Andrew Smyth

Aerospace Engineer

I am an Aerospace engineer, my job is to research the aeroplanes of the future and see what problems we need to solve to be able to design them.

If you think of planes taking off at an airport near you, they use fuel which is burnt by jet engines which you often see under the wing. Large amounts of fuel are expensive and not very environmentally friendly, so my job involves seeing if electrical planes could be possible in the future. It also means coming up with ways to make the shape of the plane more efficient. Some of my work at the moment includes designing flying taxis which could take you from city to city!

Since I was a child, I’ve loved planes, space and everything that flies. I wanted to be a pilot when I was younger, but when I studied at University I realised that I really enjoyed solving problems and designing things. I decided to become an engineer who could make that happen.

I am also a keen baker and got to the final of The Great British Bake Off in 2016; I now split my time between researching aeroplanes, baking scientific cakes and presenting live science shows!

Andrew is our Bake Off Lab box champion.