International Experience at Strathclyde - mabbett.eu · Spring 2013 - Issue 09] Caption Strathclyde...

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Engineering

Issue 9, Spring 2013

Strathclyde Students Triumph Again at Talent Discovery Event

Industry Partners Bring New Scholarships to Growing Faculty Portfolio

Faculty Welcomes Brazilian Students Through New Government Programme

Staff and Students Make a World of Difference in India

International Experience

at Strathclyde

engineering insight [ Spring 2013 - Issue 09 ]

Contents

[ Introduction ]

02

03

05

15

18

24

26


Outreach

International

New Ventures

Success Stories

Knowledge Exchange

Successful Alumnus

Faculty of EngineeringUniversity of StrathclydeRoom 5.25Royal College Building204 George StreetGlasgow G1 1XW

t: +44 (0)141 548 2749e: [email protected]: @StrathEngWeb: www.strath.ac.uk/engineering

The University of Strathclyde is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, number SC015263.

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Faculty Office Contacts Faculty Manager Faculty Academic Development OfficerDr Gayle Wilson Gabrielle Weir [email protected] [email protected]

Marketing Development Coordinator International Recruitment AdvisorAnnabel Dalgleish Christine Donald [email protected] [email protected]

Faculty Administrative Assistant Dean’s SecretaryAndrea Roy Susan Pawson/Mary [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Faculty Development Officer Modern Apprentice (Administration)Marianne Ballantyne Chloe [email protected] [email protected]

Faculty Administrator (Research and Knowledge Exchange) Carol Brady [email protected]

Professor Scott MacGregor Executive Dean, Faculty of Engineering

INTRODUCTION

Welcome from the Dean of Engineering Welcome to the ninth edition of our Faculty magazine, Engineering Insight. This issue has a focus on some of our most recent international activities, as well as highlighting some of our latest successes and new ventures.

As a leading international technological university, Strathclyde is committed to working with other leading universities and businesses around the globe to tackle some of the major research challenges of the 21st century. In Engineering we are proud of the strong international links we have established and we are currently involved in a number of research and knowledge exchange collaborations, working towards common goals and addressing problems that face society and the wider world.

Strathclyde’s international profile enables us to attract students from around the world, who come here to study and benefit from our excellent teaching facilities and to learn from our world-leading academics. In Engineering we currently have over 1300 international students from almost 100 countries studying with us. Many join us through our articulation agreements with partner institutions, and others through Government initiatives, such as the Science without Borders scheme in Brazil. We are pleased to have welcomed 46 Brazilian students to the Faculty in the first year of this scheme and we look forward to welcoming a new cohort in September 2013. Increasingly, our full-time students are taking the opportunity to study abroad for up to a year as part of their degree programme by participating in one of the many exchange programmes that we offer. Popular exchange destinations include France, Spain, Germany, China, Japan, America and Australia.

The Faculty are not only interested in working with international companies and institutions, but through our outreach initiatives, such as Strathclyde Engineering for Development, of which Lady Eileen McDonald is the ambassador, staff and students are combining their skills and expertise with innovative technologies to work on projects aimed at helping those less fortunate. Our project with the MUKTI charity in Chennai, India, which provides prostheses and orthoses, free of charge to people with mobility problems, is a good example of this. Staff and students in the Department of Biomedical Engineering manage the project, raising funds to visit the Clinic annually to upskill local staff and assist in clinical treatment.

2013 is already proving to be a successful year for many of our students. For the second year running students from the Faculty have won the prestigious BP Ultimate Fieldtrip Competition which is regarded as one of the UK’s leading science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) talent discovery events. Ten Engineering students have also recently been awarded BP scholarships, just one of the many industry-sponsored scholarships currently on offer to our students. Our portfolio of industry-sponsored scholarships continues to grow with over 300 scholarships now available.

Many of these agreements include summer employment, offering students the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice, whilst gaining valuable industrial experience and enhancing their overall student experience.

[ Spring 2013 - Issue 09 ]

Caption


[ Strathclyde Students Triumph Again at Talent Discovery Event ]

02

A team of engineering students from Strathclyde have won the top prize

at the prestigious 2013 BP Ultimate Field Trip (UFT) Competition – the second consecutive year Strathclyde students have won the award.

Team Hydra, made up of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering students Eric Brown, Hugh McQueen and Theo Scott, came out on top in the competition which is regarded as the UK’s leading science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) talent discovery event.

The students impressed the BP judges and celebrity science enthusiast, Dara O’Briain, with innovative ideas on how to develop a mode of transport that reduces the cost of passenger travel in a selected country by 2030.

One of the winning students, Eric Brown, said: “It’s an amazing feeling to win. I’m

really proud of our team’s achievement. It’s definitely a competition I would recommend to other students as it gives you a chance to really show what you’re capable of. It’s hard

work but it’s worth it.”

The prestigious Grand Final event was held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. The innovation focussed on a mode of car passenger transportation in Germany. The technical solution that was developed was praised by the judges for its practical and innovative approach. Team Hydra’s concept is to design the Ultimate Hybrid Car (UHC), a plug-in Hybrid Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle. The car can be refuelled at home, using cheap electricity and gas therefore reducing fuel costs.

Emma Judge, Head of Graduate Resourcing UK, BP said: “The UFT competition continues to go from strength to strength. This year a record 1,221

students registered to take part in the UK, and the eventual winners really deserve the great field trip that they will embark upon this summer.”

Team Hydra will begin their field trip in June 2013 for a two-week period with BP. They will join the winning teams from the UFT Trinidad & Tobago and US competitions, visiting BP’s on-shore control room at Stavanger in Norway.

They will then visit the Sullom Voe oil terminal in Shetland and will wrap up the field trip by going to BP’s International Centre of Business & Technology in Surrey, UK. The team will also receive Amazon vouchers worth £1,000 and a guaranteed interview for a graduate or intern role at BP.

The success marks the second consecutive year Strathclyde students have landed the top prize after Team Aspire won last year’s competition. Engineering students Guy Drori, Simonas Stilius and Edward Kay won six-week paid internships to Trinidad & Tobago and the Gulf of Mexico.

On their return from the competition Team Hydra met with University Principal Professor Sir Jim McDonald who presented them with a Strathclyde Quaich to mark their achievement.

Students considering entering next year’s competition should visit www.bp.com/fieldtrip and join the facebook group: http://tinyurl.com/3pxsfbw

Team Hydra with (left to right) UK television personality Dara O’Briain, BP Head of Group Technology David Eyton and BP Chief Scientist Ellen Williams


[ Outreach ]

Outreach

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In response to the overwhelming demand of last year, the Faculty

ran its Reach for the Stars Challenge India again in 2013. An incredible 640 students from over 100 Engineering Colleges across India applied to take up the challenge.

This year’s challenge required students to make a three-minute elevator pitch in the style of the Dragons’ Den. They were asked to present a business idea to a panel of entrepreneurs who were keen to invest in technology start-ups in exchange for an equity stake in the company. The students were given one day to complete and submit the task. Five teams made it through to the final stage and each was required to complete a self assessment exercise after which they were interviewedvia Skype.

This year the Faculty of Engineering issued a challenge to all aspiring

Product Designers and students of Engineering in schools across Asia. The pupils, who are currently undertaking the International Baccalaureat Diploma, responded enthusiastically and entries were received from pupils in India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The prize is an all expenses paid action-packed trip to the University of Strathclyde in June 2013, where the winners will have the opportunity to experience our state-of-the-art digital design and manufacture suite, visit a hi-tech company, meet visiting NASA astronauts and enjoy some of the sights of Scotland.

The challenge was led by the Faculty

Gordon McVie, Reach for the Stars Coordinator, said: “The standard of the presentations submitted this year was extremely high and made the judges’ task extremely difficult.” The winning team, Priyanka Garg and Jayti Singh from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, impressed the judges with their creativity, communication skills and concise business plan.

The prize winners will spend a month in Scotland hosted by the Faculty during June and July 2013. The winners will participate in the Scottish Space School, act as consultants to a Scottish company and will find out about all the exciting and life-enhancing things that the Faculty of Engineering does.

Last year’s winners – Ashwin Ramachandran and Arun Lakshmanan

of Engineering with input from one of its eight academic departments, Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management (DMEM), and one of the Department’s industry partners, Linn Products Ltd.

Linn Products, based near Glasgow, has been at the forefront of producing high quality music and music systems for the home for the past three decades. Their mission is to make anything you listen to at home sound better – from their revolutionary Sondek turntable that was introduced around 30 years ago, to their digital streaming products which, in 2010, won one of the industry’s most prestigious awards for making the biggest impact on the sector.

The pupils were challenged to imagine how music would be listened to and

from VIT University congratulated this year’s winners. Ashwin said: “We had the best time of our lives at Strathclyde – during the month we were there we met really nice people, ate different food, experienced Scottish companies, met astronauts from NASA and even found time to see the sights. We hope that Priyanka and Jayti have a ball!”

Hundreds of Indian Students Reach for the Stars

The Strathclyde Engineering Great IB Challenge

Last year’s winners Arun and Ashwin on Catalina the Department of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering’s yacht

experienced in the future and to present their responses in a three-minute video presentation.

The winning team – OSFA from the British International School in Vietnam - was decided by a panel of judges which included senior academics from DMEM, a representative from Linn Products, as well as the Faculty’s Marketing Coordinator.

Professor Umit Bititci, from the Department of DMEM commented; “We were delighted to set the brief for the IB Challenge, along with our colleagues from Linn Products. The quality of the entries to the competition was very impressive and of a very high standard. We were thoroughly entertained by all of the entries and we look forward to welcoming Team OSFA to the University in June.”


