Event Details

Dr Cheryl Pitt, Head of Materials Department for 1710 Naval Air Squadron in the Royal Navy, will be giving a talk on the use of materials science in the military.

1710 Naval Air Squadron, is a unique Squadron which has evolved since the 1930s to provide specialist engineering and scientific support to the fleet. It is unique not just within UK Defence, but we believe worldwide. This support was key in meeting the increasing challenges of maintaining the safety and operational utility of early naval carrier-based aircraft and early helicopters. The risks to life for naval aviators as a result of equipment deterioration, failure at sea and even aircraft crashes demanded the RN develop and sustain specialist Forward Support. Our Materials and Monitoring Departments cover a number of scientific areas, from material failure investigation and aviation forensics (to investigate aircraft crashes) to wear debris and health and usage data analysis. The staff have backgrounds in Materials Science, Metallurgy, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Forensic Engineering and more. By engaging with, and in some cases leading, the international academic and industrial community in their scientific areas of interest, they remain current and competent subject matter experts who are able to genuinely inform the development of future military equipment capability.