Professor Ian Poll OBE, FREng, FCGI, FAIAA,
FRAeS Cranfield University

Ian Poll is Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Cranfield University and the Technical and Business Development Director of Cranfield Aerospace, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cranfield University.

He founded Cranfield Aerospace in 1997 as the commercial arm of the College of Aeronautics and he has served as both Chairman and Managing Director. Currently, he is a Board member and he provides high level technical oversight for the company's three business streams.

Ian was head of the College of Aeronautics from 1995 until 2001 and then served for a further three years as Director of the pan University Cranfield College of Aeronautics. He began his career with Hawker Siddeley Aviation – Military Aircraft Division, moving to the College of Aeronautics as a Research Assistant in 1975. Before returning to Cranfield, he was Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Manchester.

He has worked in the field of aircraft drag reduction with a view to reducing fuel burn for 30 years. More recently, he has concentrated on developing a better understanding of the thermodynamic efficiency of the whole aircraft system, including the engine and identifying areas where improvements can be made.

The author of over 100 journal and conference papers on aerospace related topics, he has served on a number of Government committees. He was also a member of the NATO’s AGARD Fluid Dynamics Panel and he has contributed to European Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research activity. 

Ian was the 74th President of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 2001 and, in 2002, he was awarded the OBE in recognition of his services to the Cranfield College of Aeronautics. He was elected to the Council of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2004 and, in 2008, he will become President of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences.