Meet a MSE Graduate – Benjamin Nicholas

Benjamin graduated from Imperial College London

What is your current job?

I am a Manufacturing Development Engineer working within the Manufacturing and Materials Research team at BAE Systems Air.

What do you do in your job?

I develop techniques of applying novel materials to production and experimental fast jets, using additive manufacturing, robotics, lasers and more.

I also work with our in-house simulation team to devise material specifications and standards for new products, qualify emerging materials for use on operational aircraft and foster relationships with our industrial and academic partners to improve our in-house capabilities, ensuring we remain at the forefront of technology.

What A-Levels (or equivalent) did you do?

Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.

Why did you choose a career in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)?

Coming out of university, I wanted to apply what I had learnt in an industry that would allow me to work at the highest levels of technological advancement and play a part in creating a physical product that would make a tangible impact to people’s lives.

I have fond memories of going to Air Shows and Expos as a child and seeing all the fantastic examples of engineering on display, now I can contribute to the technology of today and hopefully in a generation or two there will be a similar child marvelling at something I have created.

What did you enjoy most about your MSE course?

Learning about not only the theory and design of new materials, but their applications in industry and how they affect our day-to-day lives, whether we are aware of it or not. Materials Science is very lightly touched upon at school level so the course really opened my eyes to the ways Materials Science has shaped human civilisation and continues to do so today.

Materials Science unifies the Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Engineering we learn in school into one multi-disciplinary subject and is therefore, in my opinion, the best way to apply all the knowledge I learnt in school to the fullest extent.

What is the coolest thing you have done in your career so far?

Seeing a Eurofighter Typhoon take off with full afterburners is a good perk!

What is your favourite material (and why)?

Metallic glass has to take the top spot for me, a relatively new material but mature enough to have applications outside of the theoretical sphere.

The potential to create the material in bulk (and additively at that!) and exploit its unique properties is something I look forward to seeing in the future.

What advice would you give your 16-year-old self?

I would tell myself to make the most of my summer holidays, you don’t get them once you’re working!