Engineering Your Future - 19th November 2010

A day of interactive engineering workshops

Download the poster

Not sure what to do after A levels? Unsure of your career path? Have you considered becoming a professional Engineer? If you are not sure what being a professional Engineer involves then Engineering Your Future may be for you.

Who should attend?
This informative and hands on event is aimed at pupils in Year 12 who are interested in engineering careers. Attendance is free, a tour of the Diamond synchrotron and a buffet lunch is provided. Teachers and careers advisors are also welcome.

What happens on the day?
The day is split into five sessions providing insights into different aspects of Engineering; each lasting 45 minutes. Each session is led by a team of enthusiastic engineers from RAL Space, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, the RAF and Fugro GeoConsulting. The sessions are designed to be practical, interactive and provide an insight into life as a professional Engineer. The 5th Session is a tour of the Diamond Synchrotron.

Diamond generates extremely intense pin-point beams of synchrotron light of exceptional quality ranging from X-rays, ultra-violet and infrared. For example Diamond’s X-rays are around 100 billion times brighter than a standard hospital X-ray machine or 10 billion times brighter than the sun. Many of our everyday commodities that we take for granted, from food manufacturing to cosmetics, from revolutionary drugs to surgical tools, from computers to mobile phones, have all been developed or improved using synchrotron light.

RAF - Today’s Royal Air Force is a large, modern, hi-tech organisation. Whether in the skies above Britain or in airspaces elsewhere, it is our job to protect the United Kingdom against any form of threat, while also working to strengthen international peace and security. The main function of the RAF Careers Information Service is to motivate young and enthusiastic individuals into joining the Royal Air Force and provide the necessary direction and guidance.
 
The RAF is not just about aircraft. Our people are our most vital asset and there’s a large team behind every aircraft that takes to the skies. Our personnel can expect to be trained to the highest standards. The workshop will bring science into the real world, using the interactive activity “Helipad design”, which focuses on electricity using series and parallel circuits.

Culham Centre for Fusion Energy is bringing the energy source of the Universe to a power station near you! Developing nuclear fusion, the process that powers the Sun, for carbon-free electricity on Earth is the ultimate energy challenge. Culham hosts the world’s biggest magnetic fusion experiment, JET and is at the forefront of international fusion research. Culham engineer Manminder Kalsey will talk about the challenges of building ‘star machines’ and the career opportunities in this exciting field. Plus there will be a chance to test your knowledge in the ‘Who wants to be a Fusion Engineer?’ Quiz!

Fugro GeoConsulting merges the talents of Fugro’s Geophysics, Geology, Geohazards and Geotechnical Engineering resources.

This creates a powerful combination of consultancy skills to provide the complete integrated solution to accurately identify and quantify seabed and sub-seabed risks and optimise the location, design and installation of wells, pipelines and facilities. In the UK, Fugro GeoConsulting employs a wide range of staff in Wallingford and Great Yarmouth. Professional geoconsulting staff cover all aspects of geotechnical engineering, engineering geology, geophysics, geology and civil engineering and construction. Our world class soils testing laboratory employs multi-disciplined scientific staff from a variety of backgrounds.
 

RAL Space - The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) funds research across the UK, Europe and the world in science and technology. 

The Space Science and Technology Department works on many areas of space and astronomy research and technology, from high performance telescopes and optics to space missions and robotics.  This workshop will give students the chance to try their hand at using some simple software to control a robot to carry out tasks.  Robots are used in missions to the Moon or to Mars where they can be used to detect important data about where they have landed.  Prototypes like the one used in this workshop are essential so that all the equipment can be thoroughly tested before they are launched into space, where there are no second chances if things don’t work!

This event is supported by the ICE, IMechE and STFC.

Registration

The event starts at 10:00 and finishes at 15:30
To register or obtain further details contact Jo Lewis

Tel: 01235 445950 or 01235 445789