[ Outreach ]

04

The Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering recently hosted

the Mars Rover Challenge involving 228 P6/7 pupils from 30 Glasgow primary schools. The challenge was run in collaboration with the UK Space Agency by the Faculty of Engineering’s Scottish Space School and Glasgow City Council as the first in a series of events leading up to the UK Space Conference in July 2013. The winning team from each event will be presented at the conference where they will meet the first British astronaut, Tim Peake.

The Mars Rover Challenge has been an integral part of the Scottish Space School since 2004, the same year the Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, landed on the Red Planet, and last year’s successful landing of the Mars Curiosity Rover gave even more credibility to this exciting and popular simulation.

The Challenge comprises two tasks. The first involves the Rover pilot and navigator trying to locate as many minerals as they can on the specially designed ‘Marscape’ within four minutes.

In the second task, a blimp pilot guides a

Mission X Train Like an Astronaut is a free educational programme

developed by NASA scientists and fitness professionals working with astronauts and space agencies across the world. Mission X uses the excitement of space exploration to inspire students to learn about nutrition, exercise and fitness.

In January the Scottish Space School, run by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, hosted a Mission X briefing session led by Heather MacRae of the UK Space Agency that was attended by 24 teachers from Glasgow primary

helium filled balloon to a docking station above a Mars crater, where a robotic arm operator retrieves the payload and deposits it in a remote controlled vehicle that has to be returned to base by its driver, again within a set time limit.

After eight sessions in the Mars Rover Challenge involving 38 teams it was not possible to separate Garrowhill and St Joachim’s Primary Schools so they were declared the joint winners, and both teams will take on the NASA astronauts during Space School week in June. Feedback

from the Challenge was excellent and Glasgow City Council is keen to repeat it next year.

This is an example of how the Faculty of Engineering is undertaking long-term outreach activities with schools and is in line with recent recommendations from the Office of Fair Access that universities could help widen university participation through working with children from the age of seven upwards by giving them a taste of university life or running projects that develop interest in particular subjects.

228 School Children Try the Mars Rover Challenge at Strathclyde

Mission X Comes to Strathclydeschools and final year BEd students from Strathclyde’s School of Education.

The programme was developed by Dr Chuck Lloyd and his team at Johnson Space Center, from where he introduced the session via Skype. Aimed at 8-12 year olds, Mission X sits comfortably within the Curriculum for Excellence and a number of Scottish schools have already signed up.

There is a range of mission activities which focus on physical activities and expeditions which concentrate on hands-on science experiments. Activities are accompanied

by student and educator guides. Among the learning outcomes are:

• Identifying how space explorers maintain strong bones on earth and in space• Recognising the importance of hydration and learning to detect signs of dehydration• Learning how astronauts balance the energy from the foods they eat• Learning how fat can weigh you down

A Mission X briefing session for teachers from across Scotland is planned for June when two NASA astronauts will be attending this year’s Scottish Space School.


The Faculty of Engineering was recently represented on

a tour of selected Indian colleges and universities by the Vice-Dean (Knowledge Exchange), Professor David Nash. The southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have a track record of producing good engineering students up to Bachelors level but there is a huge demand for Masters level provision in many of the engineering disciplines found at Strathclyde. There are specific needs in the fields of mechanical and aerospace engineering, electrical power engineering and industrial engineering.

Professor Nash visited two recruitment events in Chennai organised by Study Overseas and hosted at BS Abdul Rahman University and Panimalar Engineering College where he gave a presentation to over 1000 students in one sitting! There was huge interest to know more about the programmes for MSc study within the Faculty and opportunities for placement or follow on work within what is perceived internationally as the buoyant UK engineering sector.

Visits were also made to Bangalore, Mangalore and Coimbatore to visit partners and local recruitment agents along with specific visits to institutions who wished to build a strong relationship with Engineering at Strathclyde. One such visit was made to Manipal Institute of Technology, within Manipal University, which is located just over an hour from Mangalore.

Manipal was formed in 1953 by a visionary doctor who created a flagship medical college on what was a barren hill. Some 60 years later, Manipal has over 28,000 students in over 24 institutions covering major themes of medicine, engineering, management and humanities. The Manipal Institute

of Technology uniquely offers its international twinning ICAS programme which is designed as a platform for those students aspiring to graduate from some of the top universities in the world. The Faculty recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Manipal and is looking forward to welcoming ICAS students in the near future.

Other visits to Kongu College, Karunya University and the Nehru Group of Colleges were made, with Professor Nash meeting with senior management

staff and their leadership teams, along with giving presentations to various groups of undergraduate students.

India is a rapidly growing industrial power with a population of 1.21 billion, second only to China with 1.34 billion.There is an appetite for international undergraduate and postgraduate study and a broader global experience. The Faculty of Engineering at Strathclyde is an ideal fit for highly ambitious Indian students who wish to further their career at a leading international technological university.

Engineering Vice-Dean Tours India

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[ International ]

International


T he Faculty of Engineering welcomed over 40 students from

Brazil this academic year, through a new Brazilian Government scholarship programme that will extend over an initial period of three years.

The Science without Borders (SwB) programme aims to send 101,000 Brazilian students on undergraduate sandwich programmes, PhD sandwich programmes, full PhDs and postdoctoral researchers to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes at universities around the world.

Brazil is an emerging market in international education and for trade/research links with the UK. David Cameron recently signed an agreement with the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, to expand links between the UK and Brazil through science, technology and innovation and the SwB programme falls under the umbrella of this agreement.

Science without Borders UK is the first large-scale student mobility programme operated in the UK and it is managed by the UK Higher Education International Unit on behalf of Universities UK (UUK). This ground-breaking initiative will see the UK welcome up to 10,000 Brazilian students over the duration of the programme, of which approximately 7,000 will be undergraduate.

UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were selected to participate in the SwB programme based on a criteria of excellence set by the Brazilian Government, and Strathclyde was chosen as one of the participating institutions. To date, 57 Brazilian students have been welcomed to study at Strathclyde, with 46 studying in seven departments in the the Faculty of Engineering and 11 studying in the Faculty of Science.

Dr Alex Galloway, Associate-Dean (International) in the Faculty of Engineering,

commented on how pleased the Faculty are to welcome the students to Strathclyde; “The SwB programme provides a significant opportunity for the Faculty of Engineering and the wider University to strengthen its international reputation as a leading Technological University. The Brazilian Government’s willingness to support the influx of students to the Faculty is testament to our standing in this area. Two cohorts of students have joined our departments since the start of this academic year and a further intake of up to 100 SwB students per year will be settling into the University as part of their fully funded 12 month scholarships. Early feedback from our current SwB community suggests that they have been made to feel very welcome and they are very impressed with the educational quality being delivered.”

The undergraduate scholarship enables the Brazilian students to study in the UK for a full academic year. In addition to completion of the two semesters they will also participate in an industrial placement or an industrially focused project during the summer months. The purpose of the placement/project is to expand a students’ knowledge in their subject area, beyond that of the normal curriculum.

The programme is managed in Brazil by two Brazilian Government funding agencies – CAPES and CNPq - and Brazilian students accepted onto the programme are fully funded by one of them. In addition to

funding for tuition fees and accommodation they also receive a monthly stipend. There will be two undergraduate intakes per year for the programme, one in September and one in January, with research students starting throughout the academic year.

One of the students commented on his experience of Strathclyde and Glasgow; “I chose to study at Strathclyde because it’s one of the best universities in the UK, and also, a leading institution for engineering. My experience so far of Strathclyde, and

Glasgow, has been amazing! I have had the opportunity to meet people from all around the world and to experience new cultures.

I think that Strathclyde has given me a once in a lifetime opportunity and I would recommend it to anyone who wants the chance to study in a leading institution.”

As well as getting a warm welcome from Strathclyde, the students were welcomed by the City of Glasgow. On Thursday 24th January, Glasgow City Council hosted a Civic Reception to welcome 140 SwB students from Glasgow’s three universities. Staff and students from Strathclyde, as well as Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Glasgow attended the event, which took place in the portrait gallery of the historic City Chambers building on George Square. The Civic Reception was a chance for SwB Glasgow-based students to meet one another and share their experiences so far. The number of guests in attendance echoed the thriving Science without Borders student community in Glasgow.

For more information about Science without Borders at Strathclyde, and to view a video to see what the Brazilian students think of their time at Strathclyde visit www.strath.ac.uk/rio/sciencewithoutborders

Faculty Welcomes Brazilian Students Through Government Programme

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[ International ]

Some of the Science without Borders students at Strathclyde


Craig Hunter and Alexander Dewar from Strathclyde working with Aggreko on their internship

In early February 2013 a small team of staff from the National Centre

for Prosthetics & Orthotics (NCPO), within the Department of Biomedical Engineering, accompanied by four final-year undergraduate students, visited the MUKTI Clinic located in Chennai, India. The NCPO has been involved with the charity MUKTI for the past two years and this visit was the second attended by students, who were financed by fundraising events to cover basic travel and accommodation costs.

‘Mukti’ means Freedom and the charity’s slogan is ‘Freedom from crutches’. The charity is supported by its founder and benefactor Mrs Meena Dadha along with charitable donations and additional fundraising activities. The charity provides prostheses and orthoses, free of charge, for people with mobility problems as a result of amputation and diseases such as polio and who would otherwise be left without care and unable to provide for their families. Facilities at the MUKTI Clinic are basic but clean and well organised. The staffing level appears to meet the requirements of a daily caseload of approximately 12-14 patients along with any others that attend without appointment.

The Clinic manufactures the MUKTI prosthetic foot based on the Jaipur foot which has international recognition. All prosthetic and orthotic devices are manufactured using locally sourced materials. Most devices can be manufactured in a single day.

