School of Engineering

News and Current Events 2012

If you have any items for publication on the news pages please email details to: seenews@see.ed.ac.uk

Ken Laing (past ICE Scotland Chariman) with David Connolly

PhD Student wins 1st Prize in the ICE Scotland Papers Competition Final

Congratulations to David Connolly, a postgraduate student in the Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, who has won 1st prize in the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Paper Competition Final in Dundee on 30th April 2012. The three judges made their decision based on his written paper, his oral presentation and his ability to answer searching questions. David was representing Edinburgh after winning 1st prize in the Edinburgh Area Branch ICE Paper Competition on 29th February 2012.

Also congratulations to Stefan Bozhkov, an undergraduate student in Civil Engineering, who won 3rd prize in the same final for his paper entitled "Laboratory testing of concrete: mix design validation and composite behaviour".

May 2012

Research Institute: IIE

From L-to-R: Prash Valluri (UoE staff), Lev Sarkisov (UoE staff), James Young, Bo Peng, Lester Waugh (Astrium Ltd.), Yassen Abbas, Sam Jones, Scott Clark, Lois Doig, Gareth Herron, Samuel Walpole, Malcolm Chambers, Martin Dylan, Jamie Cassels and Charlotte Raymond

Lester Waugh visits School of Engineering

Lester Waugh from Astrium UK Ltd. has been involved in the world of space for more than 22 years, working in the fields of Telecommunications, Earth Observation and Science and Interplanetary Exploration. As a Systems Engineering Manager at Europe's Largest Space Company, Astrium, Mr. Waugh has exposure to many projects and studies involved in the exploration and exploitation of space.

Lester along with Lev Sarkisov and Prashant Valluri are supervising one of the 4th year Chemical Engineering design projects titled “Design of integrated life support systems for Mars space station”. The design team comprising eleven 4th year chemical engineers, who call themselves the “Red Planet Recycle”, have the key objective to build a space station on Mars capable of a continuous support of a 10 member crew. Under the constraint of a sporadic re-supply mission carrying water, oxygen and food every 1.5 years, the team has elaborately designed an onsite recycling system for water, air and waste. On 28th March, Lester visited Edinburgh to assess the final presentations of the design teams (including the Red Planet Recycle). On the Red Planet recycle team Lester said “I was very impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm of the team. They responded admirably to the technical demands they faced and their solution showed a unified approach which is so important for highly interactive systems. Designing a critical, near closed loop system with the particular challenges of reliability, efficiency and economy is not easy, but the team did remarkably well.”

April 2012

Research Institute: IMP

Dr Richard Yemm

Former Student, Richard Yemm, Awarded the Saltire Prize Medal 2012

Dr Richard Yemm, inventor of the Pelamis wave energy device has been awarded the Saltire Prize Medal 2012, for his outstanding contribution to the development of the marine renewables sector.

The iconic red ‘sea-snake’ wave energy converter has gained international recognition since Dr Yemm founded Pelamis Wave Power in Edinburgh in 1998.

First Minister Alex Salmond presented Dr Yemm, now Commercial Director of Pelamis, with the second annual Saltire Prize Medal at the Scottish Renewables annual conference dinner in Edinburgh.

The annual award – presented under the auspices of Scotland's £10 million Saltire Prize marine energy challenge – aims to recognise outstanding contributions by individuals and groups to the development of wave and/or tidal power generation.

April 2012

Professor Rebecca Cheung

Professor Rebecca Cheung elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Congratulations to Professor Rebecca Cheung who has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. This accolade recognises Rebecca's excellence in science/engineering.

Rebecca's research interests include:

Silicon Carbide MEMS for Harsh Environments
Metamaterials and Devices
Carbon-based Electronics
Silicon Carbide Devices for Power Electronics

April 2012

Research Institute :IMNS

Luke Bisby, Steffen Kahrmann and Craig Warren
Members of "Khannonball Run"

Three Members of the School of Engineering Driving to Mongolia for Charity

Luke Bisby, Steffen Kaharmann and Craig Warren will be driving to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia as part of the Mongol Rally this summer. They will be leaving Edinburgh on 14th July and hope to arrive in Mongolia within four weeks, travelling around 10,000 miles.

They are hoping to raise at least £1000 for the Lotus Children’s Centre Charitable Trust in Mongolia, which provides shelter, food and education to vulnerable children and families, and £5000 for the Scottish Association for Mental Health.

March 2012

Research Institute: IIE

Label-free images (120 μm × 90 μm) of 5 μm thick cancerous breast tissue. Green: second harmonic generation imaging of collagen; red: CARS image of proteins. (b) ‘Gold standard’ biopsy: hematoxylin & eosin stain of the adjacent section, for comparison. Note the high level of similarity between our label-free image, and the stained tissue.

Researchers at the School of Engineering have developed methods for 'seeing' cancer

Researchers at the School of Engineering have developed methods for 'seeing' cancer, and together with the Edinburgh Cancer Research UK Centre and cancer surgeons, have been awarded funds for a new cancer imaging system from Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and the University of Edinburgh.

The first generation microscope, in the School of Engineering, has already been applied to imaging cancer in tissue (see image: we can image cancer in live cells and tissue, rather than having to stain preserved tissue). Our bodies are made up of molecules - such as DNA, fats and proteins. All these molecules vibrate at different frequencies, and are sensed with laser spectroscopy, or imaged with vibrational microscopy. The second generation microscope is nearing completion at the Edinburgh Cancer Research UK Centre, and will offer more sensitive detection and ease of use. It will be used deep in live tissue to follow the spread of cancer, and to image the distribution of new anti-cancer drugs.

March 2012

Research Institute: IMP

Professor Harald Haas

Prof. Harald Haas ‘LiFi’ listed among 50 Best Inventions of 2011 by Time magazine

The visible light communication (VLC) research spearheaded by Prof. H. Haas of IDCoM is listed among TIME magazine’s 50 best inventions of the year 2011. The VLC technology is all about using LED light bulbs meant for illumination to also send data simultaneously. This is achieved by subtly encoding the data on the intensity of the light in a manner that does not produce flickering. When the data in question is internet traffic, we have LiFi - a term coined by Prof. H. Haas himself when presenting his work on VLC during the TED Global Conference in the summer. The future light bulb not only acts just like the traditional wireless internet access point, but it also doubles as the illumination source. With LiFi, the world’s over 14 billion lightbulbs, implanted with an electronic chip, could all potentially be turned into internet access points. The technology is safe from all sorts of electromagnetic radiation and very secure as light has a very well defined footprint and does not penetrate through walls.

January 2012

Research Institute: IDCoM