© Williams

Mark Gillan graduated from Queen’s University, Belfast with a first class honours degree in aeronautical engineering, having been sponsored throughout his studies by the local aerospace firm Short Brothers plc. He remained at Queen’s doing research for his PhD in flow control methodologies for aerospace applications.

After a posting at Bombardier’s Thermodynamics Department, Gillan joined the aeronautical department at Queen’s as a lecturer and adviser of studies. Whilst there, Gillan invented a haemodynamic control device to prolong heart bypass patients’ life expectancy. The invention and its associated research won Northern Ireland’s Engineering Employers Federation Trophy.

Gillan's interest in aerodynamics came to the fore and in 1998 he joined McLaren as a vehicle dynamicist, before progressing to the position of principal operational aerodynamicist.

In 2002 Gillan joined the Jaguar F1 team where he held the positions of head of vehicle performance and chief race and test engineer. At the start of 2005 he left the team, now called Red Bull, to take up a professorship at the University of Surrey, taking the Sir George Edwards Chair in aerospace engineering and director of Surrey’s advanced vehicle analysis group (SAVAG).

Gillan was recruited by Toyota in 2006 to head their aerodynamics department. At the end of 2009 he set up a consultancy business, which provided technical input to a leading Formula 1 team. At the same time, Gillan returned to the University of Surrey as professor of vehicle engineering to lead the SAVAG research group.

In September 2011 Gillan joined Williams F1 as chief operations engineer.