Photo (from left to right): Prof Jason Gerhard, Prof Jose Torero, Lord Howie of Troon, Dr Christine Switzer, Dr Guillermo Rein.
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STAR Team win the 2009 Lord Ezra Award in Combustion
Congratulations to the STAR team for receiving the 15th Lord Ezra Award for their innovative combustion technology to treat industrial soil pollution.
The award was given on 8th October 2009 during a lunch at the House of Lords, Westminster, by the UK Combustion Engineering Association for "outstanding achievement in the study of combustion engineering". The lunch was hosted by Lord Howie of Troon, Civil Engineer and MP.
The preceding David Gunn Memorial Lecture ‘Sugar the Energy Bill’ (Energy Efficiency at British Sugar) was presented by Paul Gardiner of British Sugar & Combined Heat & Power Association.
Note: this is the second Erza Award for Edinburgh; Valentina Cvoro won the 2003 Derek Ezra Award.
November 2009
Research Institute: IIE |
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Simple test could offer cheap solution to detecting landmines
Scientists have developed a simple, cheap, accurate test to find undetected landmines.
Students from the University of Edinburgh have created a custom-made bacteria that glows green when it comes into contact with chemicals leaked by buried explosives.
The bacteria can be mixed into a colourless solution that, when sprayed on to the ground, forms green patches to indicate the presence of landmines.
November 2009
Research Institute: IMP |
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Interview with Dr K. Sefiane featured on the front page of the newspaper ‘TO BHMA’ |
Dr K. Sefiane wins the Institute of Physics (IOP) 2009 prize
Dr Khellil Sefiane, from the Institute of Materials and Processes (IMP) has been awarded the Printing and Graphics Science Group 2009 Prize by the Institute of Physics (IOP). The award is made for joint work with Professor Stephen Wilson, head of Mathematics and Statistics Department, from Strathclyde University and his team on ‘Fundamental Studies of Drops Evaporation’. This has contributed to the understanding of the physics of wetting and phase change which is of fundamental importance to printing technologies. The project was funded by EPSRC, 2005-2008. The results from the project were recently published in leading journals of the area.
November 2009
Research Institute: IMP |
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Mr Andrew Wiersum
Photo courtesy of Cyril Bruneau, SET Awards
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Andrew Wiersum wins the Best Chemical Engineering Student of the Year Award
Andrew Wiersum has won the AWE Award for the Best Chemical Engineering Student of the Year at the recent Science Engineering and Technology Awards (SET). Andrew won the award for his final year research project which looked at designing new materials for carbon capture under the supervision of Dr Tina Düren.
This is the second time a Chemical Engineering graduate from the University of Edinburgh has won the award after Jennifer Wilson in 2007.
October 2009
Research Institute: IMP |
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Professor Dougal Drysdale |
Professor Dougal Drysdale Named as Recipient of the D. Peter Lund Award
Professor Dougal Drysdale has been named as a recipient of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) 'D. Peter Lund Award' for 2009. The award presentation will take place at the SFPE annual meeting in Arizona on October 19th.
The D. Peter Lund Award was established in 1997 to recognise 'significant contributions to the advancement of the professional recognition of the fire protection engineer'.
The award this year is shared between the seven editors of the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering.
October 2009
Research Institute: IIE |
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Shaun Farquhar receives his prize from Dr Simon Steiner
Picture courtesy Engineering Subject Centre, The Higher Education Academy
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Shaun Farquhar, Chemical Engineering Student, wins Essay Prize
Congratulations to Shaun Farquhar, a fourth year Chemical Engineering with Management student, who has won the Engineering Subject Centre Student Award 2009 run by the Higher Education Academy.
Shaun's essay entitled "how can your classes be more engaging" suggests that demonstrating a 'mini experiment' at the beginning of a lecture will help the student with the theory taught afterwards.
August 2009
Research Institute: IMP |
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Qinli Yang, PhD Student, comes 2nd in the BDS Annual Student Prize Competition
Many congratulations to Qinli Yang, a PhD student in the Institute of Infrastructure and Environment, supervised by Dr Miklas Scholz, for coming second in the BDS Annual Student Prize Competition, run by The British Dam Society at the Institution of Civil Engineers. Qinli's entry was entitled 'Outline of the Benefits of Large Dams', and we have been told that only two marks separated the 1st and 2nd place in this national competition.
