Department of Engineering News - autumn 2013

NEWSDEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING

Issue 14 | Autumn 2013 www.eng.cam.ac.uk

Is this the face of the future?

David MacKay appointed Regius Professor of Engineering

Keep on trucking

Smarter infrastructure

The future of flying

EngNewsAutumn2013_17Sept_Layout 1 18/09/2013 18:40 Page 1

2 | University of Cambridge | Department of Engineering News

In this issueDiagnosing disease 3Dr Alan Reece 3Building Bridges 4Quantum cryptography goes 4

mainstream Matthew Henderson receives 2013 4

Google PhD Fellowship:Professor Robert Mair is interviewed 5

for the BBC Radio 4 programmeCambridge Engineering Design 5

Centre’s new book Exceptional students receive 5

engineering and technologyscholarships

Is this the face of the future? 6Will innovative design win the race? 7David MacKay appointed Regius 8

Professor of Engineering Construction Engineering Masters 9

Programme success stories Keep on trucking 10EPSRC Fellowship for Engineering 11

Design lecturer Royal Society Research honour for 11

Professor Daniel WolpertCaught on camera 12 Excellence in Teaching Award for Tim 14

Minshall Professor Dame Ann Dowling makes 14

BBC Radio 4’s Woman's Hour, Power List 2013

Pilkington Prize honour for academics 14Graphene: Taking the wonder-stuff 15

from dream to reality EURASIP Technical Achievement 16

Award for Professor Steve Young Dambusters expert Hugh Hunt 16

featured on BBC radio and television Graduate Eva MacNamara 17 Smarter infrastructure 18Former student wins New Civil 19

Engineer’s Graduate of the Year Award

Academics honoured 19The future of flying 20Schlumberger Foundation 21 Alumnus Eben Upton 22MIT exchange partnership 23Legoline 23Cambustion 24

Cover photo: Zoe, the virtual “talking head”developed by researchers in the Department ofEngineering in collaboration with Toshiba

Editors, Jacqueline Saggers and Ann LynnDepartment of EngineeringUniversity of CambridgeTrumpington StreetCambridge CB2 1PZTelephone: +44 (0)1223 748228Email: [email protected]: www.eng.cam.ac.uk

Published by Sterling

© 2013 University of Cambridge andContributors as identified. The content ofDepartment of Engineering News, with theexception of images and illustrations, is madeavailable for non-commercial re-use in anotherwork under the terms of the Creative CommonsAttribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike Licence(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/), subject to acknowledgement of theoriginal author/s, title of individual work andthe University of Cambridge. This Licencerequires any new work with an adaptation ofcontent to be distributed and re-licensed underthe same licence terms.

An integrated engineering department founded on core strengths spanning all engineeringdisciplines and also cross-connected by an integrated undergraduate course and fourstrategic research themes:• Energy, transport and urban infrastructure• Uncertainty, risk and resilience• Bioengineering• Inspiring research through industrial collaboration.

Our academic and alumni communities go fromstrength to strength This year saw the appointment of Professor David MacKay as our first Regius Professor ofEngineering. This is a landmark appointment, chosen by the Duke of Edinburgh himself tocelebrate the end of his 34 year tenure as Chancellor of the University and, in particular, his closeassociation with the Department of Engineering. This Professorship, created by the Queen, hasraised the whole profile of the Department within academia and beyond. David Mackay’sposition is interesting because he’s not doing academic research in a remote ivory tower. He iscarrying out research of real social significance, looking at the whole energy challenge andcollaborating with academics throughout the University. He is also the Chief Scientific Advisor atthe Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) with influence on major policy issues andwill continue to do so while working at the Department, channelling our research into thebiggest issues on the energy agenda.

But our efforts to achieve prominence and impact extend beyond energy issues. Articlesfeatured in this newsletter show that there are important ideas being promoted across the boardin all areas of Engineering – in transport, infrastructure and new media to name just a few. Theimpact of our work can be seen spreading through the economy and beyond as our spin outcompanies continue to achieve great success in the global market.

Developments in the Department have achieved high-profile media interest with local,national and international coverage of such diverse projects as our student solar car team, theannual Carl Zeiss Photography Competition, the Dambusters anniversary and the launch of avirtual talking head.

We are also working hard to encourage a wider understanding of Engineering to bringforward the next generation of engineers. The exceptional work of alumnus Eben Upton onRaspberry Pie brings engineering computing into the classroom so that young people who areenthused by engineering in the media can easily experiment with high-tech engineering in theclassroom.

Our alumni, staff and students now stay connected in a number of ways using socialmedia on sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Flickr (links below). We also havea dedicated LinkedIn group for alumni of the Department which we would encourageyou to join. https://twitter.com/Cambridge_Enghttp://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=127740http://www.flickr.com/photos/cambridgeuniversity-engineering/https://www.facebook.com/DepartmentOfEngineeringUniversityOfCambridgehttp://www.youtube.com/user/EngineeringCambridgehttp://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/

We are also delighted to tell you that this newsletter, which is currently sent out tonearly 18,000 alumni worldwide, can now be emailed to you as a web link rather than atraditional paper copy. If you would prefer to receive your newsletter in this way pleasecontact [email protected]

Terence Cuneo’s painting of Prince Philip’s tour of the Baker Building, Department of Engineering, University ofCambridge, which he opened in 1952. The Regius Professorship, in part, marks his long-standing links with theDepartment.


Issue 14 | Autumn 2013 | 3

The highly sensitive, low-power, low-costinfrared emitter developed by CambridgeCMOS Sensors (CCMOSS) is capable ofidentifying more than 35 biomarkers presentin exhaled breath in concentrations as low asone part per million, and is being developedfor use as a non-invasive medical testingdevice and other applications.

In addition to nitrogen, oxygen andcarbon dioxide, we exhale thousands ofchemical compounds with every breath:elevated acetone levels in the breath canindicate poorly-controlled diabetes, asthmaticswill exhale higher than normal levels of nitricoxide, and glucose is a sign of kidney failure.

“Non-invasive breath analysis is an area ofgreat potential for diagnosing and monitoringa wide range of medical conditions,” saidProfessor Florin Udrea of the Department ofEngineering and CCMOSS’s CEO and co-founder. “Testing is easy and painless, and canbe repeated as often as needed.”

A number of breath analysis tests arecurrently in the research and developmentphase, most of which use mass spectrometryor lasers to analyse the breath for specificcompounds. These tests can only detect asmall range of compounds however, meaningthat different devices are needed to detectdifferent conditions.

The technology developed by CCMOSS isdifferent in that it uses broadband infraredradiation to make the detection of a widerange of biomarkers possible in a single device.The company's miniature heaters, ormicrohotplates, can be heated from roomtemperature to 700°C in a fraction of a second,a temperature high enough to emit infraredradiation and allow the sensing material toreact with gas molecules.

Many gas molecules absorb infrared. Theamount of radiation absorbed allows the gasto be identified and its concentrationcalculated – this is the basic principle behind

the roadside breathalyser test. CCMOSS’stechnology however, is far more sensitive.Using broadband infrared, the company's gassensing technology can detect wavelengthsbetween two and 14 microns, correspondingto a wide range of biomarkers. In order todetect different wavelengths, a filter is appliedon top of the detector, meaning that onlyinfrared radiation of a particular wavelengthcan get through.

CCMOSS’s devices are based oncomplementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS) technology, a low-power type ofsemiconductor which is widely used inmicroprocessors and battery-operated devices.Using CMOS processes results in miniaturisedultra-low power devices that can be producedat higher volume and lower cost than currentstate of the art gas sensing devices.

Because the CMOS process is highlyreproducible, all the parameters can be verytightly controlled. The manufacturing processis highly scalable and cost-effective, with yieldsabove 99 per cent.

In addition to medical applications, thecompany is developing their technology foruse in consumer electronics, industrial securityand automotive applications. It currently has arange of products on the market and is activelyinvolved in leading-edge research anddevelopment projects for the next generationof micro and nanosensors.

The company, which spun out from theDepartment of Engineering in 2009, wasfounded by Professors Florin Udrea and BillMilne of Cambridge, along with ProfessorJulian Gardner of Warwick University. CCMOSShas been supported by seed funding fromCambridge Enterprise, the University'scommercialisation arm, and was namedCleantech Business of the Year at the 2013Business Weekly awards.

Diagnosing disease could be as simple as breathingA range of diseases and conditions, from asthma to liver disease, couldbe diagnosed and monitored quickly and painlessly just by breathing,using gas sensing technology developed by a Cambridge spin-out.

Dr Alan Reece (above), who donated £5 million to the Institute forManufacturing (IfM) for their new homeat West Cambridge, which is named The Alan Reece Building, passed away on New Year’s Eve aged 85.

One of the North East’s mostsuccessful businessmen, he was the manbehind engineering business The Reecegroup which has a turnover in excess of£211 million and 450 employees.

He only embarked on his businesscareer at the age of 55 after 30 yearsteaching mechanical engineering atNewcastle University where he hadstudied as an undergraduate.

One of his companies, PearsonEngineering, is focused on the design anddevelopment of countermine andcounter Improvised Explosive Devices(IED) equipment that increases thecapability of armoured fighting vehicles.

In 2012 the company won a Queen’sAward for Enterprise in Innovation for its“SPARK” mine rollers which have beenused in Iraq and Afghanistan and havebeen responsible for saving hundreds ofsoldiers from death and injury.

In 2011 Alan Reece was named thethird biggest philanthropist in the UK. HisReece Foundation has given millions ofpounds to support engineeringeducation.

Professor Sir Mike Gregory, Directorof the IfM, said: “Alan Reece was apioneering engineer and business manwho had the rare ability to developradical engineering ideas through tosuccessful business enterprises.

“He provided a splendid example forthe next generation of engineers and hisgenerosity to the IfM made possible ournew building which is providing a vibrantfocus for manufacturing, education,research and practice.”

Dr Alan ReeceThe University is sad toreport the death of one ofits benefactors.C

AM

BRIDG

E CM

OS SEN

SORS

Microscope/Micrographof MEMS Micro-heatingelement with integratedCMOS electronic driverand temperaturesensing circuits

“ He provided a splendidexample for the next generation

of engineers.” Professor Sir Mike Gregory

ccmoss.com www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk



The Cambridge Research Laboratory ofToshiba Research Europe Ltd, working incollaboration with Professor Richard Pentyand his team in the Department, hassucceeded in extracting the very weak signalsused for quantum cryptography from ordinarytelecom fibres transmitting data traffic. Thismeans that existing telecom networks cannow be secured with this ultimate form ofencryption.

Quantum cryptography can be used todistribute the secret digital keys important forprotecting our personal data, such as bank

statements, health records, and digitalidentity. Its security relies upon encoding eachbit of the digital key upon a single photon(particle of light). If a hacker intercepts thesingle photons, they will unavoidably disturbtheir encoding in a way that can be detected.This allows eavesdropping on the network tobe directly monitored.

Up until now it has been necessary tosend the single photons through a dedicatedfibre that is distinct from the fibres carryingthe ordinary data signals in the network. Thedata signals are much more intense than thesingle photon signals used for quantumcryptography: in fact one bit of data is carriedby over 1 million photons. The disparity in theintensity of the signals means that scatteredlight caused by the data signals wouldcontaminate and overwhelm the singlephoton signals if sent along the same fibre.

Dr Andrew Shields, of Toshiba ResearchEurope Ltd, explained: “The requirement ofseparate fibres has greatly restricted theapplications of quantum cryptography in thepast, as unused fibres are not always availablefor sending the single photons, and evenwhen they are, can be prohibitively expensive.Now we have shown that the single photonand data signals can be sent using differentwavelengths on the same fibre.”

Quantum cryptography goes mainstream Researchers from Toshiba and the Department of Engineering haveperfected a technique that offers a less expensive way to ensure thesecurity of high-speed fibre-optic cables, protecting communicationnetworks from unauthorized snooping.

The visit (pictured above) was the first ofmany which the young pupils fromCromwell Community College will bemaking over the next few years as theytake part in the University’s HigherEducation (HE) Partnership programme.

