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Industry Collaboration Index

Sector Award · Industry and infrastructure · 2026

Aerospace and Aviation: the winner and finalists

10 finalist partnerships, chosen from 29 eligible university and company partnerships in the open record. The winner is listed first; the other finalists follow in alphabetical order of university. The winner in each category is the finalist with the highest partnership score (volume of joint work 40%, years active 30%, field-weighted citation impact 30%) in the frozen Edition 1 record. No panel, nomination or payment plays any part. Winners were announced with the index at 05:30 BST, Thursday 15 October 2026, after the corrections and opt-out window closed at 17:00 BST on Tuesday 13 October.

All award categoriesThe Aerospace and Aviation sector index
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Winner · partnership score 84.7, the highest in the category

University of Oxford×Rolls-Royce

United Kingdom · company based in United Kingdom · 22 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 2.14
PI
Peter Thomas IrelandAcademic co-author · University of Oxford · 9 joint works in the partnership
DJ
Dougal JacksonIndustry co-author · Rolls-Royce · 6 joint works in the partnership
“Effect of Blockages on Film Effectiveness on the Pressure Surface of a Turbine Blade” (2025, 7 citations)
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Chalmers University of Technology×GKN

Sweden · company based in Sweden · 8 joint works in the sector · active 4 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.97
CX
Carlos M. XistoAcademic co-author · Chalmers University of Technology · 4 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
ML
Marcus LejonIndustry co-author · GKN · 2 joint works in the partnership
“The heat transfer potential of compressor vanes on a hydrogen fueled turbofan engine” (2023, 16 citations)
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Graz University of Technology×MTU Aero Engines

Austria · company based in Germany · 6 joint works in the sector · active 3 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.69
PJ
Patrick René JagerhoferAcademic co-author · Graz University of Technology · 5 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
TG
Tobias GlasenappIndustry co-author · MTU Aero Engines · 5 joint works in the partnership
“Heat Transfer and Film Cooling in an Aggressive Turbine Center Frame” (2023, 8 citations)
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Imperial College London×Rolls-Royce

United Kingdom · company based in United Kingdom · 20 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.83
MV
Mehdi VahdatiAcademic co-author · Imperial College London · 6 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
JD
John A. DoddsIndustry co-author · Rolls-Royce · 4 joint works in the partnership
“Flow Physics During Surge and Recovery of a Multi-Stage High-Speed Compressor” (2021, 26 citations)
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Lund University×Siemens

Sweden · company based in Germany · 6 joint works in the sector · active 3 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.89
RS
Róbert-Zoltán SzászAcademic co-author · Lund University · 4 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
DL
Daniel LörstadIndustry co-author · Siemens · 4 joint works in the partnership
“Investigation of turbulent premixed methane/air and hydrogen-enriched methane/air flames in a laboratory-scale gas turbine model combustor” (2021, 75 citations)
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology×Airbus

United States · company based in France · 5 joint works in the sector · active 4 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 4.23
CC
Christopher ChinAcademic co-author · Massachusetts Institute of Technology · 3 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
AE
Antony D. EvansIndustry co-author · Airbus · 4 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Efficiency and Fairness in Unmanned Air Traffic Flow Management” (2021, 69 citations)
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RWTH Aachen University×MTU Aero Engines

Germany · company based in Germany · 5 joint works in the sector · active 4 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.26
PJ
Peter JeschkeAcademic co-author · RWTH Aachen University · 5 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
SB
Stephan BehreIndustry co-author · MTU Aero Engines · 3 joint works in the partnership
“Influence of Purge Flow Injection on the Performance of an Axial Turbine With Three-Dimensional Airfoils and Non-Axisymmetric Endwall Contouring” (2022, 14 citations)
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Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1×Safran

France · company based in France · 16 joint works in the sector · active 5 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 2.62
JB
Jerome C. BoudetAcademic co-author · Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 · 6 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
FA
Fernando Gea-AguileraIndustry co-author · Safran · 4 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“Aeroacoustic analysis of the tip-leakage flow of an ultrahigh bypass ratio fan stage” (2023, 13 citations)
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University of Bristol×Embraer

United Kingdom · company based in Brazil · 6 joint works in the sector · active 4 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 2.30
MA
Mahdi AzarpeyvandAcademic co-author · University of Bristol · 5 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
MW
Michelle Fernandino WestinIndustry co-author · Embraer · 4 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
“The effect of leading edge porosity on airfoil turbulence interaction noise” (2022, 27 citations)
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University of Florence×Baker Hughes

Italy · company based in United States · 9 joint works in the sector · active 3 of 5 years · field-weighted citation impact 1.16
MM
Michele MarconciniAcademic co-author · University of Florence · 3 joint works in the partnership · ORCID
LT
Lorenzo ToniIndustry co-author · Baker Hughes · 3 joint works in the partnership
“Innovative Cavity Modeling for Centrifugal Compressors Aeromechanical Analysis” (2024, 2 citations)

Partnership score: volume of joint work 40%, years active 30%, field-weighted citation impact 30% (shrunk toward 1.0 when evidence is thin). Joint works count half where the only company author also holds a post at the university. The named researchers co-wrote the cited paper and represent a wider team. Full rules.