Top award for engineer

PA 228/09 An academic from The University of Nottingham has shown that playing a supporting role to James Bond doesn't necessarily exclude you from the limelight. Professor Nicholas Warrior - whose research proved vital to the Aston Martin cars in the most recent Bond films - has won one of engineering's top prizes. Professor Warrior has been awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering's prestigious Silver Medal for his outstanding personal contribution to British engineering. Professor Warrior is Head of the Polymer Composites Group and Head of the Division of Materials, Mechanics and Structures at The University of Nottingham. Professor Warrior's research has shown that mass-produced vehicles can be up to 50% lighter and still maintain crash-test performance using lightweight carbon fibre composites. Weight reduction also improves fuel consumption and reduces emissions. He has demonstrated that composites are now a legitimate material for use in high-volume production (up to 20,000 vehicles a year).