Working in teams of five, the studentsdesigned and built truss bridges out ofpaper tubes, nuts and bolts. The bridgeswere tested for load capacity and alsoscored for visual appeal.

Students were assisted with theirdesigns by Maria Kettle, the Department’sOutreach Officer, and by Matt Diston, HEPartnership co-ordinator.

Maria also led a tour of theDepartment, including the CADworkstations, wind tunnels, mechanicaland electrical workshops, and thelanguage unit, where students can studyChinese, French, German, Japanese andSpanish, equipping themselves to work inmany parts of the world.

“School students don’t studyengineering,” Maria said, “and if they don’tknow any engineers they don’t get manychances to see the creativity and teamworkinvolved in an engineering career.

“We hope that this visit has given asmall taste of the range of activities whichengineers carry out in their work.”Jonathan Fox, Co-Ordinator of CromwellCommunity College’s “Succeed”programme, said: “Events like these areimportant because they help to widen ourpupils’ awareness of why they are atschool, and of what can be available tothem in the future.

“One of the best bits about the day forme is actually the bus ride home – I hearconversations start about university, aboutfuture plans, and about what big brothersand sisters are doing. These things don’tcome up in the course of a standard schoolday.”

Building Bridges withHigher EducationPartnership Students from an East ofEngland community schoolcompeted to build the bestbridge during a visit to theDepartment of Engineering.

Matthew Henderson receives 2013 Google PhDFellowship: 5 Years of Supporting the Future ofComputer ScienceMatthew Henderson, a Statistical Dialogue Systems PhD Student, hasbeen selected as a 2013 Google Europe Doctoral Fellow. A group of 39PhD students have been selected from around the globe, recognised byGoogle researchers and their institutions as some of the mostpromising young academics in the world.

Matthew's research is in the spoken language side of ArtificialIntelligence, looking at the challenging problem for a computer ofmaintaining a natural conversation with a person. Using probabilitytheory, statistics and modern machine learning, he hopes to improvethe performance and extend the scope of dialog systems. This topicis relevant to Google as its voice search is becoming ever morepopular, and it releases its new ‘conversational search’ interface. Aftercompleting a BA in Mathematics at Cambridge, Matthew obtainedan MSc in Speech and Language Processing at the University of

Edinburgh. Now he is working for a PhD in Cambridge under the supervision of Steve Youngin the Engineering Department’s Dialogue Systems Group. Google will provide generousfunding for the rest of Matthew’s PhD, pair him with a mentor working at Google, andencourage him to do an internship with them, which he plans to do next summer.

www.eng.cam.ac.uk/outreach http://blog.matthen.com

www.toshiba.eu/eu/Cambridge-Research-Laboratory


www-edc.eng.cam.ac.uk


The Belling Engineering Scholarship wasawarded to Archie Lodge. The scholarshipis worth £12,000 (£3,000 per year for fouryears).

The IET Jubilee Scholarships wereawarded to Daniel Eatough, Luke Godfrey,and Daniel Jones. Each Jubilee Scholarshipis worth £2,000.

IET FUSE Scholarships were awardedto Seema Kapacee, Edward Phillips, DaisyPrior and Helen Sheehan. Each FUSEscholarship is worth £4,000 (£1,000 peryear for four years).

Jakub Sanak was awarded an IET Grantworth £1,000.

Chairman of the ScholarshipsCommittee, Trevor Grimshaw said: “The IETScholarships Committee is proud torecognise such outstanding talent and Ihope these awards help each and everyrecipient to continue their excellent work. I would like to congratulate the recipientsfor the contribution they have made, andwill make, to improve the lives of thosearound us and the world in which we live.”

Winners formally received their awardsand scholarships at the IET Ambition andAchievement Awards at The Brewery,London.

Exceptional studentsreceive engineeringand technologyscholarshipsSeveral students from theDepartment of Engineeringhave been recognised by theInstitution of Engineering andTechnology (IET) asoutstanding, and have receiveda number of awards andscholarships.

Cambridge Engineering Design Centre’s new book onthe challenges older users have with digitaltechnologyDr Anna Mieczakowski and Professor John Clarkson from theDepartment of Engineering’s Engineering Design Centre havelaunched a book Ageing, Adaption and Accessibility: Time for theInclusive Revolution! It brings together opinions and insights from 21 prominent thought leaders from government, industry andacademia. The topics include ageing, people’s adaption to the everchanging world of technology and insights into better ways ofdesigning digital devices and services for the older population.

Modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has, in the last few years, enriched thelives of many individuals and society as a whole. With all the benefits afforded by this new-foundcapability, however, come challenges for an ageing population. Why do we continue to digitallydisfranchise older people in the modern era, especially given that the world’s population is ageingat an unprecedented rate and there is an increasing focus on the sustainability agenda?

The Engineering Design Centre (EDC), in partnership with BT,have produced a book of thought pieces investigating thesequestions. Importantly, this work was aimed at stimulating adebate based on research and practice that has been taking placein many industrial studios, government chambers and academiccentres.

Internet use among the ageing population, as for all otheruser groups, is essentially about empowerment. Combined andresponsible efforts of business, government and education couldbring about significant change and ultimately improve thesustainability of the modern world.

PERRY HA

STING

S

Belling Engineering Scholar Archie Lodge holding anearly prototype of the piOna device

Professor Robert Mair is interviewed for the BBCRadio 4 programme The Life ScientificEach week, Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists abouttheir life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them andasking what their discoveries might do for mankind. In conversationwith Robert Mair, Professor of Civil Engineering at the Department ofEngineering, he discussed Robert’s life as an engineer in academia andindustry and world expert on finding innovative solutions to theproblems of building tunnels under already congested cities.

They talked about Robert’s innovativetechnique of ‘compensation grouting’. Thisprevented Big Ben from tilting, or even crackingand coming away from the Houses ofParliament, during the tunnelling and 40m deep excavation for Westminster station. Theexcavation was the deepest in London and just28 metres from Big Ben.

Robert chaired the report by the RoyalSociety and Royal Academy of Engineering,commissioned by the government, into thesafety of ‘fracking’ (hydraulic fracturing), wherewater and chemicals are pumped, underpressure, into shale rock to release gas. Thetechnique has hit the headlines amid concernsabout the risks of its use causing earthquakesand contaminating water supplies. Robertexplained why, with the best practice andstrong regulation, the technique could be safely used in the UK.

Listen to the interview at:www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pth0t

www.theiet.org



Is this the face of the future?A virtual “talking head” which can express a full range of human emotions and could be used as a digitalpersonal assistant, or to replace texting with “face messaging”, has been developed by researchers in theDepartment of Engineering in collaboration with Toshiba's Cambridge Research Lab.

The virtual talking head, “Zoe”, uses a basicset of six simulated emotions which can thenbe adjusted and combined to createhundreds of others.

The lifelike face can display emotionssuch as happiness, anger and fear, andchanges its voice to suit any feeling the userwants it to simulate. Users can type in anymessage, specifying the requisite emotion aswell, and the face recites the text. Accordingto its designers, it is the most expressivecontrollable avatar ever created, replicatinghuman emotions with unprecedentedrealism.

The face is actually that of Zoe Lister, anactress perhaps best-known as ZoeCarpenter in the Channel 4 series, Hollyoaks.To recreate her face and voice, researchersspent several days recording Zoe’s speechand facial expressions. The result is a systemthat is light enough to work in mobiletechnology, and could be used as a personalassistant in smartphones, or to “facemessage” friends.

The framework behind “Zoe” is also atemplate that, before long, could enablepeople to upload their own faces andvoices – but in a matter of seconds, ratherthan days. That means that in the future,users will be able to customise andpersonalise their own, emotionally realistic,digital assistants.

If this can be developed, then a usercould, for example, text the message “I’mgoing to be late” and ask it to set the emotionto “frustrated”. Their friend would thenreceive a “face message” that looked like thesender, repeating the message in a frustratedway.

The team who created Zoe are currentlylooking for applications, and are also workingwith a school for autistic and deaf children,where the technology could be used to helppupils to “read” emotions and lip-read.Ultimately, the system could have multipleuses – including in gaming, in audio-visualbooks, as a means of delivering online

lectures, and in other user interfaces.“This technology could be the start of a

whole new generation of interfaces whichmake interacting with a computer muchmore like talking to another human being,”said Professor Roberto Cipolla, Professor ofInformation Engineering.

“It took us days to create Zoe, becausewe had to start from scratch and teach thesystem to understand language andexpression. Now that it already understandsthose things, it shouldn’t be too hard totransfer the same blueprint to a differentvoice and face.”

As well as being more expressive thanany previous system, Zoe is also remarkablydata-light. The program used to run her isjust tens of megabytes in size, which meansthat it can be easily incorporated into eventhe smallest computer devices, includingtablets and smartphones.

It works by using a set of fundamental,“primary colour” emotions. Zoe’s voice, forexample, has six basic settings – Happy, Sad,Tender, Angry, Afraid and Neutral. The usercan adjust these settings to different levels,as well as altering the pitch, speed and depthof the voice itself.

By combining these levels, it becomespossible to pre-set or create almost infiniteemotional combinations. For instance,combining happiness with tenderness andslightly increasing the speed and depth ofthe voice makes it sound friendly andwelcoming. A combination of speed, angerand fear makes Zoe sound as if she ispanicking. This allows for a level of emotionalsubtlety which, the designers say, has not

been possible in other avatars like Zoe untilnow.

To make the system as realistic aspossible, the research team collected adataset of thousands of sentences, whichthey used to train the speech model usingactress Zoe. They also tracked the actress’face while she was speaking using computervision software. This was converted into voiceand face-modelling, mathematicalalgorithms which gave them the voice andimage data they needed to recreateexpressions on a digital face, directly fromthe text alone.

The effectiveness of the system wastested with volunteers via a crowd-sourcingwebsite.

Volunteers who only had video and nosound only successfully recognised theemotion in 52% of cases. When they only hadaudio, the success rate was 68%. The twotogether, however, produced a successfulrecognition rate of 77% – slightly higher thanthe recognition rate for the real-life Zoe,which was 73%! This higher rate of successcompared with real life is probably becausethe synthetic talking head is deliberatelymore stylised in its manner.

As well as finding applications for theirnew creation, the research team will nowwork on creating a version of the systemwhich can be personalised by usersthemselves.

“Present day human-computer interactionstill revolves around typing at a keyboard ormoving and pointing with a mouse.” Robertoadded. “In the future, we will be able to openup computing to far more people if they canspeak and gesture to machines in a morenatural way. That is why we created Zoe –a more expressive, emotionally responsiveface that human beings can actually have aconversation with.”

“This technology could be the startof a whole new generation of

interfaces which make interactingwith a computer much more like

talking to another human being.” Professor Roberto Cipolla

www.toshiba.eu/eu/Cambridge-Research-Laboratory/



Will innovative design win the race?A group of Cambridge students are hoping that their game-changing design of solar car will make them thefirst British winners of the World Solar Challenge.

A new solar car which, according to itscreators, “rewrites the rulebook” for greenvehicles, has been designed by studentsaiming to become the first British team to winthe World Solar Challenge.

The prototype, which has been namedResolution, was built by engineers at theUniversity of Cambridge. It received its publiclaunch in a road-test at the Millbrook RaceTrack, near Bedford.

The team will be taking the car toAustralia in October, where they will competeagainst rivals from all over the world in a3,000km race from Darwin to Adelaide, inwhich the vehicles must be powered by thesun alone.

Their hope is that Resolution’s radicallydifferent design, in particular a set of movingsolar panels which maximise power bytracking the path of the sun across the sky,will enable them to take first place whereothers have failed. No British team has everwon the competition in its 26-year history.

Keno Mario-Ghae, team manager forCambridge University Eco-Racing (CUER),based at the Department of Engineering,said: “Resolution is different because sheovercomes one of the main limitations thataffect most solar cars.

“Traditionally, the entire structure of asolar car has been based on a trade-offbetween aerodynamic performance and solarperformance. That’s how they’ve beendesigned for the past 10 years, and that’s whythey all tend to look the same.”

