Our specialist areas of focus, or Cranfield themes, are where we bring a range of academic disciplines together in order to tackle the grand challenges facing the world within a range of industrial and commercial sectors. These are Water, Environment and Agrifood, Energy and Sustainability, Aerospace, Manufacturing and Materials, Transport Systems, Defence and Security and Management.
Our Cranfield themes are built upon our expertise in a range of academic disciplines, listed here.
Within our postgraduate environment our academic disciplines work closely together, blending as they do in the commercial world and industry to deliver real world solutions.
Academic disciplines
Aeronautical engineering
Areas of expertise
- Aeronautical systems
- Aerospace structures
- Airworthiness
- Vehicle aerodynamics
Agriculture and agrifood
Areas of expertise
- Agrifood systems
- Applied mycology
- Food quality
- Food safety
- Soil resources, biodiversity and ecosystems
- Soil systems and land management
- Sustainable land systems
Automation and control systems
Areas of expertise
- Aeronautical systems
- Agrifood systems
- Armour systems
- Autonomous systems
- Counter IED
- Human factors
- Industrial automation
- Sustainable manufacturing
Business and management
Areas of expertise
- Defence management
- Business economics and finance
- Business performance management
- Corporate responsibility and sustainability
- Entrepreneurship and business growth
- General management
- Information systems
- Innovation and operations management
- Leadership
- Managing people and global careers
- Marketing, sales and client relationships
- Programme and project management
- Programme sales and client relationships
- Strategy complexity and change management
- Logistics and supply chain management
Chemical engineering
Areas of expertise
- Bioinformatics
- Biomedical engineering
- Carbon capture and transport
- Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence
- Computational fluid dynamics
- Conventional and advanced fuels
- Fuels
- Process systems engineering
Civil engineering
Areas of expertise
- Process systems engineering
- Sustainable land systems
- Sustainable manufacturing
Clean energy
Areas of expertise
- Biomass and waste
- Carbon capture and storage
- Conventional and advanced fuels
- Energy and the environment
- Energy asset and integrity management
- Oil and gas exploration and production
- Renewable energy technology
Computer sciences
Areas of expertise
- Bioinformatics
- Computational fluid dynamics
- Computating, simulation and modelling
- Digital forensics for security
- Operational analysis and simulation
Cyber security
For more information please visit the Centre for Electronic Warfare Information and Cyber page.
Design and innovation
Areas of expertise
- Aircraft design
- Design strategy and innovation
- Product and service design
Ecology and sustainability
Areas of expertise
- Carbon, climate adaptation and environmental risk
- Corporate responsibility and sustainability
- Environment and health
- Environmental impacts
- Health risks from hazardous substances
- Monitoring and environmental informatics
- Soil resources, biodiversity and ecosystems
- Soil systems and land management
- Waste management and resource efficiency
Economics and finance
Areas of expertise
- Business economics and finance
- Defence management
- Energy policy and regulation
Electrical and electronic engineering
Areas of expertise
- Casting technologies
- Communications systems
- Concentrating solar power
- Defence manufacturing
- Electric and hybrid vehicles
- Electric power machines and grid systems for energy
- Industrial automation
Energy and sustainability
Areas of expertise
- Biomass and waste
- Carbon capture and storage
- Conventional and advanced fuels
- Energy and the environment
- Energy asset and integrity management
- Oil and gas exploration and production
- Power systems andgas turbines
- Process systems engineering
- Renewable energy technology
Engineering
See also aeronautical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering.
