Supersonic students visit world’s fastest car
Speedy students from schools across Yorkshire were today (Wednesday 30 May 2012) given the opportunity of a lifetime to see the world’s fastest car at the the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing.
More than 100 pupils from across the region flocked to get a glimpse of the ground-breaking Bloodhound Super Sonic Car (SSC) - Britain’s latest attempt to smash the world land speed record which is capable of reaching speeds of 1,000 miles per hour.
The Bloodhound SSC Education Road Show emphasises the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), whilst showcasing the magnificent 13.4m life-size replica show car which is powered by jet, hybrid rocket and Formula One Cosworth engines.
The Bloodhound SSC will attempt to break the land speed record in South Africa in 2013 carrying parts manufactured and tested at the AMRC with Boeing. The AMRC Advanced Structural Test Centre is calibrating the attachment ring, used to monitor the thrust produced, by the car's Falcon rocket engine. In addition the AMRC machining group is currently producing a number of gearbox components for the Cosworth F1 engine which pumps fuel to the rocket.
During the road show youngsters were given
the opportunity to make their very own balloon-powered models and experience a ride in the Bloodhound in a virtual reality simulator.
Local entrepreneur Ruth Amos, who won Young Engineer for Britain in 2006, gave pupils a motivational speech and explained the car’s revolutionary design.
The Bloodhound model teamed up with the AMRC’s MANTRA lorry giving the visiting students a hands-on taste of high value manufacturing and engineering.
Phil Spiers, head of the AMRC Advanced Structural Test Centre, said: "The future of our economy depends on the UK, as a nation, being able to engineer and manufacture. When I was 13 years old, Thrust 2 inspired me to follow a career in engineering. Some 30 years later, the Bloodhound project is doing the same for the next generation of engineers. It is a privilege to be involved with the adventure.”
Additional information
Schools who took part in the event:
Brinsworth Academy, Rotherham
The City School, Sheffield
Norton Junior School, Doncaster
Hepworth School, Holmfirth
Titus Salt School, Shipley
The Community Science College, Thornhill, Dewsbury
The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing
The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing is a £60million partnership that builds on the shared scientific excellence, expertise and technological innovation of the world's leading aerospace company and the world-class research within the University of Sheffield's faculty of engineering.
AMRC with Boeing
The Bloodhound SSC
Bloodhound Project
The University of Sheffield
With nearly 25,000 students from 125 countries, the University of Sheffield is one of the UK’s leading and largest universities. A member of the Russell Group, it has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance. In addition, the University has won four Queen’s Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, 2007). These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom’s intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. Sheffield also boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and many of its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence around the world.
The University’s research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.
The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. Its partnership with Leeds and York Universities in the White Rose Consortium has a combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge.
Contact
For further information please contact:
Amy Pullan
Media Relations Officer
The University of Sheffield
0114 222 9859
a.l.pullan@sheffield.ac.uk