“We turned the concept on its head. Ourreasoning is that solar performance needs toadapt to the movement of the sun, but thecar needs a fixed shape to be at its most

aerodynamic. To make the car as fast andpowerful as possible, we needed to find away to separate the two ideas out, ratherthan find a compromise between them.”

The solution the team eventually hitupon involved embedding the solar panelswithin an aft-facing tracking plate. This platefollows the sun’s trajectory, and moves thepanels themselves, so that they are optimallypositioned at all times. The team estimatethat this will give the car 20 per cent morepower than it would have otherwise had.

This structure is placed under a canopywhich forms part of the teardrop shape of thevehicle as a whole. The design is a departurefrom the “tabletop” look of most other solarcars, but is more aerodynamic. Because itencases the solar panels, rather than makingthem part of the shape, the question ofpower generation does not compromise thecar’s aerodynamics.

Resolution measures less than 5m inlength, is 0.8m wide and about 1.1m inheight. Driving her across the Australiandesert is likely to be a claustrophobicexperience – in fact, the driver must be amaximum of 5’ 3’’ tall! These, however, aredeliberate concessions made by the team forthe sake of making the vehicle as fast andefficient as possible in the hope of winningthe race. In the future, more conventional

solar vehicles may well adopt similar ideas,but opt for comfort, rather than speed.

The car weights 120kg, and can reach atop speed of almost 140 kilometres per hour(almost 87 miles per hour), but only needsabout the same amount of power as ahairdryer. It achieves this by maximisingefficiency at every level - for example, themotor is located in the hub of the wheel,eliminating the need for gears, chains ordifferentials which would lower its efficiencyoverall.

For those small enough to squeeze insidethe cockpit, the vehicle has also been fittedwith on-board telemetry, an “intelligent cruisecontrol” which takes into account traffic,weather and driving style, and will advise theteam on how to optimise the vehicle’sefficiency during the race itself.

The final product is the result of a huge,collaborative effort involving 60 students.“Efficiency is where our real strength lies andthis is how we will be hoping to competewith the bigger teams entering the Challengethis time around,” Keno added. “A hugeamount of careful planning has gone into thisproject. It has involved research not just interms of engineering and aerodynamics, butinto the materials we use, the modellingbehind the design, and the optimisation ofthe solar cells that power the car.

“The cumulative effect is, we think, aradical, race-winning design that alsoincorporates elements that could be usedmore widely in a low-carbon future. No Britishteam has won this race before, but there is noreason why we can’t be the first to do it.”

“The cumulative effect is a radical, race-winning design thatalso incorporates elements thatcould be used more widely in a

low-carbon future.” Keno Mario-Ghae,

team manager

www.cuer.co.uk



David MacKay appointed Regius Professor ofEngineering Professor David MacKay, acclaimed author of “Sustainable Energy Without The Hot Air”, has been appointedas the first Regius Professor of Engineering at the University of Cambridge.

An eminent researcher in machine learningand information theory, and a Fellow of theRoyal Society, Professor MacKay is perhapsbetter known to the public for his ground-breaking work on sustainable energy and, inparticular, as the author of the criticallyacclaimed book, Sustainable Energy WithoutThe Hot Air. He is also Chief Scientific Adviserto the UK Government's Department ofEnergy and Climate Change.

Regius Professorships are Royal academictitles, created by the monarch. TheEngineering role is a new RegiusProfessorship, announced in 2011 tocelebrate the Duke of Edinburgh’s 34 years asChancellor of the University. The new post isdesigned to give an outstanding academicthe opportunity to build on the Departmentof Engineering’s world-leading research infields that address major, global challenges.These include: creating lasting energysolutions, building cities in the future,managing risks and driving innovation.

Professor MacKay’s work with theDepartment of Engineering will focus, in part,on the study of how we can model andcommunicate the full economic and societalimpact of a shift to sustainable energysources – a continuation of his recent workwith the Government. He will alsocollaborate with academics, both withinEngineering and elsewhere at Cambridge, toexplore new opportunities in energyefficiency, renewable energy, and energystorage.

“I am hugely excited about thisopportunity,” Professor MacKay said.“Everything I have done over the past two

decades has had an engineering element toit, and since developing an interest insustainable energy that has only increased.

“The wonderful thing about this role isthat I will have the chance to work alongsidesome truly fantastic engineers. My hope isthat I will be able to bring new ideas aboutenergy research to a Department which isalready full of talent that can developprototypes and bring those concepts to life.”

Professor MacKay’s recent reputation hasbeen as a leading scientist and thinker onsustainability and responses to climatechange. Before that, however, his career wasfocused on other areas, and includeddeveloping communication systems for thedisabled.

He first came to Cambridge as anundergraduate in 1985, studying NaturalSciences at Trinity College. He then studiedfor his PhD in Computation and NeuralSystems at the California Institute ofTechnology, where he also developed aninterest in green politics and environmentalscience. In 1992, he returned to Cambridgeas a postdoctoral researcher and Fellow ofDarwin College, then became a lecturer inthe Department of Physics. He was promotedto Professor in 2003.

As a specialist in machine learning andinformation theory, he has developed moreefficient types of error-correcting code thatare now used in satellite communications,digital broadcasting, and disk drives. He alsoused Bayesian methods to improve theperformance of artificial neural networks,which are now widely used in applications

such as the design of new types of steel forpower stations.

His work on communications systemsincluded the invention of “Dasher”, an open-source software interface that enablespeople with disabilities to write efficiently inany language with any muscle.

More recently, Professor MacKay hasdevoted much of his time to the topic ofsustainable energy. His widely-acclaimedbook on the subject – Sustainable EnergyWithout The Hot Air – was conceived as astraight-talking assessment of the challenge of curbing human dependence on fossil fuels, and shifting to moresustainable forms of energy consumptionand production. MacKay self-funded thepublication, and the initial print run of 5,000 copies sold out in a matter of days. The subject of widespread critical praise, the book was described by Bill Gates as “oneof the best books on energy that has beenwritten”, and it has been translated intoseveral other languages. A digital editionremains free to download atwww.withouthotair.com

In 2009, MacKay was elected a Fellow ofthe Royal Society. In the same year, he wasappointed Chief Scientific Adviser to theDepartment of Energy and Climate Change.His duties include ensuring that policy andplanning within the Governmentdepartment is based on the best scientificevidence; providing advice on climatescience; ensuring accurate reporting ofnational greenhouse gas emissions; andrecruiting new engineering and sciencespecialists.

David MacKay in the University of Cambridge film, “How Many Lightbulbs”, which looks at his researchon sustainable energy.



As Regius Professor of Engineering,MacKay will continue work he has alreadybegun with the Government on “wholeenergy system modelling” – examining the fullimplications of a shift away from fossil fuelstowards secure, low-carbon energy supplies.His current work, notable with the open-source “2050 Calculator”, describes howbehavioural or technological changes in fieldssuch as transport, lighting, heating, energystorage, and land and livestock managementwill impact on the scale of energy demand,energy supply, and greenhouse gas emissions.

“Modelling tools like this have a hugeimpact on the public understanding of energyoptions, as well as policy-making itself,” hesaid. “The more explicit and transparent wecan be about the trade-offs involved in a shiftaway from fossil fuels, the better our finaldecisions will be. It helps to engage the publicwith the options, and replaces a culture ofnegativity by allowing people to understandwhat a low-carbon future will entail in a morecomplete and positive way.”

MacKay’s work at Engineering will alsoallow him to explore other, “blue skies” ideason similar themes. In particular, he isinterested in developing a cross-Cambridgecollaboration, involving several departmentsaround the University, which will look atdeveloping biosystems that can efficientlyturn sunlight into electricity and usefulchemicals. Other possible projects mayexamine “osmotic power” (the extraction ofenergy from river mouths, where fresh watermeets sea water), “kite power” (a possiblesolution to providing wind power withoutturbines), and new energy storage solutions.Professor MacKay will continue in his role asChief Scientific Adviser to the UKGovernment’s Department of Energy andClimate Change, which is due to run until theautumn of 2014.

Welcoming the appointment, ProfessorDame Ann Dowling, Head of the Departmentof Engineering, said: “David has a track recordof excellent achievements in machine learningand information, while his work on energy haslaid out a quantitative framework foridentifying technologies that can make a realdifference to the world’s growing energyneeds in sustainable ways. The Departmenthas highlighted energy, transport and urbaninfrastructure as a major strategic researchtheme and I look forward to David playing asignificant role in that.”

“The more explicit and transparentwe can be about the trade-offs

involved in a shift away from fossilfuels, the better our final decisions

will be.” Professor David MacKay

www.withouthotair.com

Construction Engineering MastersProgramme success storiesCongratulations go to Richard Key (left) and Chris McKinstray (right),students from the Construction Engineering Master’s Programme ontheir recent awards. This Course was established as the result of agenerous donation by Laing O’Rourke plc in 2010.

Richard Key was awarded the YoungProfessional of the Year Award 2012for Yorkshire and HumbersideChartered Institution of Highwaysand TransportationThe award is made to a young person under35 who made a significant, activecontribution to an interesting or notableproject. The aim of the Award is to celebrateindividual excellence in Transport Planningand/or Civil Engineering within thehighways and transportation field.

Richard graduated in 2007 and becamea Chartered Engineer and Member of theInstitution of Civil Engineers in spring 2012.Since September 2011 he has also beenstudying a second Masters Degree (Mst) inConstruction Engineering at theDepartment of Engineering.

Since July 2010 Richard has beenworking on the Highways Agency’s M1Junction 39 to 42 Managed Motorwayproject. This £185m scheme uses the latestManaged Motorway techniques to makejourneys more reliable by controlling trafficflows more effectively through the use ofoverhead gantries, lane specific signals, anddriver information signs. The hard shoulderis used as an additional live traffic lane toincrease capacity. Richard’s current role asDeputy Project Manager at Halcrow is verymuch client-facing. His work involves closeliaison with the Highways Agency’s ProjectManager and her team. When Halcrowsenior managers met with the HighwaysAgency team to get feedback on projectperformance, Richard was named a keyplayer in the success of the project to date.

First European Supergrid WinnerChris McKinstrayChris (Senior Engineer based at Arup’sEdinburgh office) was nominated as the firstwinner of the The Friends of the Supergrid(FOSG) Award for the best Supergrid-relatedproject of 2012.

Chris’s work focused on research intotechnical, commercial & financial risks, as well as mitigation strategies to ensure thesuccessful development of the Supergrid. The outcome was a risk map, designed tostimulate a wider and progressive discussion toward the successfuldevelopment and implementation of this ambitious project.

The Supergrid aims to create a pan-European transmission network, powered by the renewable energy assets ofparticipating Member States. It seeks tointegrate and balance the transportation ofelectricity, with the aim of unifying andharmonising the European electricity market.

Together with his supervisor Dr AzadCamyab, Chris presented a paper titled “TheEuropean Supergrid – Messiah or Pariah?” atthe 2nd Annual European RenewableEnergy Project Finance Conference inLondon. The paper was also presented at theprestigious Powergen Europe energyconference in Vienna.

www.construction.cam.ac.uk



Almost everything we consume arrives on atruck, even if its road trip represents just partof its overall journey. Lorries bring us thethings that we need – but, as substantialusers of diesel, they do so at significant cost.That cost is not just financial; it’s also socialand environmental.

A new initiative – the Centre forSustainable Road Freight – was launched inDecember 2012 to look at the ‘big picture’ ofthe movement of freight by road in the UKand to explore ways of making the sectormore economically, socially andenvironmentally sustainable. The reduction ofcarbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasemissions, which contribute to globalwarming, is a key objective of theprogramme, in tune with the government’stargets of 34% reduction (compared with1990 levels) by the year 2020, and 80%reduction by 2050.

The Centre, which has £5.8 millionfunding for the first five years, is a partnershipbetween the Department of Engineering andHeriot-Watt University’s Logistics ResearchCentre. It is headed by Cambridge’s ProfessorDavid Cebon, an engineer with expertise inthe dynamics of heavy vehicles, who leads ateam of ten academics from the twoinstitutions: “The Centre draws on thestrengths of both institutions – Cambridge’sskill set in engineering and Heriot-Watt’scapabilities in logistics. It brings togetherexperts from a wide range of fields, from theaerodynamics of vehicles through to logisticaloperations and driver behaviour.”

