Rolls-Royce is more than just automobiles.
That’s the message being spread by Joseph Krok, the university research liaison manager at Rolls-Royce. The company has, in recent years, turned its focus to aviation — specifically, aircraft engines.
“As you can imagine, gas turbine engines are incredibly complex and highly technical,” said Krok, who acts as a connector between the London-based company and universities across the globe. “Because of that, we put a great deal of investment into our research and development of our products.”
A large portion of that research and development is based at universities, which are designated as official global Rolls-Royce University Technology Centers once they reach a level of “critical nature” to the company, Krok said.
Following decades of previous collaboration, Virginia Tech was so designated in 2014.
Virginia Tech is one of 31 University Technology Centers across the globe — three of which are based in the U.S., including the University of Virginia and Purdue University. Out of all 31 centers, Virginia Tech is the only one capable of testing measurement capability.
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