so that the first two years were spent on generalised courses required of all undergraduates of the School of Engineering and the final two years concentrated upon aeronautical engineering and aerodynamics.

The Foundation Professor, A V Stephens, retired in 1956. Just before his retirement a grant of 10,000 pounds was donated to the University by Dr Agnes Bennett in memory of her parents who had taken a great interest in the Engineering department. This money was put towards equipment and staff for research on supersonics and the laboratory named after William and Agnes Bennett.

Stephens was succeeded by W H Wittrick, a Cambridge graduate who gained the first PhD in Aeronautical Engineering from Sydney University. He worked mainly on structural issues with aircraft and gained many accolades including the Orville Wright Prize of the Royal Aeronautical Society for his research on minimising stress concentrations around aircraft windows. He also embraced the University's first computer facility, Silliac, and it became an integral part of the Departments research facilities.

Following Wittricks resignation in 1964, Sydney graduate GA Bird was appointed to the Chair and was to oversee the next 26 years of change and expansion within the Department. By the end of the 1960s the curriculum had been modified to reflect an increasing diversification in the field of aerodynamics with a number of elective courses being introduced in the fourth year of the degree.

The 1970s and 1980s were marked by a concentration of research into fluid and solid mechanics and in 1980 the Department received a Perkin Elmer 3220 computer system which made a significant difference to the efficiency of the research processing. Following the retirement of Bird in 1990, GP Steven, associate professor in the Department, was appointed to the Chair to take over the reins of a Department renowned for its excellence in research and development.

The Department of Aeronautical Engineering was merged with the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering to create the School of Aeronautical (now Aerospace), Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering formally from 2 January 2001 with transitional arrangements applying from 1 January 1999. [Senate noted the Vice-Chancellor's approval to the merger, Minutes 7 December 1998, 85/98]

Succeeding agency: School of Aeronautical (now Aerospace), Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering

As part of that school, in 2020, Aerospace Engineering partnered with national and international government agencies and industries, and combined its multidisciplinary capabilities to develop complete aerospace systems that addressed current and future challenges in security, defence, commercial aviation, agriculture, environmental monitoring and space exploration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Additionally, the meeting of the Faculty of Engineering on 14th October 1936, it was resolved to report to the Vice-Chancellor "that there is need for a systematic course in Aeronautical Engineering at this University and urges the Senate to take all steps that are possible to establish such a course." (G3/9/3 and G3/13/724A). The first degree course of lectures commenced in Lent Term 1939; it was available to any students who had completed 2 years work in engineering in any Australian University (refer to Faculty of Engineering minute book: G3/9/3 page 31 and statement from the Registrar dated 3rd March 1939 in G3/13/724A). The Senate approved by-laws for the Degree of Bachelor of Engineering in Aeronautical Engineering at its meeting on 23 December 1940.

Brief History of Aeronautical Engineering by K Srinivas and Grant Steven at  http://web.aeromech.usyd.edu.au/history-chapters/C2%20Aeronautical.pdf  accessed 30/06/2020.