A vital feature of the Centre is its closelinks with the freight industry. Of the initialfunding, £4.4 million will come from theEngineering and Physical Sciences ResearchCouncil and £1.4 million from a new industrialconsortium. The consortium will comprisefreight operators such as DHL, John Lewis

Partnership, Tesco and Wincanton, as well asvehicle industry partners including Firestone,Goodyear, Haldex and Volvo. Thesecompanies will help to set the researchagenda and set the pace in the adoption ofresults. With fuel representing, on average,45% of operating costs, and with aggressiveemission-reduction targets set bygovernment, the road freight industry hassubstantial incentives to minimise its use ofdiesel.

"Our aim is to focus on the big-picture issues and make surethat the most important factors

get the right amount of industrialand political attention, at the

right time" David Cebon

The programme will look at the mostinfluential factors that govern fuel usage bythe road freight industry to develop a roadmap for the industry and help it meetemissions reduction targets. The key is tohave a sequence of practical interventions,both logistical and engineering, which aresocially acceptable and economicallyattractive, and which drive down emissions.“It is no use having an ambitious end point ifthere is no practical way to get there,” saidProfessor Cebon. “Our aim is to focus on thebig-picture issues and make sure that themost important factors get the right amountof industrial and political attention, at theright time.”

To illustrate this point, Professor Cebonexplained how an improvement in vehicleaerodynamics would reduce fuelconsumption for motorway operations – butthat advance in performance may be small

when matched against other factors such astraffic congestion, which is heavy on fuelconsumption. He said: “A viable reduction infuel consumption due to improved vehicleaerodynamics is 5%. If you set this against theextra fuel used in one unscheduled vehiclestop, it would take about 45 km of continuousdriving by the improved vehicle to breakeven. Although improved aerodynamics doesmake a difference, traffic flow is hugelyinfluential, meaning that improved roadsystems, better route planning and deliverytime scheduling can make a big contributionto reducing fuel consumption.”

The Centre is guided by the ‘triple bottomline’ approach to sustainability: planet, peopleand profit. In devising workable solutions, thesecond and third of these are as important asthe first. The public might complain aboutemissions and noise, and lobby to keep trucksout of residential areas, but lorries are thelifeblood of the country’s economy. Withoutfreight transportation by road, the economywould grind to a halt within four or five days.All along the supply chain, companies rely onjust-in-time delivery systems working 24hours a day, seven days a week, on narrowprofit margins. According to the latest figures,some 400,000 lorries and 290,000 driversdeliver around 3.9 million tonnes of freight ona daily basis.

One of the aspects of freight transportthat offers most potential for reducing fuelcosts, and thereby emissions, is to maximiseloads. When a vehicle delivers its freight andreturns empty, the energy used for the returntrip serves no useful freight purpose and thefuel consumption per freight task is increasedby 70%. The solution to this problem lies inimproved logistics management andcollaboration between different operators.Similarly, when freight is taken off a large

Keep on truckingWhether it’s a bag of oranges or a tank full of petrol, the commodities we rely on will have come down themotorway in a fleet of lorries crisscrossing the country to keep supermarket shelves full and fuel reservoirstopped up. Now a new Centre will look at how road freight can be made more sustainable.

Ceaseless traffic



Royal SocietyResearch honourfor ProfessorDaniel WolpertProfessor Daniel Wolpert hasbeen awarded a Royal SocietyResearch Professorship to fundlong-term UK research.

EPSRCFellowship forEngineeringDesign lecturerDr Nathan Crilly, a lecturer inEngineering Design in theDepartment of Engineering, hasbeen awarded a £1.2M fellowshipfrom the Engineering andPhysical Sciences ResearchCouncil (EPSRC).

This prestigious award provides long-termsupport enabling leading scientists to focuson their research. Appointments are usuallymade for approximately 10 years.

Professor Wolpert is a world leader in thestudy of how the brain controls movementand is head of the Sensorimotor LearningGroup at the Department of Engineering. Hisgroup uses virtual reality systems androbotics to test their theories.

“Movement is fundamental to humanexistence, being the only way we have toaffect the world around us,” explainedProfessor Wolpert.

“Despite the recent dramatic advances inthe field, understanding the control ofmovement remains an extremely challengingproblem. This is evident when we try to buildmachines to do what our brains do soeffortlessly. We can now build machines thatoutperform grandmasters at chess, yet thereis no robot that can manipulate a chess piecewith the dexterity of a five year old child. I amdelighted to be appointed to the RoyalSociety Noreen Murray ResearchProfessorship in Neurobiology which willallow me to focus my efforts onunderstanding the computational principlesby which the brain controls movement.”

These prestigious posts provide supportfor internationally-recognised scientists ofoutstanding achievement and promise.Previous holders of Royal Society ResearchProfessorships include six Nobel Laureatesand five Presidents of the Royal Society.

cbl.eng.cam.ac.uk/Public/Wolpert

The five-year EPSRC Early Career Fellowship will allow Nathan to create design guidancethat will assist in developing products from emerging technologies.

Emerging technologies are science-based innovations with the potential to create,transform or obsolete entire industries. Examples range from 'small-tech' materialsconstructed at the atomic level through to 'large-tech' infrastructures enabled by theinternet and other complex systems. Irrespective of their physical scale, emergingtechnologies have the potential to drive and support sustained economic growth.However, realising these opportunities critically depends on the capacity to translatescientific advances and technological developments into product ideas that are suitable for manufacture, distribution and use.

The fellowship project involves developing fundamental design knowledge that isrelevant to a broad range of different types of system. Multiple system types will beinvestigated, along with the attributes of those systems and the system behaviours thatthose attributes promote. A comparative analysis of industrial case studies will be used todevelop flexibly applicable design guidance. In doing so, the project will provide scientists,technologists and engineers with the cross-domain knowledge of systems that theyrequire to design for newly emerging technologies and for technologies that have not yetbeen imagined.

Nathan's research interests are in the areas of design, creativity and communication. He employs an interdisciplinary approach to studying designed products and systems. Inparticular, he studies how these artefacts are developed, the properties they exhibit andthe ways in which users respond to them. Nathan works with the Cambridge EngineeringDesign Centre, where he leads the Design Practice theme. He is a member of the DesignResearch Society and serves on the International Editorial Board of Design Studies.

www-edc.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/designpractice

articulated truck and put on two smallertrucks, 40% more fuel is used. In this case,there is an opportunity for thedevelopment of large vehicles that aremore manoeuvrable in narrow streets andsafer for vulnerable road users such aspedestrians and cyclists.

Modern trucks are designed to beaerodynamic with smooth shapes that offerleast wind resistance and skirts tostreamline air flow. An area ofaerodynamics that has thus far been largelyneglected is the underside of trucks. Thisaspect of truck design is being investigatedby a team led by Cambridge’s ProfessorHolger Babinsky, who has workedextensively on the aerodynamics ofFormula 1 cars.

Measuring the flow between theunderside of a truck and the ground it ispassing over presents a particular challenge

because of the difficulties in runningrealistic wind-tunnel tests. Using a modeltruck, researchers have developed amethod of scaling up some of theparameters by towing the model throughwater in a glass tank. “We think that theunderside of a truck contributes as much as30% of total drag and that by redesigningthe underside we can reduce that figure by10 to 20%,” said Professor Babinsky.

“What’s exciting about the Centre is thefact that it brings together so many leadersin their fields,” added Professor Cebon. “Byworking together and focusing on both thelogistical issues and vehicle engineering wecan devise solutions that will make a majorcontribution to sustainability in the roadfreight industry.”

www.csrf.ac.uk



Engineering is about much more than damsand bridges. A glance at the hundreds ofstunning images submitted for the 2012Photography Competition at the Departmentof Engineering, sponsored by leading opticalsystems manufacturer Carl Zeiss, offers awindow into a world of ground-breakingresearch in a staggering array of fields,encompassing applications that range fromnew adhesives and inkjet printing techniquesthrough to the development of replacementhuman tissues.

Each year four prizes are awarded withthe top photographers winning items of up-to-the-minute equipment that will enablethem to take their photography skills to newlevels. Hundreds of images were submittedfor the competition which asked for picturesthat both related to research or teachingundertaken in the Department ofEngineering, or out in the field, and were also interesting or beautiful as works of art in their own right. The engineering subjects captured in the photographs

Caught on camera: engineering in actionThe winning entries of thePhotography Competition atthe Department of Engineering,sponsored by Carl Zeiss,provide a stunning visualinsight into the ways in whichengineering makes a vitalcontribution to our lives.

p First prize for 2012 was awarded jointly to Dr Ronan Daly and Dr Alfonso Castrejon-Pita, of the Inkjet Research Centre, whose winning entry(Drying Patterns of AKD on Glass) shows the drying and cracking of a film formed when an alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) dispersion is deposited and driedon a glass microscope slide. The work of these researchers explores the new generation of inkjet printing techniques which have potentialapplications in diagnostic and lab-on-chip technologies that could speed up the process of identifying and treating life-threatening diseases.

p Graham Treece won second prize with his computer-generated image taken from a CT scan of the head. The image (A New Way of Looking)represents more than ten years of research into new techniques for measuring variations in the thickness of the cortex (the surface of the skull)and offers a valuable new tool for clinicians looking at injuries such as fractures.



p A separate monograph prize – for images captured using an electron microscope – isawarded jointly to Ching Theng Koh and Daniel Strange who are developing electro-spinningtechniques that will produce networks of fibres with diameters one millionth of a metre or less.Their image (Electrospun Scaffold – A Fibrous Material with Nanoscale Fibres) shows thefibrous networks that mimic those found in many natural materials and have potentialapplications as human tissue replacements.

p Third prize was won by Pola GoldbergOppenheimer for her image (NanoscaleFractal Branching Patterns) of adhesivestructures that mimic the ability of thegecko's feet to stick to surfaces repeatedlywithout losing their stickiness.

“Behind each image is afascinating story of dedicated research”

Philip Guildford, Director of Research at the

Department of Engineering

entered range in size from the tiniest atom-scale through to some of the world's largeststructures.

This year's judges included ProfessorRoberto Cipolla, Dr Allan McRobie, ProfessorDame Ann Dowling and Philip Guildford – allfrom the Department of Engineering. Also onthe judging panel was Ken Robinson, SeniorApplications Specialist at Carl Zeiss.

Philip Guildford, Director of Research atthe Department of Engineering, explainedthat, given the high standard of entries, the

selection process was ambitious with thepanel looking for images that would holdtheir own in a gallery such as Tate Modern orTate Britain. He also remarked that, while thecompetition had begun nine years ago as “a bit of fun”, it now played an extremelypowerful role in communicating visually thesheer span of engineering and theexcitement of working in a rapidly-developing discipline. “Behind each image is a fascinating story of dedicated research,”he said.

All entries can be viewed at: www.flickr.com/photos/cambridgeuniversity-engineering/



Excellence inTeaching Awardfor Tim MinshallDr Tim Minshall, Senior Lecturerin Technology Management, haswon a Royal Academy ofEngineering ExxonMobilExcellence in Teaching Award.

Professor DameAnn Dowlingmakes BBCRadio 4’sWoman's Hour,Power List 2013 Congratulations to our Head of Department, Professor Dame AnnDowling FREng for making the BBC Woman’s Hour Power List 2013.

Pilkington Prize honour foracademics Dr Dick Fenner and Dr Andrew Flewitt from the Department ofEngineering have been honoured at this year’s Pilkington Prizeceremony.This is the 20th year of the Pilkington Prizes which honour excellence in teaching across theUniversity of Cambridge.

Thirteen inspirational academics were honoured for the outstanding quality and approachto their teaching. This year’s recipients received their awards at a ceremony at Murray EdwardsCollege attended by Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz and Lord Watson ofRichmond CBE, the University’s High Steward.