Areas of expertise
- Aerospace manufacturing
- Aerospace structures
- Aircraft design
- Airworthiness
- Bioinformatics
- Biomedical engineering
- Carbon capture and transport
- Casting technologies
- Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence
- Communications systems
- Computational fluid dynamics
- Concentrating solar power
- Conventional and advanced fuels
- Defence manufacturing
- Electric and hybrid vehicles
- Electric power machines and grid systems for energy
- Fuels
- Industrial automation
- Motorsport
- Offroad vehicle engineering
- Onroad vehicle dynamics
- Power systems and gas turbines
- Process systems engineering
- Sustainable land systems
- Sustainable manufacturing
- Through-life engineering services
- Vehicle aerodynamics
- Vehicle engineering and mobility
- Weapon engineering
- Welding and laser processing
Environmental sciences
Areas of expertise
- Aviation: management, operation and environment
- Energy and the environment
- Environment and health
- Carbon, climate adaptation and environmental risk
Geography
Areas of expertise
- Corporate responsibility
- Environment and health
- Environmental impacts
- Human factors
- Soil, resources, biodiversity and ecosystems
- Soil systems and land management
- Sustainable land systems
Geosciences
See environmental sciences, geography, ecology, plant and soil science, meteorology and atmospheric sciences.
Instruments and instrumentation
Areas of expertise
- Instrumentation, sensors and measurement science
International relations
Areas of expertise
- Business performance management
- Human factors for defence
- Managing people and global careers
Life sciences
Areas of expertise
- Agrifood systems
- Applied mycology
- Bioinformatics
- Biomass and waste
- Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence
- Drug discovery and development
- Food safety
- Food quality
- Health risks from hazardous substances
- Soil resources, biodiversity and ecosystems
- Soil systems and land management
- Toxicology and epidemiology
- Water science and engineering
Manufacturing engineering
Areas of expertise
- Precision engineering
Materials sciences and engineering
Areas of expertise
- Casting technologies
- Composites
- Computational fluid dynamics
- Manufacturing of functional materials
- Materials for aeronautical applications
- Nanomaterials
- Sensor technologies
- Smart materials
- Structures and materials
- Sustainable materials for low carbon technology
Mathematics and statistics
Areas of expertise
- Computing, simulation and modelling
- Operational analysis and simulation
Mechanical engineering
Areas of expertise
- Aerospace manufacturing
- Aerospace structures
- Aircraft design
- Composites
- Energy asset and integrity management
- Mechatronics and advanced controls
- Motorsport
- Offroad vehicle engineering
- On-road vehicle dynamics
- Operational analysis and simulation
- Power systems and gas turbines
- Vehicle aerodynamics
- Vehicle engineering and mobility
- Weapon engineering
- Welding and laser processing
Mechanics
Areas of expertise
- Composites
- Mechatronics and advanced controls
- Operational analysis and simulation
Meteorology and atmospheric sciences
Areas of expertise
- Environmental impacts
- Environment policy and regulation
- Precision engineering
Military sciences
Areas of expertise
- Armour systems
- Counter IED
- Defence information systems
- Defence systems engineering
- Defence test and evaluation
- Defence training analysis
- Explosives and munitions
- Gun technologies
- Human factors for defence
- Operational analysis and simulation
- Weapon engineering
- Information systems
- Electronic warfare
Physics
Areas of expertise
- Flight physics
Plant and soil science
Areas of expertise
- Soil systems and land management
- Soil resources, biodiversity and ecosystems
Psychology
Areas of expertise
- Human factors
Renewable energy
Areas of expertise
- Biomass and waste
- Concentrating solar power
- Conventional and advanced fuels
- Energy and the environment
- Renewable energy technologies
- Waste management and resource efficiency
Robotics
Areas of expertise
- Industrial ergonomics and human factors
- Precision engineering
- Mechatronics and advanced controls
- Industrial automation
Social sciences
Areas of expertise
- Ageing and chronic disease
- Forensic anthropology
- Human factors
Systems sciences
Areas of expertise
- Aeronautical systems
- Armour systems
- Autonomous systems
- Communications systems
- Defence information systems
- Defence systems engineering
- Manufacturing systems
- Soil systems and land management
- Space systems
- Sustainable land systems
- Systems engineering
- Through-life engineering services
Transportation science and technology
Areas of expertise
- Air transport safety and accident investigation
- Aviation management operation and environment
- Composites
- Logistics and supply chain management
- Lightweighting, crashworthiness and physical testing
- Ergonomics, human factors and driver safety
- Vehicle health management
- Safety, resilience, risk and reliability
Water sciences
Areas of expertise
- Water science and engineering
