Brian O'Rourke CEng, MRAeS, FIMechE, MIMMM
Chief Composites Engineer, Williams F1 Engineering Ltd 1982 – 2018
Aeronautical Engineering BSc(Hons) 1976; HonMEng 1997
Brian was recruited into Williams Grand Prix Engineering (Williams F1) to introduce aerospace materials technology into Formula 1 racing cars. Since then, his design and materials innovations have led to success in seven World Constructors' Championships and World Drivers' Championships with luminaries such as Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. Brian is a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield University.
"I have nothing but positive memories of my time at Kingston. Our department at Canbury Park Road was housed in arguably the scruffiest university building in Britain, but it was all that I wanted. With traditions inherited from the Sopwith and Hawker factories, the environment was aching with history, and that was a great inspiration to me.
Staff were intensely practical and taught us to be likewise. Above all, I learned that a clever engineer is the one with the simple answer. Dreaming spires in provincial towns might be what others wanted, but Kingston was more than enough for me."
Contact us
Kingston University
Tel: +44 (0)20 8417 9000
Contact us
Kingston University
Tel: +44 (0)20 8417 9000