Senior Lecturer Dr Dick Fenner received his award in recognition of his work on the MPhilcourse in Engineering for Sustainable Development. His citation read: “Dick Fenner has beenthe Course Director of the highly successful MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Developmentsince its establishment in 2002. With students from over 60 countries ranging in age from 20-65, some with considerable professional experience and some with very little, he has had todevise many innovative approaches to teaching. He has constantly evolved the course toreflect the changing needs of the students, and his transformative educational experience hasincluded role plays, games, debates, site visits and mock inquiries, and field trips.”

Dr Andrew Flewitt is a Reader in Electronic Engineering. His citation stated: “Andrew Flewitthas consistently delivered excellent and innovative electrical engineering teaching in theEngineering Tripos for over ten years. He set up a new fourth year course in Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems, which has attracted students specialising in many different areas ofengineering. His introduction of an innovative coursework element to this gives students themuch-valued opportunity to get into a clean room to fabricate simple devices. He has alsodevised a new third year course in Semiconductor Engineering, and has reinvigoratedlaboratories for the general Part I.”

The Pilkington Prizes were initiated by Sir Alastair Pilkington, the first Chairman of theCambridge Foundation, who believed passionately that the quality of teaching was crucial toCambridge’s success.

These awards are for Centres of Excellence inEngineering Teaching in the UK and theRepublic of Ireland and are given to people who have “distinguished themselves within their peer group by showing a strong andcontinuing commitment to teaching,professional activities, promoting engineeringas a rewarding and creative career, establishingindustrial-academic links and other activitieswhich ultimately ensure the output of top-quality graduate engineers.”

Tim is planning to use the £5k award tohelp develop resources to support theDepartment of Engineering’s outreach activitieswith schools. In particular, he would like todevelop a community of practice to supportengineering PhD students develop theirteaching skills; supplement outreach activitiesby supporting students in Cambridge andelsewhere who want to share the excitement of the more innovative and creative aspects of engineering with schools; and produce acollection of short videos and animations (suchas those from ASAPScience), developed incollaboration with undergraduate students and industrial partners, to highlight the diverseactivities of engineers. Tim is seeking additionalfunding to be able to develop these projects.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted toreceive this award, and that the Department has been recognised by RAEng/ExxonMobil as a Centre of Excellence in Engineering Teaching.This is a reflection of the very supportiveenvironment provided by the Department ofEngineering for the development and deliveryof new teaching and outreach programmes. I am particularly excited to be able to use thefunding to support the on-going developmentof our innovation-related resources for schools,and the provision of support for PhD studentsto develop their teaching and outreach skills.”

www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/people/thwm100

Professor Dowling made headlines in 1993 when she was appointed the first female Professorin the Department of Engineering. In 2002 she was recognised in the Queen’s Birthdayhonours, receiving the Commander of the British Empire medal (CBE) for services toMechanical Engineering, and again in the 2007 in the New Year’s Honours List when shereceived a DBE (Dame of the British Empire) for services to science. More recently in 2011 shewas awarded a UKRC award for her 'Inspiration and Leadership in Academic and Research'.

The BBC Radio 4’s list consisted of the top 100 most powerful women in the UK today.Listeners of the show and members of the public were allowed to suggest women who theybelieved were most powerful in the UK today. For example top female politicians, businesswomen and leaders in a range of fields. The top 100 list was then chosen and ranked from apanel of judges: Eve Pollard, Jill Burridge, Oona King, Val McDermid, Dawn O’Porter and PritiPatel.

Professor Dowling has also been honoured by Imperial College, London.Described as a ‘pioneering engineer’ by Imperial’s President and Rector Sir Keith O’Nions,Professor Dowling received an honourary doctorate at a postgraduate graduation ceremonyin the Royal Albert Hall alongside industrialist and President of the Royal Academy ofEngineering, Sir John Parker.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qlvb/features/power-list-100



The Cambridge Graphene Centre started itsactivities in February this year, with adedicated facility due to open at the end of2013. Its objective is to take graphene to thenext level, bridging the gap betweenacademia and industry. It will also be a sharedresearch facility with state-of-the-artequipment, which any scientist researchinggraphene will have the opportunity to use.

The Centre’s activities will be funded by aGovernment grant worth more than £12million, which was allocated to the Universityin December by the Engineering and PhysicalSciences Research Council (EPSRC). The rest ofthis money will support projects focusingboth on how to manufacture high-qualitygraphene on an industrial scale, and ondeveloping some of its potential applications.

Graphene is a one-atom thick layer ofgraphite with remarkable properties. It isexceptionally strong, yet also lightweight andflexible, enables electrons to flow faster thansilicon and functions as a transparentconductor. Researchers in industry andacademia are keen to harness its potential tomake significant technological advances. Thiswork might lead to numerous new devicesand applications which could then becommercialised by industry and help to boosteconomic growth.

There is still much to be done before thatearly promise becomes reality. The first job for

those working in the Cambridge GrapheneCentre will be to find ways of manufacturingand optimising graphene films, dispersionsand inks so that it can be used to good effect.

Professor Andrea Ferrari, who will be theCentre’s Director, said: “We are now in thesecond phase of graphene research, followingthe award of the Nobel Prize to Geim andNovoselov. That means we are targetingapplications and manufacturing processes,and broadening research to other two-dimensional materials and hybrid systems.The integration of these new materials couldbring a new dimension to futuretechnologies, creating faster, thinner,stronger, more flexible broadband devices.”

Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge,said: “Graphene’s potential is beyond doubt,but much more research is needed if we areto develop it to a point where it proves ofbenefit to society as a whole. The pioneeringwork of Cambridge engineers and scientistsin fields such as carbon nanotechnology andflexible electronics, coupled with our recordof working with industry and launching spin-out firms based on our research, means thatwe are in a unique position to take grapheneto that next level.”

Professor Bill Milne, who will be part ofthe Centre’s management group, said:“Graphene has amazing fundamental

properties but at the moment we cannotproduce it in a perfect form over large areas.Our first aim is to look at ways of makinggraphene that ensure it is still useful at theend of the process. We have to find modes ofproduction that are consistently effective –and there is still a lot of work to be done inthis respect.”

One such project, led by Dr StephanHofmann, a Reader and specialist innanotechnology, will look specifically at themanufacturability of graphene and other,layered, 2D materials. At the moment, sheetsof graphene that are just one atom thick aredifficult to grow in a controllable manner,manipulate, or connect with other materials.

Dr Hofmann’s research team will focus ona growth method called chemical vapourdeposition (CVD), which has already openedup other materials, such as diamond, carbonnanotubes and gallium nitride, to industrialscale production.

“The process technology will open upnew horizons for nanomaterials, built layer bylayer, which means that it could lead to anamazing range of future devices andapplications,” Dr Hofmann said.

The Government funding for the Centre iscomplemented by strong industrial support,worth an additional £13 million, from over 20partners, including Nokia, Dyson, PlasticLogic, Philips and BaE systems. A further£11M of European Research Council fundingwill support activities with the GrapheneInstitute in Manchester, and LancasterUniversity.

Its work will focus on taking graphenefrom a state of raw potential to a point whereit can revolutionise flexible, wearable andtransparent electronics. The Centre will targetthe manufacture of graphene on an industrialscale, and applications in the areas of flexibleelectronics, energy, connectivity andoptoelectronics.

Professor Yang Hao, of Queen Mary,University of London, will lead Centreactivities targeting connectivity, so thatgraphene can be integrated into networkeddevices, with the ultimate vision of creatingan “internet of things”.

Professor Clare Grey, from Cambridge’sDepartment of Chemistry, will lead theactivities targeting the use of graphene insuper-capacitors and batteries for energystorage. The research could, ultimately,provide a more effective energy storage forelectric vehicles, storage on the grid, as wellas boosting the energy storage possibilities ofpersonal devices such as MP3 players andmobile phones.

Graphene: Taking the wonder-stufffrom dream to realityA centre for research on graphene, a material which has the potentialto revolutionise numerous industries, ranging from healthcare toelectronics, has been created at the University of Cambridge. TheUniversity has been a hub for graphene engineering from the verystart and now aims to make this “wonder material” work in real-lifeapplications.

“We are in a unique position totake graphene to the next level.”

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

Graphene is a one-atom thick layer of carbon atoms. Producing high-quality single layers in a manner compatible withindustrial processes is just one of the challenges that researchers will be trying to surmount. The image shows a printedgraphene device

www.graphene.cam.ac.uk



www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01952pm

EURASIP Technical AchievementAward for Professor Steve Young Professor Steve Young (right) has been honoured by the EuropeanAssociation for Signal Processing (EURASIP) for his work in spokenlanguage systems.

He was presented with the EURASIPTechnical Achievement Award at theEuropean Signal Processing Conference inMarrakech, Morocco, earlier this year.

The award honours a person who, over aperiod of years, has made outstandingtechnical contributions to theory or practicein technical areas within the scope of theSociety, as demonstrated by publications,patents, or recognized impact in this field. Inannouncing the award, Patrick A. Naylor,EURASIP Awards Chairman, said thatProfessor Young was being honoured for his“Contributions to the development of spokenlanguage systems including speechrecognition, speech synthesis and dialoguemanagement”.

Steve Young is Professor of InformationEngineering in the Department's InformationEngineering Division. He has served as Chairof the School of Technology, was a memberof the University General Board and hasserved as an elected member of theUniversity Council. He is currently Senior Pro-Vice Chancellor responsible for Planning andResources. His main research interests lie inthe area of spoken language systems

including speech recognition, speechsynthesis and dialogue management.

Commenting on his EURASIP award,Professor Young said: “Speech technology isan interdisciplinary subject spanningengineering, computer science, mathematicsand linguistics and as such it is oftenoverlooked by mainstream engineeringdisciplines such as signal processing. Thisrecognition by EURASIP is therefore not onlya great personal honour, it is also anacknowledgement of the growingimportance of speech technology in today’sworld.

“Previous winners of this award includesome of the major figures in signalprocessing such as Djuric, Vetterli, and Mitra,and to be ranked amongst them is a greathonour.”

Professor Young is a Fellow of the RoyalAcademy of Engineering, the Institution ofEngineering and Technology (IET), theInstitute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) and the Royal Society for theencouragement of Arts, Manufactures andCommerce ( RSA). In 2004, he was a recipientof an IEEE Signal Processing Society Technical

Achievement Award; in 2008 he was electedFellow of the International SpeechCommunication Association (ISCA) ; and in2010, he received the ISCA Medal forScientific Achievement.

“This recognition by EURASIP is notonly a great personal honour, it isalso an acknowledgement of the

growing importance of speechtechnology in today’s world.”

Professor Steve Young

www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/directory/profile.php?sjyoung

Dambusters expert Hugh Huntfeatured on BBC radio andtelevisionAs the country commemorated the 70th anniversary of the daringDambusters raid of World War II, Dr Hugh Hunt found himselfinterviewed on both radio and television.

A senior lecturer in the Department ofEngineering, Hugh’s expertise and knowledgeof the engineering complexity of theremarkable raid, which took place on thenight of 16/17 May 1943, made him an idealguest on a number of radio and televisionshows - most notably the Chris Evans Radio 2Breakfast Show and the BBC 1 The One Show.As a guest on Radio 2, Hugh had to travel toRAF Scampton in Lincolnshire where ChrisEvans was broadcasting his show.

Hugh said: “I met Chris Evans about 30seconds before going on air. The musicstopped and he started talking about ourdocumentary and then he asked me aquestion. He stands very close! He pushed themicrophone up to my face and I had to leanback – so the microphone came even closer. Itwas very intimate.

“The interview itself was so easy becauseChris was well prepared and had really goodquestions to ask. It was like talking with afriend. It was all great fun.

“Later the same day, after coming back toCambridge, I travelled down to the BBCstudios in White City for The One Show. AlexJones introduced herself and then said “youknow Chris” as if we were old friends. Werehearsed for about 2 minutes and then at7pm the show began!”

Hugh led the Cambridge team whichrecreated the famous bouncing bomb for theaward-winning 2011 Channel 4 documentary,Dambusters: Building The Bouncing Bomb.

Later immortalised in the 1955 film, TheDam Busters, the raid sent Lancaster bombersto fly dangerously low over reservoirs in thestrategically important Ruhr Valley. Under

intense anti-aircraft fire, the crews dropped“bouncing” bombs, specially designed by theBritish engineer, Sir Barnes Neville Wallis. Whilethe mission itself has gone down as one of themost iconic episodes in Britain’s wartime story,of the 133 hand-picked air-crew in 1943, 53lost their lives in the original Dambusters raid.