Last year’s visit highlighted the fact that the clinical procedures used are in need of upgrading and that a systematic follow up with patients that are given prostheses and orthoses would benefit the service provided. The suggested follow up process would be beneficial for two reasons; as a process to

measure the success or otherwise of the service and to identify the real need for prosthetic and orthotic provision. The latter could be used for strategy planning for the Clinic and fundraising purposes as well as to influence policy makers on a governmental level.

Since the 2012 visit, the Clinic’s management has employed a full time social worker who has started the recommended follow up process. Although encouraging, this person needs constructive input from the University to develop a demographically appropriate review system, which is currently being discussed by the project team. In addition, discussions are in progress regarding the appointment of a category 2 prosthetist/orthotist who would be employed to introduce appropriate clinical techniques and liaise with other allied health professionals.

National Centre Staff and Students Return to MUKTI Clinic

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[ International ]

The students who participated in this year’s trip to MUKTI found the experience very beneficial and enjoyed working in a different environment, helping the patients and also staff of MUKTI. One student commented; “This was a truly unique experience and I thoroughly appreciate the opportunity which was given to me to learn more about prosthetics and orthotics in the developing world. I believe MUKTI to be a very worthwhile organisation which greatly improves the lives of many through the care they give.”

Overall the visit to MUKTI was very successful and an engagement strategy plan is currently being developed by the team involved, with help from the students, to decide how best to move forward in working with MUKTI to ensure the relationship is beneficial to all those involved.

One of the Strathclyde students with a patient at the MUKTI Clinic


Lady Eileen McDonald, in her role as Ambassador for Strathclyde

Engineering for Development, recently visited the MUKTI Clinic in South India. Organised and run by students and staff from the Faculty of Engineering, Strathclyde Engineering for Development applies appropriate technologies internationally and specific projects include the well-established solar power project in rural Gambia as well as the MUKTI Project.

This latter is organised by a team from the National Centre for Prosthetics & Orthotics in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. They raise funds and visit the clinic annually to provide instruction and assist in clinical treatment. Priority is given to children and young people but no one – irrespective of their age - is turned away and the service is free.

Patients with adjustments and repairs

are asked to come to the Clinic by 10am and the others attend on a ‘drop in’ basis. All of the patients are fitted during the day, lunch is provided but there is no overnight accommodation. Some of the new patients come through ‘word of mouth’ recommendations and others are recommended by doctors in both private and Government hospitals.

Professor Scott MacGregor, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering said: “Both students and staff in the Faculty feel that the Strathclyde Engineering for Development projects really can make a world of difference. They reinforce the very positive role of engineering and technology in global development and they are an exemplar of the University’s mission of useful learning.”

During her visit to the MUKTI Clinic, Lady McDonald met a number of the children,

including 12-year-old Francina Mary who has been a patient at the Clinic since her infancy. She was delighted to tell Lady McDonald that, with her prosthesis, she can join her friends on the daily walk to and from school.

Lady McDonald commented; “The work that is carried out at the MUKTI Clinic

is nothing short of amazing and we feel privileged to be able to support their good work. The positive impact that the Clinic has on the quality of

life and life opportunities of those that benefit from the provision of

prosthetic limbs is quite uplifting. Through the University’s relationship with MUKTI, great opportunities are provided for our students to work in different cultures and with new technologies that can really make

a difference.”

University Principal’s Wife Visits the MUKTI Clinic

Lady McDonald withFrancina Mary, a patient at the clinic

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[ International ]

engineering insight [ Spring 2013 - Issue 09 ] 09

Five students from the Department of Architecture; Chin Wai Fan, April

Lim, Ming-Shien Yeo, Ainslie Kennedy and Jun Hoe Wong, have recently formed a new design group, Studio S.K. The students are not only working towards their Masters degree, but their final project will see them help a small community in Rwanda at the same time.

The village of San Kizito was completely destroyed in the infamous 1994 genocide that saw over a million people killed. Father Hermann, a missioner, was working in Rwanda before the genocide and, having seen the number of orphans as a result, helped rebuild the village and established the children’s village to provide food, care and education to the orphans. Today, the village provides essential training and skills for the children to succeed in life. Recently the Rwandan Government deemed four buildings in the village no longer fit for purpose and they now need to be demolished and replaced. Studio S.K. aims to replace the four buildings by working with the small village community and the children of the village to see to their needs.

The group is working within the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) framework at the University. The projects in this framework give students from first year through to postgraduate level the opportunity to work with staff and external partners in multi-disciplinary teams on research and development projects. The project ‘Construction & Therapy’ began with three parties: the Department of Architecture (Professor Sergio Porta), the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship (Professor Jonathan Levie), and Barabbas Clowns (the Italian NGO currently managing the village of San Kizito).

The students are being mentored by Professor Sergio Porta, Head of the Department of Architecture, who found out about San Kizito after one of his friends visited the village.

Ming-Shien, one of the students in Studio S.K. said: “Our part in this project is to apply the Construction & Therapy approach to architecture, which is different from the conventional way that we do in university where we first design something and then implement it on site.”

Studio S.K. plans to get the local community fully immersed in the entire process of making their space from conception to actual direct construction. To achieve this, the group will be making their first visit to San Kizito in April to establish a connection with the local community prior to the construction phase of the project.

Before the group implements the intended

Architecture Students Make a Difference in Rwanda

[ International ]

approach in Rwanda, they have trialled the design process on university grounds. A pavilion was constructed at the Rottenrow Gardens that also exhibited their work in conjunction with work from first year architecture students.

All of the students are looking forward to making a difference with their work.

Ming-Shien commented; “The fact that we are doing something that will actually affect someone directly makes the project so meaningful.”

To find out more about Studio S.K.and to donate money to support the project visit the website http://www.studioskizito.com/

Studio S.K. with some of the staff from the Department of Architecture and Norrie Innes, one of the major donors of the project, at the launch of the pavilion at Strathclyde

The trial pavilion at Strathclyde

[ Spring 2013 - Issue 09 ] 10

Agnieszka Zagorska came from Poland to study in the Department of

Architecture at Strathclyde. After completing her undergraduate degree, she is now studying for her Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Architectural Design. Whilst studying for her diploma, Agnieszka was offered the opportunity to study abroad, and chose to study at the Louisiana State University in the USA for one semester. She shares some of her experiences of her time at Strathclyde, and of studying abroad, with Engineering Insight.

Why did you choose to study at Strathclyde?I checked the rankings for the best architecture programmes abroad and the University of Strathclyde appeared to be one of the best in terms of teaching design and, most importantly, it is famous for being technology and innovation orientated. The Architecture Building I thought was fantastic to study in, and that helped influence my decision to study at Strathclyde. I was also attracted by the city of Glasgow; its great history and vibrant city life.

What made you decide to study abroad during your Postgraduate Diploma?Being an international student in Strathclyde I have been fascinated with the opportunities that studying abroad offers. I was also able to go on the Erasmus Exchange in third year of my undergraduate degree to Barcelona, Spain which made me even more interested in learning about different cultures, languages and architecture.

Did you study similar classes to what you study at Strathclyde?Yes, I found very similar classes to what I study at Strathclyde. Both universities helped me with choosing the right modules and gaining the necessary credits. Although the modules were very similar, it was fascinating to look at my field of study from a slightly different perspective. Undoubtedly, the approach

An International Experience

Agnieszka and some friends at an American Football game in Louisiana

[ International ]

to architecture and urbanism in Europe and North America differs a lot and being able to know these differences and having an understanding of both is extremely beneficial.

What was your favourite part about your student exchange?I found myself completely immersed within a different culture which I found fascinating. I also had a Host Family whilst living in America and the American parents treated me just like their own daughter. I took part in many programmes for exchange students and I was also a member of the Exchange Students’ Society who organised many great trips and events. I was the only exchange student in my department which enabled me to experience a truly American way of life. I would say that the best part of my exchange was the variety of choice and everyday activities that helped me so much with my professional, as well as personal development.

Would you recommend this experience to other students?I would absolutely recommend this experience to other students. Being able to go on the exchange and to experience a different way of life by getting to know people from around the globe is just priceless. I was confronted so many times with challenges in everyday life that I have never before experienced and it undoubtedly taught me countless life

lessons. It not only helped me to have a better understanding of my field of study, but also made me more confident and open to new challenges.

Do you keep in contact with any of the people that you met on your exchange?Of course! I not only met great American people but also students from around the world. We still keep in touch and we are even planning on having a reunion this summer! We had a great time together and it would be amazing to go through the same experience once again.

How do you think the experience has benefited your future career prospects?Studying abroad is a great way to experience a different education system and also to help you better understand your field of study. I believe that having this on my CV will show that I am able to adapt easily to a new environment and I am willing to leave my comfort zone when it is necessary. Additionally, studying abroad helped me to work with people from different backgrounds which is crucial in today’s global economy.


[ International ]

Susan McDonald, a 2010 MEng Electrical and Mechanical Engineering

graduate has recently returned from a 10-day Arctic research expedition with the non-profit organisation Earthwatch, working with 14 other volunteers and three researchers at the Churchill Northern Studies Research Centre in Canada. The aim of the trip was to collate data at 20 sites to help monitor the impacts of climate change at the Arctic’s edge. The work mainly involved taking a full suite of snow analysis in snow pits, as well as taking snow cores to measure the depth

and weight of snow at that site. The team had to work under extreme weather conditions, with temperatures ranging from -45 to -50 degrees Celsius. Susan was part of a multinational team which included members from the UK, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Germany, USA, Turkey and Russia with the majority of the group being engineers working in mainly energy roles.

