28 May 2002

Rolls-Royce high flier wins Academy accolade

Colin Smith, Director of Engineering and Technology - Civil Aerospace at Rolls-Royce plc in Derby, has won a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal for his outstanding contribution to British engineering. He received the solid silver medal at the Academy Awards Dinner in London last night (27 May).

Colin, aged 46, provides the engineering lead on all Rolls-Royce's civil aviation projects and is responsible for 1,000 engineers in the UK, as well as overseeing engineering activities in the US and Germany. He led the design, development and certification of the new Trent 500 engine, the sole power plant for the Airbus A340-500/600, for which the company has secured record advance orders worth around $5 billion. He was also Chief Engineer on the Trent 700 project, which won over 35 per cent market share for the Airbus A330.

Earlier in his career he was Chief Engineer for Rolls-Royce's latest helicopter engine, the RTM322, Colin had full responsibility for the design, development and qualification of the engine that now powers many modern naval helicopters. The RTM322 is now in service with the Royal Navy, on the Army's Apache attack helicopter and on the RAF's EH101 helicopter. It will also be used on the Eurocopter NH90 for German, French and Dutch forces.

Colin spent a year with Rolls-Royce before going to Southampton University to study mechanical engineering in 1975 and returned to the company after taking his degree. He worked in Leavesden and Bristol until 1994 when he joined the Trent 700 project at Derby.

"I am very honoured to have received the award for leading a great team to produce a world class product," he says of the Academy's Silver Medal award.

ends

Notes for editors

1. The Academy's Silver Medals were instigated in 1995. They are awarded annually to engineers who have made outstanding contributions to British engineering. Candidates must be aged under 50. Up to four medals may be awarded each year.
   
   
2. This year's other Silver Medals go to Nader Azarmi, head of the BTexact Intelligent Systems team at Adastral Park, Ipswich; Professor Richard Friend, Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge and Chief Scientist of Cambridge Display Technology Ltd; and Dr Andrew Rickman, Chairman of Bookham Technology plc in Abingdon.
   
   
3. The Royal Academy of Engineering aims to pursue, encourage and maintain excellence across the whole field of engineering in order to promote the advancement of the science, art and practice of engineering for the benefit of the public. The Academy comprises the UK's most eminent engineers and is able to use their combined wealth of knowledge and experience to meet its objectives.
   

For more information please contact:

Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering
tel: 020 7227 0536 (direct), mobile: 07989 513045, email: jane...@...org.uk

or

Martin Nield at Rolls-Royce
Tel. 01332 248912; email: martin.nield@rolls-royce.com

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