“Our pilots had no-one shooting at them,the engineers could use things like bowlingmachines to test their theories, and the wholething was only at one third scale – and eventhen it was hard enough,” commented Hugh.“You compare that with the originalchallenge – for Barnes Wallis and for thepilots – and you realise what an amazingachievement it was.”

Dr Hugh Hunt with Chris Evans



Graduate Eva MacNamara wins IStructE YoungStructural Engineer of the Year Award

Department graduate Eva MacNamara of Expedition Engineering haswon the Young Structural Engineer of the Year Award for “The DuneGrass”, her project which was a part of the recent regeneration of theBlackpool Promenade. James Engwall, also a Department graduatenow of Price & Myers, was selected as a close runner up for hisinvolvement in the Brockholes Visitor Centre project.

Eva graduated from Cambridge University in2007 with a Master’s Distinction in Civil,Structural and Environmental Engineering.She has since been working as a structuralengineer; first with Atelier One for four yearsand then with Expedition Engineering sinceOctober 2011.

Eva’s submission details the concept andapplication of the Dune Grass structures,whilst at Atelier One, which are 35m-highswaying “dune grass” blades, part of theoverall ‘People’s Playground’ concept, inspiredby the notion of escapism. One of the mainchallenges Eva faced was designing thestructures so that they moved about at lowwind speeds while remaining stable at highwind speeds, something that a majority ofsimilarly moving installations were not ableto achieve.

The judges expressed particularcommendation for Eva’s submission in thefollowing areas:• How she had tackled a very unusual

engineering task from first principles.• Her understanding of wind engineering.• Her use of models, tests and a prototype

to develop the engineering of thesculptures.

• Her work was very well illustrated in hersubmission.

• How she promotes engineering as acareer to schools and as a profession to awide audience.

The Dune Grass masts (right) weresuccessfully installed on Blackpoolpromenade in October 2011 creating anelectrifying spectacle for promenade visitorsand baffled engineers.

James Engwall graduated from theUniversity of Cambridge in 2006 with anMEng (hons) in Engineering. After graduating,he was selected to work as a StructuralEngineer at Price & Myers.

His submission was based on his role indeveloping a design and construction methodfor the Brockholes Visitor Centre, Preston.

His role in the project initially saw himresearching how the Centre’s proposed barn-shaped roof designs could be realised intofull-sized ten-metre tall buildings. As theproject developed, he took on the role ofproject engineer. The judges were particularlyimpressed by:

• The approach he adopted to thebuildability of the floating pontoonincluding practical considerations ofloading and floating.

• The elegant timber roof structure of theretail and exhibition buildings.

Winner: Eva MacNamaraWhat does receiving the award mean to you?My entry for the award detailed my work on arather unconventional large movingsculpture. I was delighted that the Institutionhonoured this kind of project for thefascinating, experimental piece ofengineering it was. Winning the awardvalidates my strong interest anddevelopment in designing structures whichreally communicate with people. Receivingthe award has encouraged me to keeppushing and pursuing engineering solutionsthat are not always obvious; they sometimesrequire some kind of prototyping and oftenlead to something both unexpected andfantastic.

Why do you think it’s important to recognisethe work of young structural engineers?It’s incredibly important to recognise thework of young structural engineers. There areso many young engineers with a hugepassion for what they do, but it often goesunrecognised as a smaller part of somethingmuch bigger. Having awards like this andrunning design competitions gives youngengineers the confidence andencouragement to continue on through theircareers until they reach their peaks muchlater on; it can be a long wait otherwise!Showcasing winning entries can be aninspiration to others as they realise that thework they do themselves could also be awardwinning. For those who have not set out ontheir career yet, seeing the work of youngengineers recognised gives them somethingtangible to work towards that they can relateto more easily.

What attracted you to structural engineeringas a profession?I have always been interested in a career instructural engineering but my interests withinit have evolved significantly over time. At ayoung age it was probably because I likedmaking things, particularly sandcastle

bridges with just the right sand wetness tokeep them up and, as I got older, because Iappreciated the satisfaction of designingsomething people use, look at and respondto. The reward of people enjoying somethingyou’ve had a part in is priceless. As a personwho constantly wants to learn new things,engineering couldn’t be a better career. Weare always developing through the incrediblecollaborators we work with, for examplearchitects who share the vision and desire todo something better and different. I love thesense of tranquillity that comes with findingthe right structural solution; if it looksbeautiful, it is probably working the way it should.

Can you tell us about your career to date?Since graduating in 2007 from Cambridge, I have been working as a structural engineer;first with Atelier One for four years and withExpedition Engineering since October 2011. I became chartered with the IStructE in 2012and am currently on secondment to Costainto work on the London Bridge StationRedevelopment. My experience at AtelierOne was extremely varied and challenged meto work on a number of projects where therewas no previous precedent. This has meantthat I have developed into an engineer whocan design in many different materials, frommy experience as the engineer on JamesMay’s Lego House with Lego, to a steel 120mgridshell arena roof in Slovenia with SadarVuga Architects through to a composite cross



Smarter infrastructureA team from the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction havedeveloped a mechanical amplifier to convert ambient vibrations intoelectricity more effectively, which could be used to power wirelesssensors for monitoring the structural health of roads, bridges and tunnels.

Undetected structural problems in ageinginfrastructure can be disastrous, such as therecent incident in the busy Sasago tunnel westof Tokyo. Nine people were killed when hugechunks of concrete began to fall from the roofof the tunnel, starting a fire and trappingpeople in their vehicles. Thankfully, suchincidents are rare, but the ability to determinewhen structural problems may become athreat to public safety is a major priority forgovernment and industry.

The Centre for Smart Infrastructure andConstruction (CSIC) was established in 2011 todevelop and commercialise new technologiesdesigned to make smart infrastructurepossible, primarily through the developmentof new sensor and data managementtechnologies, which will enable continuousmonitoring of our roads, tunnels and bridges.

A new device designed by researchers inthe CSIC could allow this type of observationsby converting the vibration experienced bystructures into electricity, in order to powersmall remote monitoring devices in locationswhere access is limited, such as inside a tunnelor underneath a bridge.

“Wireless sensors are one way to look afterinfrastructure better, and it’s something thatindustry is interested in doing, but batteriesare always the sticking point,” 'says ProfessorKenichi Soga, who designed the device with Dr Ashwin Seshia, Yu Jia (PhD student) and Dr Jize Yan. “It’s not the cost of the batteriesthat is the issue; it’s the cost of human powerto replace the batteries.”

Since the devices are self-powered, there isno need to have individuals change thebatteries on a regular basis, thereby decreasingcost to industry while enabling continuousremote monitoring in order to detectproblems at an early stage.

Self-powered battery-less devices are notan entirely new concept: other energyharvesting principles are used to power digitalwristwatches and handheld torches. Existingdevices based on vibrational energyharvesting suffer from two key technicallimitations, however: low output powerdensity, and the mismatch between thenarrow operational frequency bandwidth ofconventional energy harvesters and the

wideband nature of vibrations experienced bybridges, tunnels and roads.

The device developed by the CSIC teamaddresses these issues by basing theirharvester on a phenomenon known asparametric resonance. The energy harvestingdevice can be realised as a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) device,consisting of a micro-cantilever structure and a transducer. When force is applied to thecantilever perpendicular to the length insteadof transversely, parametric resonance can beachieved, generating more energy from thesame amount of vibration.

The MEMS device provides the addedadvantage of using batch manufacturingprinciples common to the semiconductorindustry, potentially enabling low-cost batteryreplacement, large-scale volume productionand co-integration with sensors and interfaceelectronics to realise truly autonomous smartsensor nodes: a challenge that the CSIC teamare seeking to address in the context ofdeveloping innovative monitoringtechnologies for large-scale builtinfrastructure.

Prototype versions of MEMS and macro-scale devices based on these principles havedemonstrated a significantly improved poweroutput and a wider operational bandwidthrelative to current state-of-the-art devices.Preliminary results on a MEMS prototype werepresented at the PowerMEMS conference inAtlanta in December. The device is beingcommercialised by Cambridge Enterprise,the University’s technology transfer office.

In addition to applications in theconstruction industry, the device also haspotential applications such as poweringwearable medical devices or extending the life of batteries in mobile phones.

CSIC brings together researchers from the Department of Engineering, along withcolleagues from the Department ofArchitecture, the Computer Laboratory, theJudge Business School and CambridgeEnterprise.

STOPTH

EGEA

RS, VIA FLIC

KR CREATIVE C

OM

MO

NS

laminated timber roof with FCB Studiossaving 250 tonnes of steel. I have been ableto put these skills to good use at ExpeditionEngineering and am now working on a three span tied arch footbridge which istechnically complex due to its curvature on plan. We are the lead consultant on thebridge which means I have been ablefurther to develop my skills in aestheticengineering. I am also part of the teamworking on the concept and prototyping for a suspended monorail cycling transitsystem. My cross disciplinary expertise andfamiliarity with working with movingstructures has been put to good use. As well as my project work I am dedicated topromoting the engineering profession tothose selecting a career. I have presented inindustry webinars, carry out talks at schoolsto encourage young people intoengineering and tutor Bartlett students fortheir 5th year technical thesis. In March 2012I was selected to be part of a panel givingoral evidence on higher education in STEMsubjects to a subcommittee at the House of Lords.

Runner up: James EngwallWhy do you think it’s important to recognisethe work of young structural engineers?The YSEOY Award showcases the potentialof young structural engineers and alsoencourages others in the industry to reflecton the contribution they can make to theirown projects. By drawing attention to thework of young engineers the Award alsorecognises the quality of the training andguidance they receive from their colleagues,mentors and the wider industry, promotingopportunities for personal success andachievement at any age.

What attracted you to structuralengineering as a profession?I've always enjoyed problem solving andbuilding things and so for me, structuralengineering is the perfect combination ofboth. It is an inventive and internationallyrecognised profession where you areregularly presented with complexchallenges that require you to think beyond the boundaries of pure engineering, considering issues ofsustainability, aesthetics and value. Inaddition, the skills you develop can beapplied to a wide variety of situations. For example one day I can be in the officedesigning a reinforced concrete frame for a commercial development, the next day I can be investigating renovations on a listed building and on other days I can beworking on community projects with aninternational development focus.

www.istructe.org www.centreforsmartinfrastructure.com



Former student wins New CivilEngineer’s Graduate of the YearAwardJamie Radford was named as the overall winner in the 2012 NewCivil Engineer (NCE) Graduate Awards and is also the runner up ofthe Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Graduate and Student papercompetition.Jamie Radford, who graduated from theDepartment of Engineering in 2011 and isnow working at Mott MacDonald, wasnamed as the overall winner in the NewCivil Engineer Graduate Awards. At thepresentation lunch Jamie was handed acheque for £1,500 and a trophy by BBCsports journalist Chris Hollins.

In addition to being the NationalGraduate of the Year, Jamie is also therunner up of the 2012 ICE Graduate andStudent paper competition. His paper titled ‘The characteristics of pit latrinesludge’ was based on work he carried outfor his final year project, working with theDepartment’s Dr Dick Fenner to developimproved means of emptying pit latrines in dense urban areas in developingcountries.

The paper is only part of the reasonJamie beat off 115 worldwide entrants totake the award. He was one of six finalistsgrilled by a panel of 17 senior directors from sponsoring companies. They wereimpressed with his experience andknowledge. This includes his term aspresident of the university’s engineeringsociety where he chaired a committee of 14, allocated a £30K budget and voiced the opinions of 1,000 undergraduates touniversity management boards. He is also credited with organising the largestvolunteer-run careers fair in any UKuniversity.

It was as co-president of the Cambridge branch of the student-runcharity Engineers Without Borders thatJamie gained his exposure to developingcountries. A two month trip to El Salvadorresulted in the design of a sustainable wood burning stove, which could be builtby local inhabitants. He then founded aresearch initiative into sustainable housing,a project involving 150 undergraduates, adozen full time research academics and$190K in grants. He is currently seekingcharity status for the whole scheme.

