Andrea Cini

Andrea Cini obtained the BSc in Aerospace Engineering and the MSc in Aeronautical Engineering, Aircraft Structure specialisation, with honour from the University of Pisa respectively in 2003 and 2006. Andrea earned the PhD degree at Cranfield University, UK, in the field of Fatigue and Damage Tolerance, in 2013, investigating the short crack development at the root of maintenance-induced scratches as part of the Scribe Marks research programme, funded by Airbus.

Subsequently he developed his research activity in Aerostructures, stress analysis and Fatigue and Damage Tolerance as research Fellow at Cranfield University and Scuola Sant’Anna, Pisa, working on damage evolution in metallic and composite materials, design of bio-inspired flapping wing robots and life support system design for the International Space Station. Andrea acted as the technical leader of a group of 4 researchers delivering research projects for industrial customers. In 2013 Andrea moved to industry, as manager of the Design and Development department of Asso Werke s.r.l., an Italian automotive company of 400 employees producing engine pistons and cylinders for sports cars and motorbikes. At Asso Werke he led and managed a group of 7 engineers designing pistons for customers, such as Ferrari, Audi, BMW, McLaren. Andrea was also in charge of the company R&D programme.

Andrea came back to academia in November 2015 joining the Centre for Aerospace Manufacturing at the University of Nottingham, UK. At Nottingham he was involved as Project Manager and Stress and Design technical authority in the Clean Sky 2 EU research project, ASTRAL, where his team of 4 researchers designed a novel lightweight composite joined wing for a new compound helicopter flying demonstrator (RACER), in partnership with Airbus Helicopters and GE Aviation. Andrea also occupied the position of Aerostructures Theme Lead at the Centre for Aerospace Manufacturing developing research projects and industrial collaborations in the field of Aircraft Structural Design. He consolidated his research project management skills obtaining the PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner certificates in the UK. In July 2019 Andrea joined University Carlos III of Madrid as “Profesor Visitante” at the Aerospace engineering Department where he established and is currently managing the Aeroelastic and Structural Design Lab (ASD Lab). He is also the coordinator of an MSc module in aerospace manufacturing and 2 BSc in aircraft structural design and manufacturing. Andrea has been developing research collaborations and industrial partnerships on innovative aircraft structural configurations, Hybrid/electric/H2-fuelled aircraft, airframe design and system integration, minimum weight optimisation, conceptual design tools, “Non-black metal” composite design, Virtual testing and certification, Composite manufacturing, and damage evolution prediction in aerospace material. During his career at UC3M, Andrea has been consolidating his position as researchers by writing more than 15 proposals of competitive research projects of which two Horizon Europe and two national projects were granted. New collaborations were established with the several nation and international research centres and academic institutions, positioning Andrea’s research group, ASD Lab, as international reference for airframe design and optimisation and aero-structural coupled design. Andrea has diversified his investigation area, moving towards design and optimisation tools for green aviation and reliable virtual manufacturing and certification methods. The research outcomes fostered the development of up to 7 knowledge transfer projects with aerospace integrators and tier one suppliers in just three years. Andrea is also investing in building within ASD Lab an out-of-autoclave, composite manufacturing facility capable of producing aerospace-grade coupon tests for experimental campaigns and drone components.