News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

Brother and well known and loved Fr. Brendan Fitzgerald of the Bronx -Dr Pio Fitzgerald, a University of Limerick aeronautical engineering graduate, has won the highest engineering accolade from Boeing, having been named Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ Engineer of the Year, aged just 34.

On 12 November, Fitzgerald attended the Dubai Air Show as one of four nominees for the Innovator of the Year award from Flightglobal.  Previous winners of this award include Richard Branson in 2009 and the aircraft manufacturer Embraer in 2010.

Hailing from Killarney, Co Kerry, Fitzgerald graduated from UL 1999 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in aeronautical engineering.  As part of his degree, he undertook an eight-month co-operative education placement in 1997 with Boeing Commercial Airplanes, which formed the basis of his interest in his current speciality, flight-control laws. Following graduation from UL, Fitzgerald attained both a master's degree and a doctorate at Cranfield University in the UK.

In the spring of 2010, Boeing encountered a design crisis with the new 747-8F jumbo jet freighter aircraft, when "flutter tests" revealed a vibration in the jumbo freighter's wing.

Fitzgerald and his team made aerospace history when they developed the Outboard Aileron Modal Suppression (OAMS) system that dampened out the flutter on the Boeing 747-8F without necessitating any physical redesign of the aircraft. 

Fitzgerald's breakthrough system required an agreement on a "regulatory special condition" between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing.

Fitzgerald's ingenuity secured FAA certification and contributed to the delivery of Boeing's innovative jet in October.

In aerospace circles, his accomplishment has already been compared to the legendary Sutter Twist solution four decades ago, when a similar design crisis faced the original 747 passenger aircraft.
(Source: Silicon Republic)

Kildare

Sledge hammers and crow-bars are being used to force open doors and windows by ruthless housebreakers in the Newbridge area. Along with the sledge-hammers and bars, wire-cutters were among the implements found when gardaí searched a car in Newbridge in the early hours of last Thursday morning.

As the area continues to be hit by break-ins and robberies, the gardaí stopped the car at Morristown at 3.10am on Thursday morning. According to Sergeant Seamus Rothwell, the items, which also included torches, gloves and balaclavas, were well hidden in the car.

“These items were well concealed. It wasn’t just a matter of opening the boot to discover them,” he commented, adding that two men, both from the Dublin area, were arrested for being found in possession of implements related to possible burglary offences.

While local gardaí struggle to combat one of the country’s highest rates of burglary, Sgt Rothwell stressed that householders should make use of all forms of security, ranging from alarms to sensor lights outside the property, time-switch interior lighting and the strongest possible locks.

​
Nster.com