A two month expedition to Ecuadorsaw him identify six previously unknownbutterfly species including one now namedafter him. Towards the end of his time at theDepartment of Engineering Jamie hadnotched up three major academic prizesand scholarships. But it is his work on latrinesludge that fires him most.

“We know nothing about the physicalstrength of faecal sludge and how it

behaves while being pumped from villagelatrine pits,” said Jamie. “Thousands ofinefficient pumps result in filled-up toiletssimply being abandoned leading to serioushealth hazards and shortages of valuableland for house building.”

Since graduating Jamie has continuedto develop this work for Water for People by using a new approach to characterisingsludge in pit latrines in Kampala, Uganda, to determine the ease with which individual pits can be emptied using various vacuum devices. He has beencentral to developing a Mott MacDonaldproposal project which aims to developdevices capable of removing andprocessing faecal waste in a mannercompatible with environmentally andsocially acceptable standards. With MottMacdonald’s support Jamie has forged areputation as a world authority on thesubject and hopes it will lead to sustainablesolutions that will positively benefitcommunities in the developing world.

Water Engineer Jamie Radford 24 (centre) haswon top spot in the annual Graduate Awardsrun by New Civil Engineer (NCE) magazine.

www.waterforpeople.org

NC

E MA

GA

ZINE

AcademicshonouredProfessors John Robertson, PhilWoodland and Nick Kingsburyfrom the Department ofEngineering have been awardedfellowshipsof the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE).IEEE is the world’s largest professionalassociation dedicated to advancingtechnological innovation and excellence forthe benefit of humanity. Fellowships areawarded internationally to no more than 0.1%of the active IEEE membership each year.

The IEEE commended them as follows:Professor JohnRobertson, of theSolid StateElectronics andNanoscale ScienceGroup, for“contributions to theunderstanding ofhigh-k gatedielectrics and metalgate electrodes forCMOS technology”.

Professor PhilWoodland, of theMachine IntelligenceLaboratory, for“contributions to large vocabularyspeech recognition”.

Professor NickKingsbury, of the SignalProcessing andCommunicationsGroup, for“contributions towavelet transformtheory andfilterbank design”.

IEEE Fellow is a distinction reserved for select IEEE members whose extraordinaryaccomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest are deemed fitting of thisprestigious grade elevation. The award isconferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record ofaccomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest.

www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/SSENS/links/ssens.phpmi.eng.cam.ac.uk/miwww-sigproc.eng.cam.ac.uk



Aircraft that work together to solve complicated mathematical problems and airports with more flexiblyused runways could be the future of flying, according to studies by the Department of Engineering and itsindustrial and academic partners.

Air traffic across Europe is likely to almostdouble over the next 20 years. This estimatedincrease represents a remarkable number offlights when you consider that last year in theUK alone almost 2.2 million flights carrying200 million passengers were handled by theNational Air Traffic Services.

It also represents a massive challenge forUK aviation policy, which is faced with airportsoperating at near full capacity such asHeathrow - the busiest in the UK and one ofthe busiest in the world. Increased air traffic,rising fuel prices and tight security all combineto increase the vulnerability to system-widebreakdowns, delayed flights, long queues andrising costs.

Efforts to reduce pressure onoverstretched airport facilities are being aidedby research projects involving University ofCambridge engineers working with industrialand academic partners. Each project is aimedat tackling some of the uncertaintiesassociated with air traffic, and the risks thesepose to heavily loaded airports, when even ashort delay finding a wheelchair for apassenger with reduced mobility can affectthe tight workings of the airport.

One limiting factor in dealing with a vastlyincreased air traffic density is the workloadfalling on air traffic management (ATM). “Someof the technologies assisting ATM date fromthe 1950s," explained Professor JanMaciejowski, who led the Department ofEngineering component of a pan-Europeanstudy, iFly. "We've been looking at how we canmodernise and automate ATM to improvesafety at the same time as reducing workload,costs and environmental impact.”

The project, funded by the EuropeanCommission and coordinated by the NationalAerospace Laboratory in the Netherlands,brought together 17 partners from academiaand aerospace industries across Europe. Theirmission was to develop an advanced airborne

flight information system so that processesnormally carried out on the ground by airtraffic controllers can be carried out mid-flightby multiple aircraft requiring the sameairspace.

“Essentially the idea is for the aircraft touse onboard computers to predict futurepositions of other aircraft and to dynamicallyshare information,” explained ProfessorMaciejowski, who worked on the project withPhD student Ellie Siva and colleagues at theSwiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürichand the National Technical University ofAthens. “The computers communicate witheach other, negotiating how best to use theairspace with least cost in terms of fuel andtime.”

The automated system enables differentaircraft to solve complex mathematicaloptimisation problems between them – eachone solving the problem for itself and thenpassing on its current solution and intentionsto the next aircraft, which then responds, andso on. In a simulation of about 1,000 flights,the researchers found that this cooperativeactivity resulted in only a very small extradistance being flown (less than 1%) peraircraft. Ultimately, the hope is that if such asystem came into operation, it wouldaccommodate a three-to-six fold increase incurrent en-route traffic levels and be part of aSystem Wide Information Management‘database in the sky’ proposed across Europe.

At the heart of the project is the disciplineof control engineering. A recent programmegrant awarded to the University of Cambridgeand Imperial College London by theEngineering and Physical Sciences ResearchCouncil has assembled a team to push theboundaries of control engineering in relationto power systems and transportation. As partof this programme, Professor Maciejowski islooking at another aspect of air trafficcontrol – the terminal manoeuvring area

between the airport and 10,000 feet up.Here, a very different scenario is in

operation: many aircraft in a small spacerequire coordination to land using the leastamount of fuel, a situation too complicated tosolve by aircraft communicating with eachother. Professor Maciejowski and colleague DrAlison Eele are creating a new mathematicalsystem to optimise the landing trajectories ofeach plane. Their formulae use thousands ofprocessors, now economically available asgraphical processor units, to combine locationmeasurements by radar, work out the flightplan for landing, give instructions and thenrecalculate every few seconds.

Meanwhile, the focus of Professor DuncanMcFarlane’s research is what happens on theground. Working with Alan Thorne and othercolleagues at the Department of Engineering'sInstitute for Manufacturing (IfM), the team isinvolved in trials conducted by BAA atHeathrow Airport on measures to increasepunctuality, reduce delays and strengthenresilience at the UK’s hub airport. The trials arecentred on making the best use of theairport's two runways, which are in heavydemand.

In the first phase of the OperationalFreedoms trial Heathrow explored how itsrunways and airspace can be better used torecover quickly following airport disruption,such as that caused by bad weather. Onestrategy was to use both runways for eitherarrivals or for departures, instead of one foreach. Initial results indicated improvements inpunctuality, reduced emissions and fewerplanes having to taxi across runways. Asecond phase is now ongoing until March2013 to carry out a more detailed analysis.

“The Civil Aviation Authority is overseeingthe tests. Our role has been to independentlyaudit the trial and ensure its objectives aremet,” explained Professor McFarlane. “Wemeasure everything to do with the impact of

The future of flying JO

HN

WO

OD

ON

FLICKR

Heathrow Airport



Four talented female PhD students in the Department are some of theproud recipients of the Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for theFuture fellowships for their PhD studies at Cambridge University. Threeare in the Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental group and supervisedby Dr Abir Al-Tabbaa. Maryam Masood is at the Department's Institutefor Manufacturing and supervised by Dr Claire Barlow.

The Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for theFuture fellowships are awarded to talentedwomen in science and engineering fromdeveloping and emerging countries. Theyprovide funding for their advanced graduatestudies at top universities abroad. Theseawards are very competitive, include aninterview process, and are awarded towomen who have excelled academically andwho are potential role models for otherwomen in science and engineering.

Funmi Alayaki won scholarships to studyCivil Engineering at the University of Lagosfollowed by a masters degree in Highway andTraffic Engineering. She worked as a roadengineer for six years and then as anacademic at the Federal University ofAgriculture Abeokuta for another six years.She is a registered member of COREN, acorporate member of Nigeria Society ofEngineers (NSE) and the Association ofProfessional Women Engineers of Nigeria(APWEN). Her PhD study, which started inOctober 2011 through the Faculty for theFuture fellowship, is related to thedevelopment of ground improvementtechniques for the difficult soils in the NigerDelta area of Nigeria. Her work involves bothlaboratory and field testing.

Tiffany Wang obtained a BEng inEnvironmental Engineering from theUniversity of Yangzhou in China, with prizes,followed by a masters degree at Hong KongUniversity of Science and Technology. HerPhD project involves the assessment of thelong-term performance of cement-treatedcontaminated soils from two field trials. Onewas at West Drayton near Heathrow airport,completed in 1996 and the other was inCastleford, Yorkshire, completed in 2011 aspart of the TSB-funded project SMiRT.

Rui Hao obtained a BEng inEnvironmental Engineering from theUniversity of Nottingham as part of their 2+2

course (first two years in their China NingboCampus) and was top of her class throughout.Her PhD project is on the use of reject brinesto sequester CO2 for the production of lowcarbon construction materials.

Maryam Masood obtained a BSc inMechanical Engineering from the Universityof Engineering and Technology, Lahore,Pakistan. She then went on to obtain amasters degree in sustainable energy systemsfrom Queen Mary College, University ofLondon. She has also been involved inteaching at the University of Engineering andTechnology, Pakistan for one year. Her PhDproject is on the analysis of the current solidwaste management systems in Pakistan witha focus on quantifying the role of informalnetworks in the solid waste managementsystems.

In collaboration with CambridgeUniversity, Schlumberger hosted their FellowsRegional Forum this year at the Moller Centreon 20-22 May. The aim of these forums is tobring these women together in small groupsto help strengthen their academic andscientific networks and further develop theirleadership skills. The forum consisted ofkeynote lectures, workshops and postersessions. Dr Al-Tabbaa was invited to speak tothe delegates on the “Contrast betweenEngineering Academia and EngineeringPractice.”

The program’s long-term goal is togenerate conditions that result in morewomen pursuing academic careers inscientific disciplines. Grant recipients areexpected to return to their home countries tocontinue their academic careers and inspireother young women to choose careers inscience and engineering. Since its launch in2004, 323 women from 63 emergingcountries have received such fellowships.

Meet the SchlumbergerFoundation Faculty for the FutureFellows

changes on the performance of the airport,from how long the aircraft are in overhead‘circulation stacks’, to take-off delays, toemissions and noise, and then we generatewhat we think are appropriaterecommendations.”

A further study has also just started,this time examining the order of aircraftlanding on runways. “A big aircraft creates ahuge air turbulence behind it and smallaircraft have to wait proportionally longerbefore landing,” said McFarlane. “Flexibleuse of runways could mean landing largeraircraft on one and smaller on another, orordering planes in overhead circulationstacks into optimal landing sequences.Using runways effectively could go a longway towards helping airport operationsrecover quickly and efficiently fromunwanted variability.”

The current studies build on a majoraerospace programme at the IfM driven bythe end users of the research – the aircraftmanufacturers, airlines and airports. Forinstance, the researchers have previouslyexamined how radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) technology and betterdata sharing in airports can reduce costsand achieve greater business efficiencies.

Many of the delays in airports occur asa result of bottlenecks in the sequence ofactivities that take place when an aircraft isat a gate between flights. Referred to as theturnaround process, the operation involvesthe coordination of activities such asbaggage handling, refuelling, maintenancetasks and passenger transfer. Because thecompanies carrying out these tasks don'talways share information, a breakdownsomewhere along the line can cause asystem-wide snarl-up.

Tiny electronic RFID tags can be used toprovide visibility for different assets used inairport operations, such as bags, baggagecontainers and catering trolleys, which canthen be fed back to computers used by thedifferent service teams on the ground,allowing them to recognise and shareproblems quickly.

