Recently, William Widjaja, a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, was invited to deliver a speech at the 2023 14th International Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (ICMAE) since his graduate thesis was published in ICMAE. He is the first Aerospace Engineering undergraduate to gain this honour at our university.

ICMAE is a global conference that focuses on Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical that provides a platform for researchers and academicians from all over the world to exchange new ideas as well as to find future global partnerships.

William Widjaja encountered his research project where his interest landed among selected topics provided by the tutor.

His research project focuses on studying the effect of winglet angle change towards the aerodynamic performance of the wing. The research project utilizes a computational fluid dynamics programme instead of building prototypes to reduce the costs and time required. The innovation of this project lies in this adaptive winglet structure, which can automatically adjust the angle according to different flight conditions. This can increase the fuel efficiency of the aircraft and thus reduce the carbon footprint/pollution.

A proposed flight plan is also produced to give an early picture of the system working. Applications can be used for both civilian and experimental aircraft. Since it can be retrofitted to conventional wings, this research can be applied to all existing aircraft with minimum-medium modification needed. For experimental aircraft, this can also be used for outer space drone missions, in which they may have specific requirements for efficiency. This mechanism should increase wing efficiency by at least 16.47% compared to existing technology.

After graduation, William is going to study Aerospace Vehicle Design in the Cranfield University in the United Kingdom. Besides, he was also awarded the 2023 International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) Foundation Scholarship. ISTAT Foundation Scholarship awarded in total of 37 aviation-focused students from 27 universities in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America this year.

William is the third cohort of the Aerospace Engineering programme. In the last year years, the programme has been improving regarding teaching staff and facilities. William Widjaja reckons that the study at UNNC is challenging but fun way.

“My tutor Dr ShanShan Long, Assistant Professor in Aerospace Engineering who helps a lot with my final year research project is very helpful. I would say, UNNC has done a great job at investing in new equipment to help elevate the learning atmosphere. For example, I’ve seen them building new facilities like the wind tunel and investing in new CFD software that aids students to understand aerodynamics/fluid dynamics better. Not only this increases my mood, but also my willingness to study to achieve the best results.”

In addition to studying and researching, he also has a lot of hobbies such as badminton, painting, music, 3D modeling, VR development and 3D modelling. He plays badminton with friends at least once a week. He believes that playing badminton is just like researching because you will gain the unexpected under accumulated practice. Besides, he once joined student organizations--SESA and Formula Student to help with the aerodynamics of the car.

After 4 years of study at UNNC, he shares some effective approaches to study. He strongly recommends that Aerospace Engineering students should improve their mathematical skills, as the part of mathematics in the senior year will be more challenging, and the preview in advance will be very useful. Another thing is not to think by books. Aerospace engineering requires an open-minded mindset and we have to be creative to solve the problems.