The research expedition gave Susan the opportunity to see first-hand the effects of climate change. For example,

at one site near the Churchill Airport, it suggests that since the 1970s there has been a 0.5 degrees Celsius increase in temperature. In this particular region of Canada the permafrost is continuous and it is concerning to see rises in temperature as the thawing of permafrost is likely to give rise to higher concentrations of methane being released into the atmosphere that could have been trapped there for millennia, contributing to global temperature rises. Worryingly, due to the feedback loop this could cause further thawing. It is estimated that by the mid twenty-first century permafrost will decline by 20-35% in the Northern Hemisphere. This fundamentally will have a global impact on plant composition, species of animals, infrastructure, land-use planning and eco-systems.

Earthwatch are a non-profit organisation whose mission is ‘to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable future’. Susan found out about Earthwatch whilst participating in a visit with the Scottish Space School, which is hosted by the Faculty of Engineering at Strathclyde, to NASA in Houston, Texas, before she became a student at Strathclyde the following year. NASA’s research simulates operations and monitors crew performance on Mars through research in the Arctic Circle.

Susan said: “I feel very privileged to have contributed to the long-term monitoring of the effects of climate change at the Arctic’s edge. I would strongly recommend that if this is an area of interest to you and you want to learn first-hand then get involved in research expeditions as it’s a rewarding experience.”

For more information on Susan’s expedition you can visit her bloghttp://susanhmcdonald.com/

Strathclyde Graduate Goes on Arctic Research Expedition

[ Spring 2013 - Issue 09 ] 12

Professor Stephen Marshall and Dr Jinchang Ren from the Department

of Electronic & Electrical Engineering visited China in November 2012 as part of their ongoing research collaboration funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Chinese National Science Foundation (NSF). Both members of staff gave seminars at the University of Tianjin and the University of Shandong in Jinan.

The research collaboration is for a period of two years and involves research into hyperspectral imaging technology. Staff from both universities will be visiting Strathclyde this year where they will continue to work on Chinese painting analysis using hyperspectral imaging for learning based art style classification and faked/reproduced artwork verification. They will also be extending hyperspectral imaging to other areas including leaves’

Students from Elvebakken School, a top Norwegian school based in Oslo,

visited Strathclyde during February for an intensive three-day taster of renewable energy engineering. The visit included two days of seminars and activities in a programme put together by PhD students at the Wind Energy Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) within the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering. The 32 pupils from Elvebakken School, aged 16 and 17, had specifically chosen a Science and Engineering strand for their pre-university studies and represent some of the brightest students in Norway.

The focus of the two days was on wind generation and its integration into electrical grids. The visitors received several lectures from CDT students and took part in interactive activities. The first day concentrated on wind technology, with PhD students Steve Martin, Magnus Currie

Chinese University Research Collaboration

Norwegian School Visits Strathclyde to Find Out More About Renewable Energy Engineering

Professor Stephen Marshall and Dr Jinchang Ren and Dr Mingquiang Yang from the University of Shandong

Some of the students from Elvebakken during their visit to Strathclyde

[ International ]

disease detection in agriculture and food safety applications.

Professor Stephen Marshall said: “We are currently working on joint publications and exploring the possibility of student exchanges resulting from this collaboration. The quality of the research and the generosity of our hosts were both outstanding during this visit.”

The collaboration arose out of SIPRA (The China - Scotland Signal Image Processing Research Academy) which involves a number of Scottish and Chinese Universities. SIPRA brings together keynote experts and leading researchers as well as students from Chinese and Scottish universities to work on areas of mutual interest, and to address problems of current importance. Alongside the University of Strathclyde, Edinburgh,

Stirling and Heriot-Watt Universities are the current Scottish university partners involved in SIPRA.

The next SIPRA workshop will take place in April 2013 in Scotland and many of the Chinese researchers are expected to attend. For more information on SIPRA visit: http://www.china-scotland-sipra.org/Pages/Home.aspx

and Jethro Dowel introducing the basic concepts of wind turbine design. The day finished with a chance to investigate blade design using the Department’s cutting-edge design software: GH Bladed.

During the second day the group looked at issues around wind integration. Starting from the small scale, PhD student Laura Kane from the Wind Energy CDT and Jorge Pena-Martinez, a Smart Grid Analyst from smart grid company Smarter Grid Solutions, described some of the issues of grid integration and the role of University spin-out companies in innovation and research. Later in the day PhD students Karl Hartwig and Callum MacIver introduced the idea of the North Sea Supergrid and the possibilities for energy-based cooperation between Scotland and Norway. Finally, Dr Victoria Catterson, a Lecturer in the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering,

introduced the group to some of the issues involved in operating a power station using the GSE simulator based within the Department.

The final day of the visit was spent with the Department of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering including a visit to the University Hydrodynamics laboratory.

PhD student Graeme Wilson who coordinated the visit said: “The pupils really engaged with us, it’s enjoyable to work with such an enthusiastic group.”


The Faculty of Engineering again ran another successful Agent of

the Year Competition, in its efforts to increase overseas student numbers.

Following on from last year’s competitions for Malaysian and Nigerian agents, Pakistan was identified as a target market. As there are currently some difficulties in sending Strathclyde representatives over to Pakistan due to unrest in certain areas, it was thought that bringing agents to Strathclyde would help the recruitment drive.

Whilst only two agents came to Scotland it is hoped that all the agents who entered the competition will have more information about the Faculty’s work, as the questions for the competition were based around issue 8 of Engineering Insight. The two winners went home with an in-depth knowledge of Engineering at Strathclyde and they also shared with the Faculty their insights into how to improve recruitment efforts in Pakistan.

The competition was launched in December 2012 with the agents asked to answer correctly eight questions taken from the previous issue of Engineering Insight and in addition suggest two things that, in their opinion, could be done to improve our recruitment.

There was a good response to the competition, with several good entries. Two winners were chosen by the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Professor Scott MacGregor, and they arrived in March for 10 days of meetings in all the departments in the Faculty.

The two agents, Javeria Khan from Campus UK in Islamabad and Asim Naeem from PFL Lahore, were both very interested in all the aspects of the Faculty of Engineering at Strathclyde and particularly about efforts to raise the profile of Strathclyde in Pakistan.

The agents had some interesting suggestions which all the departments

were able to discuss and consider. The department visits were interspersed with hospitality events, visits to Scottish tourist attractions – Edinburgh Castle, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and the Riverside Museum. As Asim was a very keen football fan, he was taken to Hampden Football Museum and given the ‘Hampden Experience’ – the roar of the crowd as he emerged from the tunnel and a chance to score a goal. Javeria was determined to see everything and photograph it for her family, which includes five engineers. During their visit to the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, they were able to have their photograph taken beside the bust of David Livingstone on the 200th anniversary of his birth. They also met some Pakistani students and staff members who all very kindly gave their time to accompany the visitors on some outings.

During the first week they led an hour-

Javeria and Asim with Professor Scott MacGregor

Javeria and Asim in the Biomedical Engineering laboratories

[ International ]

long workshop on ‘How to get the best from your agent’ with the assistance of Stuart Shorthouse from the University’s Recruitment & International Office.

On the last Friday the agents gave a very clear joint feedback presentation to Professor Scott MacGregor and representatives from all the departments. During the ensuing lively discussion, commitments were made to follow through with the best ideas. The Associate-Dean (International) Dr Alex Galloway thanked them before for their hard work and good ideas and then they traveled to the University’s Ross Priory for dinner.

They ended their trip with a visit to Edinburgh and the Castle on Saturday, before flying home on the Sunday, promising to do everything possible to increase student numbers from Pakistan to the Faculty of Engineering.

Faculty Host Visit for Pakistani Agents

[ Spring 2013 - Issue 09 ] 14

[ International ]

Dr Iraklis Lazakis from the Department of Naval Architecture

& Marine Engineering (NAME) participated in the University of Edinburgh-led, EPSRC-funded EPENET (Edinburgh-Pacific Partnership of Excellence in New Energy Technologies) workshops and events held in Hsinchu (Taiwan) and Kyoto (Japan) at the beginning of March. The UK, Japan and Taiwan are island nations whose economic growth has to be sustained into this millennium by ensuring sufficiency of secure and resilient low carbon supplies of electricity and human capacity in the face of increasing vulnerability to geopolitical, natural and economic phenomena. Their urban populations rely heavily on imported energy, yet have untapped renewable resources e.g. wave, tidal, offshore wind and solar. They are also industrialised nations with advanced research capabilities to address the scientific, engineering, economic, environmental and social challenges.

The unifying theme of the EPENET project is research into technologies underpinning sustainable energy generation and its efficient delivery and end-use, a grand challenge acknowledged by EPSRC and the research councils in Taiwan and Japan. Top UK universities establish close links with six leading international institutions in Japan and Taiwan, bringing together experts in the areas of marine renewables and chemistry. In this respect, all institutions are engaged in five areas with greatest potential for rapid and high impact based on existing pre-eminence and availability of natural and human resource. These are near-shore wave energy, tidal-current energy, next-generation electrical systems, organic and hybrid solar systems and high-pressure energy materials.

The EPENET objectives are to:• Deliver excellence from specific

projects in five strategic themes of energy research, via bi- and tri-lateral projects designed with collaboration at their core.

• Strengthen links with six leading international institutions in Japan and Taiwan, and to foster new links with others.

• Promote collaboration, outputs and opportunities through Showcase events (in Taiwan and Japan).

• Imbue early career researchers with international perspective and through exchanges, offer them direct exposure to, and experience of, the benefits of collaboration.

The first of the workshops took place in Hsinshu (also known as ‘Silicon valley’ of Taiwan) bringing together 60 people from 20 institutions across six countries. More than 40 ‘show and tells’ together with 200 new good ideas for projects going ahead were presented at the two-day

Strathclyde Presence at Energy Technologies Workshops in Taiwan and Japan

event, enhancing the close ties among colleagues from different institutions. The second of the workshops took place at the Uji campus of the University of Kyoto in Japan. At this event, more than 40 delegates from six countries were brought together as part of the ‘Best for the Best’ (best UK universities for/with the best Pacific universities in Japan and Taiwan) EPENET initiative.