July 2009
Research Institute: IIE |
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Professor Steve McLaughlin
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Professor Steve McLaughlin elected as Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Congratulations to Professor Steve McLaughlin who has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. This Fellowship recognises Steve's research excellence and in particular the contribution that he has made to its application in the real world.
July 2009
Research Institute: IDCOM |
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Professor Peter Grant,
Regius Professor of Engineering receiving his OBE from Her Majesty The Queen |
Royal Honours within Engineering
Professor Peter Grant was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's birthday honours list in June 2009, for services to science, and Visiting Professor Quentin Leiper was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the sustainability agenda
June 2009
Research Institute: IDCOM / Research Institute: IIE |
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Technique pinpoints age of ancient relics
Scientists have found a way of dating archaeological ceramics – by defining how they react with moisture from the air.
The simple method promises to be as important for dating ceramic materials as carbon dating has become for organic materials such as bone or wood.
A team from the Universities of Manchester and Edinburgh has discovered the technique, which can be used on fired clay ceramics such as bricks, tiles and pottery.
May 2009
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Dr Andy Downes |
Dr Andy Downes wins a Medical Research Council Discipline Hopping Award
Dr Andy Downes, a RCUK fellow in Biomedical Engineering with the Institute for Materials and Processes, has won a Medical Research Council discipline hopping award to study “Chemical microscopy and spectroscopy of live stem cells”.
The MRC Discipline Hopping Grant scheme enables established researchers in the engineering or physical sciences to apply for funding to investigate and develop ideas, skills and collaborations in biological, clinical and population health research.
May 2009
Research Institute: IMP |
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Dr John Christy
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Dr John Christy completes the London Marathon
Congratulations to Dr John Christy who has successfully completed this year's Flora London Marathon in a sub 3 hour time. He finished in 2 hours 59 minutes and 33 seconds, beating his previous personal best (set in London two years ago) by 5 minutes 37 seconds.
If anyone still wishes to contribute sponsorship to The National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease (NACC) they can still do so online at www.justgiving.com/johnchristy
April 2009
Research Institute: IMP |
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Dr Luke Bisby |
Six Papers and four Awards at Applications of Structural Fire Engineering - Prague 2009
The Centre for Fire Safety Engineering presented 6 papers at the International Conference Applications of Structural Fire Engineering, celebrated in Prague on 19-20 February 2009.
Dr Luke Bisby was awarded the Best Poster Award (see the poster here) and three of our PhD students - Susan Deeny, Angus Law and Kate Anderson - obtained the young researcher award, and their papers will be published in the Acta Polytechnica (the journal of Czech Technical University in Prague).
April 2009
Research Institute: IIE |
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Professor Jose Torero
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Professor Torero is new Chair of the Fire Safety Working Group...
... at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The CTBUH, founded in 1969, is an international non-profit organisation supported by architecture, engineering, planning, development and construction professionals, designed to facilitate exchanges among those involved in all aspects of the planning, design, construction and operation of tall buildings.
April 2009
Research Institute: IIE |
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Example of a Wetland |
PhD Student Wins 1st Prize in National Telford Institute Poster Competition
Congratulations to Mr. Atif Mustafa (PhD student supervised by Dr Miklas Scholz) who won the first prize for his poster on integrated constructed wetlands at the National Telford Institute Workshop on Sustainable Urban Water Management: "Promoting Internationally Leading Research in Sustainable Urban Water Management
at Scottish Universities". Sixteen posters entered the final stage of the competition.
April 2009
Research Institute: IIE |
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First Prize at Graduate Lecture
Many congratulations to Johan Hjertson and Sam Collins for being awarded the 1st Prize at the 2009 Graduate Lecture competition of the Institution of Fire Engineers. Their MEng thesis is on the fire safety design for a building at high altitude and enriched oxygen atmospheres and included fire tests conducted in Puno, Peru, at an altitude of 3801m.
April 2009
Research Institute: IIE |
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The Senior Moulton Medal goes to the authors...
... of the best paper of a
mature nature published by the Institution of Chemical Engineers during the year.
