Dr Alistair John

School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering

Programme lead for Aerospace Engineering

Alistair John
Profile picture of Alistair John
a.john@sheffield.ac.uk
Sir Frederick Mappin Building

Full contact details

Dr Alistair John
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
Sir Frederick Mappin Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
Profile

I am originally from Cheshire, but have lived in Sheffield since coming to study engineering here in 2010.

I graduated with an MEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sheffield in 2014, receiving the Mappin Medal. I then undertook a PhD and subsequent post-doc with Rolls-Royce at the University, before becoming a University Teacher in Aerospace engineering in 2020.

I am the founder of Race2Space, a national educational initiative where student teams from across the UK build and test rocket engines. I have raised significant funds to support the scaling up of this initiative, secured engagement from national stakeholders, and designed the initiative to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Research interests

My research is about designing jet engines and rocket engines to produce more power, be more efficient (use less fuel) and be better for the environment. Interests include aerodynamic design, optimisation, multi-disciplinary analysis, propulsion, rocketry, turbomachinery, additive manufacture and heat transfer.

Publications

Journal articles

Conference proceedings

Grants
  • MADELEINE
  • NEXTAIR
  • R2T2
Teaching interests
  • Aerospace design stream
  • Heat transfer and fluid mechanics
  • Project Sunride supervisor