During both workshops, Dr Lazakis introduced the Department of NAME and presented the work carried out within the Department. Moreover, he chaired the group sessions related to ‘Condition monitoring and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) tasks’ as well as the ‘Whole System’ for marine renewables (wave and tidal) generating project ideas associated with them. The outcomes of the mind-mapping activities were presented in plenary sessions, setting the foundations of further research collaboration in the marine renewables area.

Dr Lazakis in Japan (centre)


The University of Strathclyde is to lead the way in a new era

for wireless communications after Communications Minister Ed Vaizey formally opened its Centre for White Space Communications, which is based within the Centre for Intelligent Dynamic Communications, within the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering.

The Centre, which builds on more than 30 years of experience in wireless and mobile digital communications and signal processing, is set to become a world-renowned centre of excellence.

Established with initial funding from the Scottish Funding Council, the Centre will engage with industry and Government to develop and apply leading-edge dynamic spectrum technology to tap into unused white space spectrum capacity.

Mr Vaizey gave a keynote address at an inaugural event, attended by senior representatives from industry, academia, Ofcom and other Government offices.

He said: “The University of Strathclyde has a proud history of leading research on mobile communications technology and this new Centre promises to take that work even further. This new facility provides an excellent opportunity for the UK to lead the development of this technology and realise the economic benefits of being at the forefront of this field.”

Working with partners such as Microsoft, BT and the BBC, the Centre will capitalise on the white space available in many frequency bands, and that made available from the discontinuation of analogue television, to shape the future for wireless access to the internet.

Applying dynamic spectrum access technology to the unused white space capacity enables better broadband access for rural communities, supporting businesses through online commerce and opening communication channels essential to health, education and business development.

The white space opportunity is not just UK-based, and in Europe, the Americas, and Africa an era of public access to white space radio spectrum is approaching with the Centre anticipating significant progress over the next few years.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal of the University of Strathclyde, said: “The Centre for White Space Communications

is taking the lead to capitalise on a global opportunity that will have a

positive impact on industry, business, communities and the wider economy.

“This is typical of the approach taken at the University of Strathclyde to actively

engage with industry and ensure our world-class research reaches industry

throughout Scotland, the UK, and beyond. Strathclyde has a prominent

role in technological innovation and the launch of this Centre will help to put Scotland at the forefront of economic and social developments in the field.”

Through engagement with industry, and policymakers, the Centre aims to advance technology to improve efficiency and extend the techniques to bands beyond the TV white spaces which are its current focus. This will enable improved wireless broadband access and a plethora of smart-rural developments - maximising the technical, economic, and social yield from the spectrum.

The capabilities of white space spectrum for extending rural broadband access have already been demonstrated in a trial project on the Isle of Bute. Supported by the UK Technology Strategy Board, the project involved five industry collaborating partners (BT, the BBC, Steepest Ascent Ltd, NetPropagate Ltd, Berg Design Ltd).

By accessing otherwise unused white space capacity on Bute, a number of homes can now enjoy excellent broadband internet access. The island had proved an ideal location to demonstrate initial benefits of the dynamic spectrum access technology, still in its infancy, and the best is yet to come.

The launch event was very well attended and included senior representatives from Finland, Africa, the USA, and the UK. It brought together representatives from key industry partners and organisations, including the Scottish Funding Council, the University of the Highlands and Islands, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)and Ofcom.

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[ New Ventures ]

Centre for White Space Communications Launched at Strathclyde

New Ventures

Mr Vaizey at the opening of the Centre for White Space Communications

[ Spring 2013 - Issue 09 ] 16

[ New Ventures ]

Staff from the Departments of Chemical & Process Engineering,

Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management, and Pure & Applied Chemistry have secured funding to promote the integration of student cohorts and Strathclyde alumni across major global companies.

The project, funded by the University’s Educational Enhancement Fund and supported by the University’s Careers and Alumni & Development services, will bring together a student team from the three departments to set up student-run ‘alumni clubs’. Clubs will have student members and alumni members: graduating students will automatically become alumni members, promoting continuing links between alumni and their ‘alma mater’ university departments.

“Many departments have extensive links to employers through student

The Faculty has recently signed scholarship agreements with four

new industry partners which will provide support for an additional 30 undergraduate students. Agreements have been signed with Expro, Ineos, MacTaggart Scott and The Wood Group and all four agreements will provide financial support as well as vacation placements for the successful candidates.

Each of these new scholarship programmes will begin in 2012/13 and are being offered to current third year students studying within several of the Faculty’s departments. The application and selection processes for these programmes are already underway and students have welcomed the new opportunities available to them.

placements, research projects and knowledge exchange work,” said project leader Dr Mark Haw of Chemical & Process Engineering, “but it’s rare that students and alumni are at the centre of the employer-university relationship. Alumni clubs will be about maximising the personal touch.”

Over the summer the project team will recruit recently graduated alumni as well as students from all years of the current cohort, and design the first wave of events and activities. The team aims to develop ideas covering the whole range of Strathclyde’s activities, including research and knowledge exchange as well as teaching and learning. Possibilities range from industry-based alumni directly mentoring project students and students using alumni networks for advice on jobs, to employers, through their Strathclyde alumni, using the alumni clubs to play a greater role

in course development and delivery. Going beyond teaching and learning, alumni and students could lead the development of new research and knowledge exchange projects directly linked to employers’ needs.

The clubs will be implemented and run by students and alumni—allowing them to evolve quickly according to students’, employers’ and alumni requirements, and bringing students valuable personal and professional development opportunities through taking charge of club activities. The project team is confident that once successfully piloted, alumni clubs can grow across all Faculties and Departments. “University shouldn’t end on graduation day,” says Dr Haw: “Through alumni clubs we want to integrate students and alumni across all sectors of industry and society, to make Strathclyde connections that will last lifetimes.”

Making the Most of Alumni

New Faculty Scholarship Agreements Provide Support for 30 Undergraduate Students

These new scholarship programmes further enhance the impressive portfolio of scholarships which the Faculty has available to support our undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as strengthening our links with industry partners who are keen to ensure that they are able to recruit students of the highest calibre upon graduation.

Eileen Pender who manages technical development for Group Engineering at Expro commented on their new scholarship agreement; “Expro are delighted to have successfully launched a distinctive Engineering Undergraduate Sponsorship Programme with the Faculty of Engineering at Strathclyde. We are delighted to announce that the first two successful scholars to the programme are

Elizabeth McDougall (MEng Mechanical Engineering) and Steven Fowler (MEng Aero Mechanical Engineering).

“We have been hugely impressed by the calibre of students who applied for the sponsorship programme. The amount of potential we have encountered is inspirational and each student is a real credit to the University. This has been a fantastic start to what we anticipate will be a very long term and rewarding partnership and we look forward to welcoming Elizabeth and Steven to the Expro Team.”

For more information about the scholarship opportunities available in the Faculty of Engineering visit www.strath.ac.uk/engineering/scholarships


Research led by the University of Strathclyde could be set to improve

the availability of windfarms and reduce the need for expensive, reactive maintenance.

The novel research testing for wind condition monitoring technologies is now underway as engineers at Strathclyde work together with industrial partners, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Scottish Enterprise.

The Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering’s Centre for Advanced Condition Monitoring (CACM) is leading the project with researchers developing technology to monitor the condition of wind turbine drivelines, including remote sensors to detect how they are being affected by extreme wind conditions.

The CACM, launched in 2011, is a partnership between the University, SgurrEnergy and David Brown Gear Systems.

Dr Francis Quail, Director of the CACM, said: “The Centre for Advanced Condition

Monitoring is positioned to play an important role in helping to meet renewable energy targets for Scotland and will provide

cost effective technology that maximises the potential of wind turbine operations.

“This research partnership is allowing Strathclyde to develop next generation

tools and solutions to enhance Scotland’s reputation as a world leader in

renewable energy.

“The University has a proud tradition of applied research and as a leading

international technological university this founding principle is again evidenced in

strong collaboration with key partners - to ensure that our world class research makes

a significant impact on the challenges facing the renewable energy sector.”

The research testing will involve the deployment of wind measurement tool, Galion Lidar. Pioneered by Scottish renewable energy consultancy, SgurrEnergy, the device is being used by researchers at the University to accurately quantify the impact of specific characteristics of the wind, such as turbulence and gust structure, on key wind turbine components and turbine life.

Testing is taking place near Glasgow at SgurrEnergy’s unique test facility, Carrot Moor, situated within Whitelee Windfarm – the UK’s largest onshore windfarm.

Ian Irvine, technical director at SgurrEnergy said: “Our extensive involvement in offshore windfarm projects has highlighted the huge potential and also significant challenges that face the industry.

“Offshore wind projects can be difficult working environments and consequently costs can be extremely high. Quality information on windfarm operational performance is essential to ensure that optimum decisions can be made.

“We are delighted to be part of this exciting partnership which will allow industry experts to work together with a leading academic research team to

develop these supporting information systems.”

The CACM is part of the Scottish Energy Laboratory that was launched to strengthen collaboration across Scotland’s key test and demonstration facilities. This network of facilities has a combined investment value of £250 million across all key energy sectors and will be a hub for national and international companies to identify and access the most appropriate of Scotland’s test and demonstration facilities for their technologies. Estimates suggest by 2050, offshore wind could be worth £65 billion to the UK and could support hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The CACM is expected to set new standards in offshore wind technology condition monitoring design and development. It will draw on expertise from internationally renowned companies and Strathclyde’s Faculty of Engineering, which is home to research expertise unrivalled in the UK.

The Centre’s test resources will also become part of the University’s new £89 million Technology and Innovation Centre – a world-leading research centre bringing together academics and industrialists in the heart of Glasgow.

