Message from RAeS
Message from RAeS
At each meeting of Council, time is set aside for an open discussion on specific issues affecting the aeronautical, aviation or space domains. As the March Council is the last I will chair as President, I proposed a topic entitled ‘Sustainability – Our Collective Obligation’ and gave a short introductory presentation1 about the impact of aviation on our climate with graphics from a paper published on the Institute of Physics ‘Science’ website2.
The subsequent discussion provided many interesting views, concluding with a Council recommendation to set up a working group to prepare, in collaboration with Branches and Specialist Groups, a timeline of short, medium and long-term proposals that would contribute to achieving net zero in all domains across the whole of the aerospace, aviation and space sectors. The March Council was also the last at which Past-President Professor Jonathan Cooper participated and we sincerely thanked him for all he has done for the Society, particularly during his unexpected two-year mandate as President.
As we all know, the horrendous situation in Ukraine continues, with cities being destroyed and families seeking a safe haven in other European nations so, at the request of our Chief Executive, Dave Edwards, Council took time to discuss what position the Society should take regarding Russia’s unwarranted aggression. Council recommended that the membership of all Russian and Belarusian nationals, companies and residents be suspended, with immediate effect, until and unless there is a satisfactory resolution to this grave situation.
Subsequently approved by the Board of Trustees, this implies that until further notice, Russian and Belarusian nationals, companies and residents will no longer be invited to take part in our events and conferences, nor permitted access to information on the Society website.
As we all know, the situation in Ukraine is also affecting our lives in the UK and Europe, across many fronts, including aviation and an interesting article written by Pat Norris FRAeS of the Space Group has been published on the AEROSPACE Insight Blog3, summarising the impact on NASA, ESA and other space activities.
On 29 March both myself and the Society Chief Executive, Dave Edwards, attended the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey. HRH Prince Philip was Honorary President of the Society in 1966, 100 years after its foundation.
As mentioned in my message published last month, in accordance with its goal to enhance co-operation with aeronautical and space associations beyond the UK, the Society invited the French l’Académie de l’Air et de l’Espace (AAE) to hold its spring meeting at No.4 on 31 March and to discuss future co-operation scenarios. Currently, it is the Toulouse Branch which has the strongest connections with the AAE, followed by the Paris Branch.
To quote their website4: “AAE is composed of members who hold or have held significant responsibilities in their respective fields related to aeronautics and space. They constitute a pool of knowledge unique in Europe aimed at promoting and furthering the development of high quality scientific, technical, cultural and human activities in the fields of Air and Space.” We look forward to fruitful co-operation going forward.
Following on from COP26, the Society is holding a hybrid conference5 on 26/27 April at No.4 entitled ‘Towards a Space Enabled Net Zero Earth’ addressing how space technology can support our collective net zero goals. Among the high profile Keynote speakers, we will be welcoming George Freeman MP, Minister for Science, Professor Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science, University College London, and Martin Soltau, CoChair of the ‘Space Energy Initiative’.
Interestingly, on 10 March, I was invited to attend the Space Energy Initiative Launch Event held in the Members’ Dining Room in the House of Commons. Supported by the UK government, this highly innovative UK initiative6 is a project to supply net zero electricity generated in space to regions around the world.
On a final and sad note, Dr John Green passed away on the evening of 13 March. He was held in great respect in all he undertook, both as Society President in 1996-97 and as past President of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS). As chair of the ICAS Science and Technology Sub Group of ‘Air Travel – Greener by Design’ from 2002, he played a very important role in addressing the impact of aviation on our climate, an issue that is of great concern today. I have sent a letter of condolence to his wife and family.
1 https://tinyurl.com/P-Presentation
2 https://tinyurl.com/IOP-Science
3 https://tinyurl.com/Ukraine-Space
4 https://tinyurl.com/AAE-France
5 https://tinyurl.com/SpaceEnabledNet0
6 https://tinyurl.com/UKSpaceEnergy
David Edwards
As I write this, I am watching the events unfolding in Ukraine with disbelief. The international community’s swift condemnation, together with huge sanctions will, I hope, bring resolution to this horrific situation quickly. We’ve seen the loss of many lives on both sides, as well as the destruction of property, livelihoods and aircraft, including the world’s only Antonov An-225 Mriya. It has, though, also given us a revealing insight into Russian and Ukrainian military capabilities (see Air war Ukraine – the first month in the features section).
Watching scenes unfold that I thought were relegated to my childhood, I look towards the future, to the group of young people from our Branch network who came together to discuss what the Society needs to do to attract our next generation. Thanks to the ‘not so young’ members who attended to offer advice and guidance too (I include myself here!) – having recently read the Society’s members’ magazine Aerospace from the early 1980s, I know it was as much of a challenge for the Society then as it is now, so it really is one of my main priorities.
As the UK government’s Covid restrictions eased, we’ve spent a significant amount of time finalising our events for the year, not least the Annual Banquet, which marks its return after two years of self-isolation on Thursday, 5 May at the Intercontinental, Hyde Park, here in London. The black-tie dinner provides the ideal opportunity for members and corporate partners to catch up with old friends and network with new ones from across the sector. I hope to meet many of you there. We’ve also finalised the majority of the year’s Named Lectures, hopefully all in person again and will be announcing the first very shortly, but I’m delighted with those who have accepted our invitations. As the Farnborough Air Show finally returns this July, we will be hosting our reception at No.4 Hamilton Place again, where we hope to be joined by Ministers from the UK government.
We are quickly heading towards our first largescale conference of the year, which the President has mentioned in his column. As a hybrid event we’re delighted to be welcoming attendees both in person and virtually again. We are also looking forward to the Specialist Group-led conferences this year, which the Specialist Groups Co-ordination Committee has spent a great deal of time and effort designing a template for, as well as making sure the technology works well. There are too many to thank individually here but I am immensely grateful to them all for their hard work – I trust you’ll all be able to see the results in the coming months as SGs roll out their plans.
In other events, we have our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 4 May, the calling notice for which you will find on p 52. We’re maintaining this as a virtual event to allow more members to attend and have the chance to meet your Council and Trustees. On that note, please don’t forget to vote in the ongoing Council Elections, which close on the day of the AGM.
I wanted to record two legacies we have received recently which will help the Society continue its work on inspiring our next generation, as well as providing increased support for all of our members as we slowly recover from the financial challenges of the pandemic.
You may have noticed in February’s magazine mention of a legacy the Society received from the late Mrs Gwendoline Jessie Davies of Leominster who died in 2020, in memory of her husband, Francis Victor Davies MRAeS (died 2006), who graduated from the University of Bristol in 1950 with a BSc in Aeronautical Engineering. Aside from that, our records don’t provide much detail so if any reader can help with more background I’d be very grateful so that we can make sure their legacy is put to good use.
Finally, the late Mrs Gwendoline Duke, in memory of her husband, the world air speed record holder Neville Duke FRAeS, left the Society a considerable donation in her will, for which we are incredibly grateful.
In parallel with the AEROSPACE Insight Blog which highlights major news stories, we have recently launched the Society Insight Blog, which gives a regular update on our careers, education and skills outreach, End Point Assessment activities for apprenticeships, our global degree accreditation work on aerospace courses, the work of our branches and divisions and our external affairs activities. You can find it at www.aerosociety.com/insightblogs.
Next month, Scott Phillips FRAeS, a stalwart of the team here at the Society, will be here to tell you more about his role and also some of the work that his team has been doing.
I’ll be back in June, stay well.