Contact Dr Craig Lawson
- Tel: +44 (0) 1234 754686
- Email: c.p.lawson@cranfield.ac.uk
Areas of expertise
- Aeronautical Systems
- Aerospace Manufacturing
- Aircraft Design
- Autonomous Systems
- Computing, Simulation & Modelling
- Systems Engineering
Background
Summary
Dr Craig Lawson is a Reader in Airframe Systems at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø, UK, and his teaching responsibilities include lecturing aspects of aircraft design and performance at postgraduate level.
He has a BEng (Hons.) in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh, UK and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from ¹û½´ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø, UK.
He has been Principal Investigator on grants totalling more than GBP£2m, with a focus on aircraft level impact of novel systems with emissions and noise assessment.
Craig has published more than 70 research papers, including 30+ peer-reviewed journal papers. Craig has also published 2 book chapters and filed an EU/USA patent with Airbus.
Dr Lawson is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and serves as Honorary Secretary of the Cranfield Branch. He is also a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.
Background
Following the completion of a BEng (Hons.) in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, Dr Lawson came to Cranfield in 1999 to research a PhD in Gas Turbine Instrumentation. Craig has been involved in teaching aircraft design at Cranfield since 2003, and was awarded 'Cranfield Students' Association Best Lecturer (School of Engineering) 2013-14'.
Craig served as Chief Systems Engineer and Flight Trials Commander for the Demon UAV (FLAVIIR project 2007-2011 £5m). The Demon turbojet UAV was funded by BAE Systems and the UK EPSRC, and achieved a world-first by demonstrating controlled flight without the use of moving control surfaces. This was accomplished by using fluidic control devices utilizing the Coanda effect. Dr Lawson was given the BAE Systems Chairman's Bronze Award 2010 for supporting Total Performance Culture by transferring best practice to apprentices in the assembly of the Demon UAV. Craig was given the BAE Systems Chairman's Silver Award 2011 in Innovation for the Demon UAV Project.
Craig was Programme Manager (acting as co-PI) for ¹û½´ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø's participation in the Clean Sky: Systems for Green Operation, Integrated Technology Demonstrator (2008-2015 work-share £1.2m). The research was centred on the development of the GATAC (Green Aircraft Trajectories with ATM Constraints) simulation environment. Deployment of this tool has included investigating the aircraft energy and trajectory implications of 'more electric' airframe systems, compared to conventional systems. Some results of this activity are included in a paper which was awarded the 2014 SAE Arch T. Colwell Merit Award.
Dr Lawson was a Co-Investigator on the Airbus and UK ATI funded Future of Aircraft Factory Project (2015-2017). This research advanced aircraft wing systems design for manufacturability, which is a key enabler to increase A320 production rates.
Craig was the Principal Investigator (~300k) on the EU Horizon2020 project on Future Aircraft Cabins for the Asian Market, led by Airbus (FUCAM 2016-2019 ~1.8m).
Dr Lawson was the Principal Investigator (£450k) on the UK ATI funded project UHBR Thermals, led by Meggitt (2017-2021 £3.8m). This research developed new schemes and modelling tools for integrated aircraft-engine thermal management for transport aircraft.
In 2021, Craig was an investigator on the ATI FlyZero project looking at both sustainable cabins and novel high lift devices.
Research opportunities
Current research topics:
Aircraft integration of advanced systems technologies, including more electric systems and novel flight controls
Airframe systems modelling for aircraft level operational optimisation
Airframe systems modelling to improve preliminary aircraft design processes
Airframe systems technologies for uninhabited air vehicles
Aircraft level thermal management and aircraft performance impact
Aircraft cabin systems
Supersonic transport aircraft design with noise assessment
Design of wing systems for assembly
Current activities
Craig is a Co-Investigator and WP2 leader for the SENECA project (~5m 2021-2024), which is investigating noise in supersonic transport aircraft.
Dr Lawson is a Co-Investigator on the EPSRC funded project Decarbonising Transport through Electrification, a Whole System Approach (£916k EP/S032053/1 2019-2023). This research takes a high-level approach to look at integrated infrastructure for energy networks, land, sea and air transportation including electric and hybrid-electric aircraft.
Dr. Lawson a the Principle Investigator on the Airbus-led LANDOne project, leading the work on aircraft systems arcitectures and energy synergies. (£400k 2023-26).
Clients
ATI
Airbus
BAE Systems
Boeing
BiologIC
EPSRC
GKN
InnovateUK
Meggitt
Rolls-Royce
Thales