Research to Boost Availability of Windfarms

17

Geoff Martin Sgurr Measurement Team, Dr Sylvie Faber CACM, Rob Young CDT PhD Student,

Dr Francis Quail Director CACM and Craig McDonald Sgurr Product Group Manager

[ New Ventures ]

[ Spring 2013 - Issue 09 ] 18

Identical twins from the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering

have been awarded the prestigious Robertson Medal from the Carnegie Trust for the most outstanding application to the Trust for doctoral funding.

Carol and Claire Forsyth, 22, received the award having already gained Masters degrees with distinction in Chemical Engineering – achieving the highest and second highest grades in the 88-year history of the Department.

The twins, from Kilwinning, landed research scholarships from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, to carry out research PhDs in Chemical and Process Engineering. They were awarded two out of only 15 Carnegie PhD Scholarships covering all academic disciplines across the whole of Scotland.

The Robertson Medal is awarded to only the best of those and with Carol and Claire achieving near identical grades, the medal has been presented to them both.

Professor Scott MacGregor, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, said:

“This is a fantastic achievement for Carol and Claire and it is recognition of

their hard work and commitment. I am delighted they both received the scholarships from the Carnegie Trust

and it is even more pleasing to see them awarded the prestigious

Robertson Medal.

“The recognition is also a testament to the quality of teaching and research

within the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering, and we

are delighted that the twins will be continuing their studies at Strathclyde.”

Strathclyde Twins Receive Prestigious Awards from Carnegie Trust

Carol and Claire have each received several prizes for academic achievement during their degree and secured scholarships with, respectively, BP and engineering and design consultancy Atkins. They have also undertaken industrial placements: Claire with EDF and Carol with Chemring Energetics.

Dr Mark Haw, Director of Teaching in Chemical & Process Engineering and supervisor of Claire’s PhD project, emphasised the importance of convincing such high quality graduates to stay on to do research at Strathclyde: “This highlights our innovative research as much as our quality in teaching and learning.” Dr Haw also praised the

Carnegie Trust: “At a time when funding research degrees is becoming ever more difficult, the Carnegie scheme is an invaluable addition that helps keep top graduates like Claire and Carol in Scotland.”

Carol’s research project is focussed on new ways of controlling pharmaceutical processes, to make drug development, manufacture and performance in health applications more reliable and controllable. Claire is researching how highly concentrated particulate systems respond to forces, with applications ranging from earthquakes and volcanoes to food processing, chocolate manufacture and blood flow.

[ Success Stories ]

Success Stories

Carol and Claire with their medals


The Department of Architecture are delighted that tutor David Reat has

won the bi-annual Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Scottish Design Tutor award (2012-2014) given by the RIAS for his outstanding talents in teaching in the Department. The profession makes this award in recognition of the importance of the role of design tutors in architectural education.

The accolade recognises David’s tremendous work for the Department and for architecture in Scotland. The award was announced during the RIAS Fellows Dinner, held on the 23rd January 2013 at the Corinthian Club in Glasgow.

Professor Gordon Murray, Professor of Architecture at Strathclyde related some of David’s exceptional professional achievements: “David has been a tutor in the Department for the best part of a decade and in that time he has contributed to the ethos and direction of the Department as a whole. His initial teaching cohort was first year students, where his Unit attained a significant and disproportionately high number of accolades and merits. A pattern emerged where students who studied in David’s Units continued to achieve an incredibly high standard of work in their subsequent years of study.”

This is demonstrated by the current ‘EARTH’ Unit of Year 5 (run in conjunction with Professor David Page) which continues to benefit from David Reat’s high standards of Design Studio teaching. In 2012 this Unit won three of the five RIAS Student Awards – a noteworthy achievement.

David became the Director of Year 4 studies one year ago. Whilst handling his other tutoring duties, he has presided over Year 4 activities with great aplomb and style and this has resulted in an overall median rise of around 14% in grades

in the year (with 10 First Class Honours Degrees awarded).

David is a tutor who is well liked and admired and he has set a prolific teaching standard in the school. His devotion to architecture and education, as well as his very personal and human approach in relating to students and staff alike, make him a design tutor who is able to broaden the skills of the students, as well as opening their minds to a different way of perceiving the world.

Sholto Humphries, RIAS President, described David as a ‘brilliant teacher’ who thoroughly deserved this prize: “The RIAS maintains close links with Scotland’s five schools of architecture. Their student membership in the incorporation and involvement in our

activities is steadily increasing and the quality of Scottish architectural education is reflected in our ever improving national architecture.”

Year 5 student Ruairidh Moir commented on David’s win; “Having benefited from David’s teaching throughout my years of study, either directly or indirectly, I can confirm that the impact of the exemplary teaching standard that David typifies has been enlightening and extremely rewarding. Not only is he a great architect, but he is a great educator, listener and friend. My work would not be anywhere near as good without David’s teaching methods. It is evident that this is a common view held by students in all year groups at Strathclyde, and we are all delighted with this national recognition of his talents.”

Architecture Tutor’s Talents Recognised by RIAS with Award

Sholto Humphries, RIAS Presidentwith David Reat

[ Success Stories ]


Professor Ivan Andonovic from the Department of Electronic & Electrical

Engineering has recently been awarded a grant of £3.2 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) over five years for a project looking at Intelligent Decision Support and Control Technologies for Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation of Pharmaceuticals and Fine Chemicals. It is a joint project with Loughborough University and involves researchers from both the Science and Engineering Departments at the University of Strathclyde as well as a number of industry co-creators including AstraZeneca, GSE, Siemens, Intelligence

The Department of Architecture was honoured to be included in the list of

34 best architecture schools in Europe, presented this year by the international architecture, art and design magazine DOMUS. The only Scottish-based architecture institution to be included, Strathclyde was described as being ‘one of the most politically and socially active schools of architecture in Europe, a place where research and discourse on the performative aspects of building take centre-stage.’

An award of £1.01 million has been announced for a three-year project

on tidal energy by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Marine Grand Challenges 2 scheme. It involves the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE) and research groups in the Universities of Southampton and Newcastle.

It is supported by industrial partners including; Marine Current Turbines, IT Power Ltd, Nautricity Ltd, Mott MacDonald,

Professor Awarded £3.2 Million EPSRC Grant

Time and the Tide Wait For No Man

Department of Architecture on List of Top Schools in Europe

Business Solutions and Gilden Photonics.

The project’s aim is to create a comprehensive intelligent decision support and control platform for continuous manufacturing comprising monitoring, signal processing, data analysis, communications and control technologies. Although continuous processes provide significant benefits for innovative, high-value manufacture in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, the key challenge of real time, robust monitoring of quantitative attributes (form, shape, size) crucial for the downstream processing of materials, still remains a significant challenge. No

current solution allows the processing of data from in-line sensors to reliably extract these attributes in real time across multiple manufacturing steps and the subsequent use of this knowledge for IDS and control of manufacturing processes. Current measurement techniques only yield limited information on particle shape and size; the innovative multi-signal analysis approach will enable unprecedented control over critical quality attributes e.g. to control a mean particle size of 100micron and achieve this reliably. Such capability will fundamentally transform the manufacture of particulate pharmaceuticals and other chemicals.

20

[ Success Stories ]

The Department’s selection was based on; their ethos of ‘useful learning’, links with the profession through practising architects tutorship, curricular focus, collaborative networks, their learning environment and facilities and exceptional award winning students’ work.

DOMUS is a prestigious magazine based in Italy, widely read and distributed world-wide since it was first published in 1928. It remains a recognised and influential voice in the fields of international architecture, design, and art.

Head of the Department, Professor Sergio Porta commented on the success; “Along with the rest of the Department I am proud to see that passion, competence and commitment from all staff and students continues to lift our prestige and recognition to higher levels of excellence nationally and internationally. Investment in infrastructure, staff and research, increasing engagement with community and industry, and dedication to the students’ learning experience in an exciting international human environment will continue to drive our future in the years to come towards even greater achievements.”

and Renewable Energy Systems Ltd.Strathclyde will steer the overall project under the leadership of Professor Margaret Stack and Cameron Johnstone who are based in the Department of MAE. Tidal Energy is uniquely placed to provide cost effective energy in the future as it provides a predictable source of energy as dictated by the phases of the moon. It is, however, currently limited by the performance of turbines above a critical diameter and by wear and corrosion issues associated with metallic moving parts in aqueous

environments. The aim of this project is to tackle these materials challenges ‘head on’ by a combination of laboratory testing and modelling, thereby providing a road map for deployment of new materials for tidal devices. The consortium thus provides a unique opportunity for experts in the areas of tidal energy, structural materials and coatings, tribology, tribo-corrosion and electrochemical corrosion to pool ideas together in a synergistic fashion. It marks the first time that such an interdisciplinary team has combined to tackle the major challenges that will influence tidal energy in 2050.


Arun and Ashwin on the NAME Department yacht with student Theo Hoole

The Envisage team, Professor Philip Rowe and Lucy Jones, meet David Willets at Parliament

21

[ Success Stories ]

On the day of the Chancellor’s autumn statement announcing

£600 million extra over the next two years for UK research, Professor Philip Rowe and Ms Lucy Jones from the Department of Biomedical Engineering met the Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science, at a Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons. This showcasing event highlighted nine groundbreaking multidisciplinary projects taking place across the portfolio of the UK’s seven Research Councils. The event was hosted by Andrew Miller MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Science and Technology Committee, and Professor Rick Rylance, Chair of Research Councils UK.

Professor Rowe and the Envisage project, for which he is the Principal Investigator, were selected to represent the LifeLong Health & Wellbeing (LLHW) programme, a Cross Council initiative supporting Research for Healthy Aging. The Envisage project (www.envisagerehab.co.uk) was selected from over 30 current projects in the LLHW programme due to its innovative design and potential economic impact. Mr Willetts was impressed by the work of the Envisage team and its potential for rapid impact and Mr Miller indicated he would ask Professor Rowe to speak to the Parliamentary Science and Technology Committee about rehabilitation research.