Working with airlines such as Easyjetand FlyBe, and Manchester, Luton andHeathrow Airports, the researchers lookedat what causes delays and whether betterinformation usage can improve aircraftturnaround time. “For example, one causeof aircraft delay can be the unavailability ofa wheelchair to take a passenger to a flight.Something as simple as a strategy forlocating and ensuring wheelchairs are inthe right place at the right time can make aconsiderable difference to guarding againstdelays,” commented Professor McFarlane.“What our aerospace programme is tryingto do is quantify the risk and uncertaintyassociated with different disruptions, andthen redesign and pilot robust practicesthat will eliminate unexpected delays orincreased costs.”

www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.ukwww-control.eng.cam.ac.uk

Rui Hao (left) Funmi Alayaki (centre) Tiffany Wang (right)

www.facultyforthefuture.net

Maryam Masood



Alumnus Eben Upton is co-founder of The Raspberry Pi Foundation (below), a charity founded in 2009 topromote the study of basic computer science in schools, and is responsible for developing a single-boardcomputer called the Raspberry Pi.

Eben is one of four entrepreneurs who havebeen awarded a Silver Medal from the RoyalAcademy of Engineering. He has sold morethan a million units of his cheap, credit card-sized computer. The medal marks “significantcommercial success” achieved by those whohave also “advanced the cause” of Britishengineering.

Eben developed the Raspberry Picomputer to help children learn aboutcomputer programming and inspire a newgeneration of engineering talent. He wasinspired by Acorn’s BBC Micro computer,which helped students and hobbyists learnabout computers in the 1980s.

Proceeds from sales of the Cambridge-developed Raspberry Pi computer – whichretails for as little as $25 (£16.26) – go to theRaspberry Pi Foundation. The introduction ofthe computer in February last year was metwith such strong demand that theorganisation’s website crashed.

The Raspberry Pi has won fans far beyondthe classroom, with uses including acontroller for a robotic boat which is steeringitself across the Atlantic Ocean, and poweringcameras designed to help park rangers toprevent illegal poaching in Kenya.

The Raspberry Pi computer is on a tinycircuit board and has one or two USB ports onone end to plug into a keyboard and mouseand a connection for a TV on the other end.The result is a working computer running aLinux operating system at very little cost, anda device that that has been designed toencourage users to tinker around with thecomponents.

Eben started his undergraduate life atCambridge as a Physicist then moved across

to the Department of Engineering in his thirdyear to join the Electrical and InformationSciences Tripos, with his focus very much oncomputing. Part way through his third year in1998 he started a computer graphicscompany, Ideaworks, and as the companyquickly became a success Eben deferred hisstudies for a year. He returned to Cambridgeto do a post graduate Diploma of ComputerScience. From the Diploma he went straightonto a PhD at Cambridge's Computer Lab,carrying out research into optimizingcompilers for the C programming language.

After his PhD Eben worked briefly for asmall company in Newmarket that made lowvoltage motor controllers for golf buggiesetc. This is where he really discoveredelectronics. He went on to join BroadcomCorporation, a global leader insemiconductor solutions for wired and

wireless communications. During the lastyear of his PhD and his first year at BroadcomEben took on the post of Director of Studiesfor St John's College. It was whilstinterviewing potential undergraduates thathe realised there was a huge skills shortagein those applying for Computer Science. Henoticed that past applicants who had startedprogramming on their Commodore 64s,Amigas and BBC Micro Computers of yearsgone by were much better versed incomputer science than the Windowsgeneration who were taught basic computerliteracy and not pushed to learn to code.Huge drops in the numbers of applicantssupported his theory that schools were notdoing enough to encourage programming.He recognised that children need a platformto learn to program; by 2010 he had createda chip suitable for this purpose, BCM2835,which is now used in the Raspberry Pi.

Today a Raspberry Pi can be purchasedand delivered for under £20 and they can alsobe purchased bundled with educationalsoftware. Raspberry Pi computers can talk toeach other and to electronic sensors, lightsetc which is not something that a PC cantypically do out of the box. As the RaspberryPi market has grown it has become clear thatthe bulk of the community are adults,programmers and hobbyists. Approximately20% to 30% are children which means thatRaspberry Pi has potentially reached200,000/300,000 children.

Computer Science application numbersat Cambridge were up by 30% last year andalthough Eben does not claim this is theresult of Raspberry Pi he does believe that theRaspberry Pi Foundation has helped to createa lot of noise about computer science and hasbeen an excellent awareness-raising tool.

Eben is very conscious that the majorityof Raspberry Pi computers being used bychildren are the children of engineers in theprosperous western world. The foundation’sremit is to broaden this audience to reachchildren from all backgrounds andgeographical areas. In order to achieve thisthe Foundation is focusing on producingsupport materials that will enable children tobe able to pick up a Raspberry Pi computerand, by self-directed learning, teachthemselves programming and understandhow computers work.

Alumnus Eben Upton, Co-Founder of Raspberry Pi,has been awarded a Silver Medal from the RoyalAcademy of Engineering

"The Royal Academy ofEngineering celebrates the

strength and diversity of UKengineering with the presentation

of its coveted Silver Medal -winners must have achieved

significant commercial success intheir fields and be recognised for

advancing the cause ofengineering in this country"

Royal Academy of Engineeringcitation

www.raspberrypi.org



Cambridge extends MIT exchangepartnershipAn extension to the University of Cambridge’s exchange programmewith the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has beenannounced, enabling more undergraduates to study at “both”Cambridges during their degree.

Originally set up in 2000, the Cambridge-MIT exchange programme has to dateenabled more than 300 Cambridge studentsto benefit from a chance to study in theUnited States as part of their undergraduatecourse. In the last two academic years,generous funding from BP has allowedmore than 30 students, most of them fromthe Department of Engineering, to takepart.

Now, BP has given further funding tothe University which will enable morestudents to participate. The arrangementswill mean that places are open to studentsfrom Chemical Engineering, Chemistry,Computer Sciences, Mathematics andPhysics as well. In total a further 18 placeson the programme will be funded over thecourse of the next three years.

Those who have been on the exchangehave typically found it a life-changingexperience. One graduate reported back:“My year at MIT was long, challenging and

full of by far the most rewardingexperiences of my life. From the range offascinating and varied courses I took to theunbelievable friends I made, every aspect ofthe exchange scored a massive success. If Ihad to pick one standout feature, it wouldbe that as a structural engineer I reallyappreciated the chance to interactintimately with other disciplines in cross-over classes at both MIT and Harvard.”

Another wrote: “The experience taughtme not only the joy of teamwork, but alsogave me a chance to meet engineers fromacross the US, and beyond.”

Dr Peter Long, from the University’sDepartment of Engineering, said: “Thestudents who have been on this exchangehave all benefited greatly from theadventure, often returning to lead newUniversity activities and going on to flourishin industry and research.”

“The extension of the scope of theprogramme beyond the Engineering corewill strengthen the exchange and furtherenable students to take advantage of thebreadth of subjects in the two Universities.We hope that this is just a sign of things tocome and that in the future it will be possibleto extend the exchange programme again,taking it beyond the physical sciences.”

“The students who have been onthis exchange have all benefited

greatly from the adventure, oftenreturning to lead new University

activities and going on to flourishin industry and research.”

Peter Long

PHIL BA

LL/PAN

DIS

Andy Leonard, Vice President BP Cambridge, with some of the first BP supported Cambridge-MIT exchange studentsat the launch of the extension of the programme to non-Engineers from Cambridge University.

www.eng.cam.ac.uk/DesignOffice/cme/2012/index.html

Legoline: Aninnovation inthe teaching ofsystemsengineeringWith support from the RoyalAcademy of Engineering, theCambridge Engineering DesignCentre (EDC) has developed anew Graduate module in SystemsEngineering, combining informaltalks on a wide range of practicalissues with hands-on sessionsinvestigating the design of apallet handling line.

Simple calculations, Discrete Event Simulation(DES) and a Lego Mindstorms model –“Legoline” – are all used to illustrate thechallenges faced by engineers designing real-life systems.

The module is led by Tony Purnell, theformer principal of the Jaguar and Red BullFormula One teams and Academy VisitingProfessor in Integrated System Design,Professor John Clarkson, Director of the EDC,and Drs David Delamore and AlexanderKomashie. The Integrated Systems Design, wasfirst delivered to 1st year graduate students inthe Department during the Lent term of 2012.

Legoline was developed in 2010 byundergraduate Konrad Newton in his final yearMEng project. It was subsequently upgraded byDavid and Alexander. Then, in the summer of2012, it was radically improved by Tom Neatand Nikki Phoolchund, both final year studentsin the Department, as part of the nationalUndergraduate Research OpportunitiesProgram.



Spin-off company Cambustion celebrate 25 years atthe forefront of global engine emissions researchStaff at the Department ofEngineering spin-off companyCambustion have celebrated 25years at the forefront of globalengine emissions research.

In the late 1980s the drive to improve airquality placed increasing scrutiny on vehicleemissions. A tea room conversation betweenthe Department’s Nick Collings and RexBritter led to the timely development of ananalyser capable of measuring hydrocarbonemissions from a running engine on a cycle-by-cycle basis, where previousmeasurements had been on a timescale ofseveral seconds. This allowed Nick and histeam – Nigel Baker, Steve Dinsdale, TimHands, Steve Montgomery and John Willey –to investigate the emissions performance ofengines in unprecedented detail. Earlycollaboration and joint publications with theFord Motor Company followed. Realising thatthe analyser had commercial prospects, theresearch group formed Cambustion to bringto market a fully developed system.

Seeking somewhere to set up thebusiness, Cambustion became the firsttenants of the St John's Innovation Centre,although a subsequent move closer to theDepartment saw the company occupy ahouse on Portugal Place in the very centre ofCambridge.

Running a manufacturing company froma terraced house with no vehicle accessturned out not to be totally straightforward(although it did have its advantages), but amove to more conventional office space inthe mid 1990s saw the company placed toexpand. The rise of the Internet and emailmade it viable to support customers usingCambustion’s unique products abroad. Thesedays the fax machine is virtually redundant.Now one of the company’s most effectivemarketing tools is an online list of thetechnical publications produced byresearchers using Cambustion products andpublished in journals around the world.

Since then Cambustion has continued todevelop new emissions analysers, includingsensors for hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen,carbon monoxide/dioxide and particulates.Vehicle emissions legislation first introducedacross Europe in 1992 limits the permissiblelevels of these emissions and subsequentlegislation has seen permissible levelssteadily reduce, bringing air quality benefitsto all.

Having developed the tools, Cambustionwere faced with the challenge of convincingothers of the value of the data produced. Thelogical step was to undertake consultingwork, initially renting engine dynamometerfacilities at the Department of Engineering,and then building four high-tech engine testcells at their headquarters on Cherry HintonRoad in Cambridge. The consultancybusiness turned out to be much more than amarketing tool and continues to expand,with plans already well underway to buildfurther test cells during 2012.

The strong links with the University havealso provided Cambustion with a steady poolof talent: a large proportion of the employeesstudied at the University.

Vehicle emissions are a global problem,and Cambustion's products have been sold

in 26 countries around the world, where theyare used for both fundamental combustionresearch in universities and to improve theemissions performance of engines by vehiclemanufacturers. The link between industryand university customers has provedparticularly valuable to Cambustion, sincestudents exposed to Cambustion's productsduring their research often go on to dosimilar work in industry, bringing with themtheir knowledge and experience of whatCambustion can offer. Together with repeatsales into traditional markets such as theUSA, Europe and Japan, recent years haveseen an expansion into China with a localoffice, and many sales to Chinese universities.

In 2012 Cambustion’s latest product formeasuring ultrafine aerosol particle masswas launched. The main application of thisproduct lies outside traditional automotiveR&D and is already generating great interestin the atmospheric aerosol community withsales to China, Europe, Japan and the US.Cambustion’s large and ever expanding R&Dteam continue to develop new products forgas and particle measurement.

"Vehicle emissions are a globalproblem, and Cambustion's

products have been sold in 26countries around the world, where

they are used for bothfundamental combustion researchin universities and to improve theemissions performance of engines

by vehicle manufacturers. "

Cambustion's fast response particle analyser is used in the development of cleaner engines

CA

MBU

STION

www.cambustion.com


Documents

Department of Engineering News - autumn 2013