The paper, authored by Dimitri Mignard and Colin Pritchard, focuses "On the use of electrolytic hydrogen from variable renewable energies
for the enhanced conversion of biomass to fuels". It was published in Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Vol. 86(5), pp. 473-487.
March 2009
Research Institute: IES |
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BMW 530 saloon with Digital Displacement ® technology
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Hybrid car drives down fuel costs
A car that uses half the fuel of normal vehicles in cities has been built with technology originating at the University.
Artemis Intelligent Power, a company formed by University researchers, has converted a BMW 530 saloon.
The car’s carbon emissions have been cut by an average of 30 per cent in combined city and motorway driving.
March 2009
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KTP Award Winning Partnership
The Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) project led by the BRE Centre of Fire Safety Engineering at The University of Edinburgh with Powerwall Systems Ltd won the Best Partnership Scotland Award given at a 2009 KTP Awards ceremony in London, 5th March. The project sponsor was The Technology Strategy Board
March 2009
Research Institute: IIE |
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Gavin Paterson receives the Sir William Siemens Medal from Andreas Goss, Chief Executive, Siemens plc
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MEng student receives Sir William Siemens Medal
Gavin Paterson, currently a 5th year student on the MEng in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, was one of this year’s recipients of the Sir William Siemens Medal. The medal was awarded in recognition of Gavin’s outstanding performance on the MEng programme and was presented to him by Andreas Goss, Chief Executive, Siemens plc, at a special ceremony held recently at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.
February 2009
Research Institute: IMNS / Research Institute: IES |
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Simulation of light illumination intensity in an airplane cabin
Picture courtesy EADS Innovation Works, Finkenwerder (Germany) and Airbus Germany
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Dr Harald Haas wins prestigious German research grant
In the context of the German federal aeronautic research program Harald Haas receives approximately 700,000 Euros from the Federal Ministry of Economy for the development of a wireless light-based communication technology in aircraft cabins at Jacobs University, Bremen (Germany).
February 2009
Research Institute: IDCOM |
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Dr Alistair Elfick
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IVF hope after sperm test success
Scientists have revealed details of a high-tech breakthrough which could help childless couples.
Edinburgh University researchers have developed a method of testing the sperm quality before it is used for IVF.
They have said the technique could help childless couples in the next five to 10 years.
January 2009
Research Institute: IMP |
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Dr Tong-Boon Tang, Mr Chris Earnshaw, President IET, Dr Stewart Smith
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SMC based Researchers win IET Premium award
Dr Stewart Smith, a University of Edinburgh researcher based at the SMC, recently attended the prestigious annual awards ceremony of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in London. Along with his colleague, Dr Tong-Boon Tang, they received the IET Nanobiotechnology Premium Award on behalf of their colleagues from Mr Chris Earnshaw, President IET, for a paper published in 2007 entitled "Development of a miniaturised drug delivery system with wireless power transfer and communication".
January 2009
Research Institute: IMNS |
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Professor Ian Underwood
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Professor Ian Underwood, Head of the Institute of Integrated Micro and Nano Systems at the University of Edinburgh was delighted to be appointed to the Scottish Science Advisory Council (SSAC) in October 2008.
The SSAC is a select group of nineteen experts who provide independent advice to the Scottish Government on science, engineering and technology, including the wider opportunities arising from them. The SSAC also advises on the impact of new scientific thought and offers recommendations on science strategy, policy and priorities. All of this is channeled through the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland and co-Chair of the SSAC, Professor Anne Glover.
January 2009
Research Institute: IMNS |
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RAE Results: Edinburgh Engineering Amongst the Elite
The integrated School of Engineering and Electronics, formed in 2002,
is 3rd in the UK (1st in Scotland) for research quality
and
quantity. The Research
Fortnight analysis which ranks departments by both the quality and quantity of research,
calculates that the top 2 are, predictably, Cambridge and Oxford. We
are a very clear 3rd with Imperial College 4th.
55% of our
research is either
world-leading or
internationally excellent and all of our research is deemed to be
internationally recognised. This is an extremely encouraging result
that recognises the quality, scope and volume of research in our
interdisciplinary Research Institutes, addressing major research
challenges that include Energy, Bio-Engineering and Fire Safety.
January 2009
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