The full title of the Envisage project is “Promoting independence by involving users in rehabilitation through dynamic visualisation of biomechanical data”. The premise is that a biomechanical understanding of movement problems can be the key to physical rehabilitation following stroke, falls or joint replacement in elderly people. The use of biomechanical data in a clinical setting has been limited in

Envisage Project Selected to Represent the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Programme

the past because it is so difficult to communicate. The Envisage team has bridged this gap by developing software that allows movement to be visualised. They are now testing the hypothesis that “the visualisation of relevant biomechanical data to users (participants, carers, therapists and clinicians) will enhance understanding of and motivation to rehabilitation and hence produce better outcomes from rehabilitation.

Led by Professor of Rehabilitation, Philip Rowe, with Professor Macdonald at Glasgow School of Art and Professor Baillie at Glasgow Caledonian University, Envisage brings together a mix of disciplines including user-centred design, software engineering, interaction design, sensor design, clinical rehabilitation and qualitative research. Engineers, scientists, designers, healthcare professionals and members of the public are collaborating to develop bespoke software that allows data captured by a specialist motion analysis system and portable motion

sensors to be converted into clear and simple visualisations. The technology will enable healthcare professionals to communicate movement information that was previously only available in graphical, tabular or numerical form, thereby helping patients to improve their own mobility and prevent injury.

In 2011 the Envisage researchers won the Nexxus Innovation Award for the West of Scotland. The award is for the potential impact of an innovative product or service in the life sciences industry.

The long-term goal of Envisage research is to empower patients to manage their own conditions by making rehabilitation therapies more effective. The visualisation methodology is being tested with patients in home, community and hospital settings. The researchers hope that using the animations will help to reduce injury and ill health in older people by improving their understanding, motivation and adherence to exercise plans.


In 2012 BP announced the launch of a new scholarship

programme for talented science, technology, engineering and maths undergraduates studying at nine selected universities - including Strathclyde - across the UK.

Each year BP will offer scholarships to 10 students from Strathclyde. Each scholarship is worth up to £20,000 with scholars receiving £5,000 per year for the duration of their degree (up to a maximum of four years). The scholarship is not intended to cover fees but offer students support with the costs of resources and living.

As well as financial support, scholars will be offered unique access to the energy industry. In each year of their degree they will be invited to join a range of activities such as the ‘Scholars Welcome Day’ in Year 1 and, a three-day conference in Year 2. Both events will enable students to build their understanding of the oil and gas industry and the opportunities that exist to apply their degree subject beyond graduation. In addition, BP will run more informal events on campus and scholars will be invited to join BP as guests at high profile events such as the Ultimate Field Trip Grand Final.

The universities selected to take part are: Durham University, Imperial College London, University of

Bath, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, University of Manchester, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, and University of Strathclyde.

The 10 students for Strathclyde have now been selected, with seven from the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering (one joint with Applied Chemistry) one student from Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and two students studying Electrical & Mechanical Engineering.

Cameron Young from the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering was one of the successful students who was chosen this year, he commented; “It is a privilege to have been selected for the BP STEM Scholarship. As well as providing financial support, the scholarship presents me with the opportunity of taking my first steps towards a career in the oil and gas sector with one of the world’s industry leaders.”

Aimed at building capacity in skills and knowledge that is greatly needed in the energy industry, the scholarship programme focuses on supporting the education and development of the next generation of engineers and scientists. Undergraduate students applied for the scholarship based on the completion of an online application form, ability test, and a face-to-face interview with BP.

Successful Strathclyde students awarded BP Scholarships

Professor Val Belton, Associate Deputy Principal for Learning and Teaching at the University of Strathclyde, said: “As the place of useful learning, the University of Strathclyde has a proud tradition of preparing our students – including those from the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) – for long and successful careers in business and industry.

“We are delighted Strathclyde undergraduates will benefit from these BP scholarships, which will enable our students to complement and enrich the study of their discipline with extremely valuable business experience, ensuring that they can contribute effectively from day one and go on to excel in their chosen fields of work.”

Emma Judge, Head of Graduate Resourcing, BP, said: “STEM graduates’ problem solving and quick thinking capabilities help drive innovation and development in business. BP is committed to investing in tomorrow’s talent, from all social backgrounds, and preparing students for long and successful careers – and we’d like them to be in the energy sector.” Judge added: “We hope the scholarship fund will lighten students’ concerns about funding their higher education in today’s economic climate, and encourage more of the brightest and best minds to continue to study STEM subjects.”

As part of its ongoing commitment to supporting education in the UK and abroad, this is the fifth year BP has been offering scholarships to high performing students. Hundreds of students have benefited from the programme to the tune of £7.3 million since 2007.

22

[ Success Stories ]


[ Success Stories ]

An Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

(EPSRC) grant of approximately £1 million has been awarded to the GALE project, with the University of Strathclyde’s share being £308,559. This is an interdisciplinary project in Computer Science, Complex Systems and Urban Design and it is a partnership between Professor Sergio Porta from the Urban Design Studies Unit in the Department of Architecture, Dr Cecilia Mascolo from the University of Cambridge, and Professor Vito Latora from Queen Mary, University of London.

The GALE project is aimed at constructing a technology to make it possible to enjoy the benefits of local knowledge when you are not familiar with an area, through capturing and interpreting the habits of local inhabitants who volunteer their information about places coupled with their own position and profile in web-based repositories such as Foursquare. Professor Porta comments; “The tangible output of the GALE project will be a next generation ‘recommender system’ that will make the habits of the various communities of local city users visible to strangers to enable them to take advantage of local knowledge. A recommender system is a system

EPSRC Grant Success for GALE Projectthat generates recommendations that are personalised to you according to your profile, past behaviour or position. This will be accessible by various personal mobile computing devices, and it will allow people to orient themselves in new local neighbourhoods and have the benefit of offering real-time local neighbourhood specific information. We will construct and test Apps for all of the popular platforms.”

The project, which will start in April 2013 and last 30 months, will explore a scientific definition of fluid neighborhoods and the use of geo-social network metrics on data harvested from mobile phones and online social networks. Using these data it is possible to build recommender systems which function more like a local (human) guide than a guide book. These will deliver improved integrated socio-geographic recommendations, offering a local experience of a place in real-time to resident city users as well as to an increasing number of external visitors.

In particular, the role of the Department of Architecture will be to explore the evidence generated on the nature and behaviour of fluid neighbourhoods which may change the way we understand urban communities, their life, the way they interact with space, the way we govern and plan them and how their dynamics may be shaped by the future evolution of technology. For too long urban planning has been ruled by fundamental assumptions with regards to the way neighbourhoods would work socially and culturally that have little support from evidence. Increasingly, in the network society, neighbourhoods are defined by highly variable configurations in time depending on the human communities involved and on the moment in time, with little anchor in fixed geographical rules whatsoever. If taken seriously, the notion of neighbourhoods as fluid social formations can have a revolutionary impact on the way we consider basic urban elements such as services, main streets, density, transportation and green networks, as well as their mutual relationships.

Professor Sergio Porta

A fluid neighbourhood urban model


Professor Alex Duffy, Head of the Department of Design, Manufacture

& Engineering Management (DMEM), has been invited to serve for two years, from the 1st January 2013, on the Advisory Board for the undergraduate programme in Engineering Product Development at the new Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), established in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The goal of the external advisory board is to provide advice in achieving the university’s mission and educational objectives, including continuous improvement in curriculum design and development, delivery, student learning experience, and research activities.

Currently there are three engineering undergraduate programmes – Engineering Systems and Design (ESD), Engineering Product Development (EPD), and Information Systems Technology and

Professor Sir Jim McDonald visited Clyde Space Ltd with staff from

the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering’s Advanced Space Concepts Laboratory to view UKube-1, a pioneering micro-spacecraft due for launch later this year. The spacecraft has been developed through an award-winning

Design (ISTD), among other undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, offered at SUTD. The Advisory Board consists of four distinguished members from academia and a further four from industry. As well as Professor Duffy, the international academic advisors also include Professor Jonathan Cagan (Chairman, Carnegie Mellon University), Professor Dean Neikirk (University of Texas at Austin) and Professor Kristina Shea (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich). The other four members are leading industrialists - Mr Chandran Nair (Managing Director at National Instruments, South East Asia), Dr Melvin Zin (Head of Corporate Research at 3M, Singapore), Mr Tan Pek Yew (General Manager at Panasonic R&D Center, Singapore) and Dr Kurichi Kumar (Director of Research and Technology, Asia Rolls Royce).

Professor Duffy commented on his appointment; “I am delighted to be invited to help SUTD establish the new

Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between Clyde Space Ltd and the University of Strathclyde.

Professor Colin McInnes of Strathclyde’s Department of Mechanical & Aerospace

Engineering, who helped lead the project, said: “The KTP scheme has enabled us to work closely with our colleagues at Clyde Space and accelerate research on high-performance CubeSat micro-

spacecraft. As Scotland’s largest university-based space engineering

centre, we believe working side-by-side with business and industry is critical to the development of future space

technologies and applications.”

Strathclyde Professor Contributes to Development of New Singapore University Programme

Clyde Space Launch Micro Spacecraft with Help from Strathclyde KTP

programmes and assist them with their vision to become the Asian centre for learning, knowledge creation and dissemination. The opportunity to work on the advisory board, with other notable academics and leading figures in industry, is indeed an honour.

“This opportunity can help develop further links between the Department of DMEM at Strathclyde, MIT and SUTD by identifying potential areas of future collaboration. I am also very pleased that the discipline of Engineering Product Development is being championed in new locations and by different cultures.”

