MARK CHAPMAN, CHIEF ENGINEER

Many of his previous jobs have been in the aerospace sector: for Boeing and Airbus, and most recently he worked at Rolls-Royce on their helicopter fleet. He said: “When I was approached to work on the project I thought of one of my life mottos which is, it’s better to regret having done something that to regret not doing something, so I jumped at the chance. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“Working on BLOODHOUND is a fantastic job. No one knows what the right answer is going to be. When we started out we would never have expected the car to take the shape it has, but that’s what our research and testing has come up with. You wake up in the morning and don’t know what the problem will be but more excitingly you don’t know where you are going to find the answer.”

“We don’t need to innovate new technology for BLOODHOUND but we take existing technology and use it in new and interesting ways. It’s been great for showing that you don’t have to be narrow minded in how you use technology or solve problems.”

“The first goal of BLOODHOUND is to inspire young people to go into a career in science or engineering. The second is to showcase some fantastic British engineering and technical products. This is one way of showing the world what we can do in engineering. Particularly for smaller companies who might otherwise work with military companies or F1 teams and not have the chance to share their skills and expertise with a wider audience.”

“We hope that we can work with people, like IMechE Members, to see how the problems we are working on connects with their work and encourage them to get involved and help us come up with innovative solutions.”

Mark is passionate about the educational element of the project, saying: “If this doesn’t get people excited about STEM nothing will. It’s a great opportunity for the young people working on BLOODHOUND. They have to find the problem rather than be given the problem and then work out the answer. This makes them very complete engineers.”

“I’m a STEM Ambassador and go into schools and host schools visits at the BLOODHOUND Visitor Centre in Bristol. It is great to meet 8-10 year old kids who have really thought hard about the project. They do research online and come up with some really interesting questions. They seem really excited by it - their eyes light up when they learn about it.”