Through the scheme, KTP Associate Stephen Greenland worked with Clyde Space CEO Craig Clark and Head of Engineering Andrew Strain to develop the UKube-1 CubeSat. Stephen is now employed by Clyde Space as a Senior Systems Engineer.

The Strathclyde side was led by Professor Colin McInnes and Dr Malcolm Macdonald from the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and also saw Research Associate Dr Derek Bennet part-seconded to the firm. The project has catalysed ongoing Technology Strategy Board and UK Space Agency funded work on CubeSat technologies at the University led by Dr James Biggs and Dr Massimiliano Vasile.

24

A fluid neighbourhood urban model

[ Knowledge Exchange ]

Knowledge Exchange

Professor Duffy visiting SUTD


The 14th edition of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics

(ISPO) World Congress ran at the start of February and was attended by staff and students from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Strathclyde. It is the premiere global event for multidisciplinary prosthetic and orthotic care. Rehabilitation professionals from around the world present evidence based on clinical research and new technologies designed to benefit patients and the prosthetics and orthotics community. Companies working in this field showcase their products, fabrication technologies, new designs and materials to benefit all participants. This event creates synergy

The 6th Universities High Voltage Network Colloquium (UHVnet 2013)

was hosted by Strathclyde in January 2013. More than 90 researchers and industrialists from across the UK took part in the event, which was organised by the High Voltage Technologies Research Group within the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering (EEE). Companies represented included ALSTOM Grid UK, National Grid, HVPD, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Doble Engineering, TJ|H2b Analytical Services, PCS and EA Technology. Research Groups from other Universities included Cardiff, Glasgow Caledonian, Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds, Leicester and Southampton. The colloquium was sponsored by the Faculty of Engineering at Strathclyde and the IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (all participating research students received one-year free student membership of the IEEE).

UHVnet (www.uhvnet.org.uk) was established with a number of strategic objectives, which include developing links between academic institutions and industrial organisations and contributing to

towards the common objective of providing best rehabilitation options to persons with disabilities in order to regain function and independence.

The World Congress, which had 1500 delegate registrations from over 80 countries, was attended by five staff members, a research assistant, a research associate, four current postgraduate researchers from Biomedical Engineering and six new graduates from the Prosthetics and Orthotics programme from Strathclyde.

In addition to exhibiting in the community lounge area, they presented a total of 24 free papers, six posters, one instructional

Biomedical Team Present at ISPO World Congress

Universities High Voltage Network Colloquium 2013 Held at Strathclyde

course and one symposium. The congress facilitated an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the research activity of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, showcase the quality of its graduates and for staff to network with professionals in all areas of research, education and rehabilitation.

the innovation and engagement agenda. UHVnet 2013 was opened by Professor Scott MacGregor, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, who emphasised the valuable role that UHVnet plays in bringing together expertise from across the UK and fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange in the field of HV technologies and their applications. The event was chaired by Professor Martin Judd, who is also the current Chair of the UHVnet Steering Group. The delegates attended two tutorials presented by Strathclyde academics and participated in a tour of the High Voltage Technologies research laboratories. Keynote speakers included Mr Jack Blackett (former Head of National Grid’s High Voltage Laboratory) and Dr Norman MacLeod (Technical Director for HVDC at Parsons Brinckerhoff). Overall 45 technical contributions were presented – 11 in the main oral session and the remainder as posters. A panel of judges assessed all research posters and a cash prize of £200 for the best poster was awarded to Mr Lujia Chen of Cardiff University for his contribution, ‘Gas Insulated Transmission Lines Using CF3I.’

The poster prize, sponsored by Power Systems Project and Consultancy Services Ltd of East Kilbride, was presented by Dr Gerry Cleary – a former undergraduate and postgraduate student in the Department of EEE at Strathclyde.

Commenting on the event, Professor John Walker of TJ|H2b said: “I much enjoyed the conference and have identified 11 projects that are of direct relevance to the work of TJ|H2b and worthy of consideration for industrial collaboration, which we will be following up.”

The next colloquium is to be held at the University of Surrey in January 2014.

[ Knowledge Exchange ]

Mr Lujia Chen being presented with the poster prize by Dr Gerry Cleary

[ Spring 2013 - Issue 09 ] 26

Derek J. McNab graduated from Strathclyde in 1996 with a BEng

(Honours) in Chemical Engineering. He then returned to Strathclyde, and the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering, whilst working in industry, to study for an MSc in Process Technology and Management, graduating in 2001. Derek is now the Managing Director and Business Owner of Mabbett, a leading independent international environmental, engineering, health and safety, and sustainability consultancy. He has also managed to maintain strong links to Strathclyde, and is now a Visiting Professor in the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering. Derek talked to Engineering Insight about why he chose to study Chemical Engineering at Strathclyde and how his studies helped him in his successful career.

What made you choose to study at Strathclyde?

My chemistry teacher at school gave me a flyer for an Open Day in the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering at Strathclyde. I attended the open day and after comparing it to other universities I chose Strathclyde for its reputation, the set-up of the Department and of course the ten-floor Union!

Can you give some details of your career path, from graduation through to your current job

My first position was a Graduate Chemical Engineer with British Aerospace (now BAE) helping to manufacture propellants and explosives. I then moved to Barr & Wray in 1998, a process engineering house, to become

Successful Alumnus

[ Successful Alumnus ]

Derek J. McNab (right) with Mabbett colleagues Andrew Lee and Geraldine Boylan with their Business Achievement Award

a Project Engineer where I designed and built water and wastewater treatment plants for industry. After two years at Barr & Wray I joined Mabbett, a new environmental, health and safety consultancy and engineering firm, as an Environmental Engineer. Through my career at Mabbett I have taken on the roles of Senior Environmental Engineer, General Manager through to Managing Director and Business Owner in April 2010, a position I still hold today.

In my current role I am responsible for the company on a day-to-day basis with my fellow Directors and Business Owners, Geraldine Boylan and Andy Lee, who also both studied at Strathclyde. Geraldine studied an MSc in Environmental Studies and Andy studied his BEng (Honours) in Environmental Engineering. We currently have 24 staff and four offices across the UK and we plan to continue to grow our team.

What has been your personal highlight in your career to date?

Getting the opportunity to become Managing Director and a business owner has been the highlight of my career. However being asked to become a Visiting Professor in the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering at Strathclyde has to be a very close second and a role I am extremely proud of.

Can you give some details of any successes or awards won throughout your career

I have been instrumental in growing Mabbett to become the largest private independent environmental health and safety consultancy and engineering firm in Scotland and Northern Ireland. During this growth period we have been able to create 22 further career opportunities for other engineers and scientists, many of whom are also Strathclyders!

One particularly proud moment for me was in 2009 when our small business won a Corporate Purchase Agreement with General Electric, who were the third largest company in the world in 2011!

Under my leadership, and with the support of my team, Mabbett have also

just won the Environmental Business Journal 2012 Business Achievement Award for International Expansion.

What do you enjoy most aboutyour job?

I enjoy immensely the variety and diversity of my role and the fact that our team’s efforts enable our clients to see a difference by doing good in society. That difference can be pretty dramatic and professionally satisfying in keeping organisations in business, making workplaces safer or reducing their impact on the environment.

Do you think studying at Strathclyde equipped you with the knowledge and practical skills for your future career?

I owe a lot to the University, and the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering in particular, for preparing me for my future career. As well as the quality of the technical training, the University provided great soft skills to allow me to make an important contribution to the success of my business, especially when dealing face-to-face with customers and often in a high pressure environment.

I returned to study the MSc in Process Technology and Management as I wanted to further my career with a technology qualification and also gain the knowledge covered by MBA style qualifications. To this day, I still use my MSc course notes for reference in running my business.

What advice would you give to those who are considering studying in the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering at Strathclyde?

Do it! I do not know a single Chemical Engineering graduate who regrets making the choice they did in selecting the Department of Chemical & Process Engineering at Strathclyde. I regularly catch-up with my peers and we all have progressive and stable careers despite the current economic climate. If I had my life over again, I would still make the same choices!

Faculty of EngineeringUniversity of StrathclydeRoom 5.25Royal College Building204 George StreetGlasgow G1 1XW

t: +44 (0)141 548 2749e: [email protected]: www.strath.ac.uk/engineeringtwitter: @StrathEng

Recruitment & International OfficeLevel 4, Graham Hills Building50 George StreetGlasgow G1 1XP

t: +44 (0)141 548 2913f: +44 (0)141 552 7493e: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

First for Engineering

■ Eight Doctoral/Industrial Research Training Centres covering – Medical Devices, Wind Energy, Advanced Forming and Manufacture, Systems Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Optics and Photonics Technologies, Offshore Renewable Energy, Continuous Manufacture and Crystallisation

■ Research Portfolio of over £85 million and growing

■ Over 250 Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

■ The highest ‘Research Power’ measure in Scotland, top 10 in the UK (2008 RAE)

■ Over 4000 engineering students from over 90 countries

■ State-of-the-art laboratory and research facilities

■ Largest undergraduate scholarship programme in the UK

Executive Dean, Faculty of EngineeringProfessor Scott [email protected]

Faculty ManagerDr Gayle [email protected]

Vice-Dean (Academic)Dr Philip [email protected]

Vice-Dean (Knowledge Exchange)Professor David [email protected]

Vice-Dean (Research)Professor Walter [email protected]

Associate-Dean (Academic)Dr Andrew [email protected]

Associate-Dean (Strategy)Professor Deepak [email protected]

Associate-Deans (International)Dr Alex Galloway/Professor Stephen [email protected] / [email protected]

Associate-Dean (Distance and Flexible Learning) Kenneth [email protected]

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