• Back Story: Shini Somara, ‘I wanted to highlight the care most engineers have for others’

    E&T: As the author of ‘Engineers Making a Difference’ (aka ‘EMAD’), what is your experience of engineering? Shini Somara: After my Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in mechanical engineering, I continued to pursue an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in environmental technology at Brunel University in London. My EngD was sponsored by Flomerics, which specialises in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. My doctoral research focused on the dynamic thermal modelling of buildings because, at the time, CFD models only provided static images. CFD in buildings has grown from strength to strength and was particularly useful during the pandemic, when we needed to know how Covid was transported among crowds. My father inspired me into engineering, with his incessant problem-solving approach to…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Teardown: Sony DualSense Edge

    The global e-sports market was last year worth $1.9bn (£1.6bn), according to Statista, and is one of the fastest-growing entertainment industries. Some of its biggest teams are already being valued in the hundreds of millions. It is not surprising then that leading console developers are now looking to develop upmarket wireless controllers. The gaming equivalents of a pair of Air Jordans include Microsoft’s Xbox Elite and, now, Sony’s DualSense Edge. The Edge has just launched, going on public sale after initial exclusivity via the PlayStation site. It costs a hefty £209.99, a number worth comparing with the £59.99 it costs to buy a standard DualSense should you need one more than that which comes bundled with a PS5. Microsoft has priced the Elite at £140. The target is the upper end of…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Getting Wales fit for the future needs engineering solutions

    Sometimes politics can be frustrating, especially if your background is in engineering. Planning and solutions were my trade, and politics in the UK, especially recently, is buffeted from one news story to the next. We face some serious economic problems and perhaps most importantly the problem of climate change that if left unchecked will lead to our destruction. For this we need to plan and seek workable solutions that protect our planet and our communities. For some time now, the engineer in me has been attracted to the idea of a Green New Deal. An idea that seeks to develop sustainable transport, energy and housing solutions in a way that also addresses the scourge of inequality. Inequality not only ingrains poverty but stifles people’s potential. In Wales, Economy Minister Vaughan…

  • Book review: ‘The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein: South America 1925’

    “A good traveller does not know where he is going to, and a perfect traveller does not know where he came from.” This quote from Chinese writer Lin Yutang (1895-1976) is one of the cleverest things ever written or said. It effectively means that it doesn’t really matter where you travel to. What does matter, however, is what you find. And your vision becomes much sharper if you are lost and not sure where you are going. Becoming a ‘perfect’ traveller, in the sense of being totally unbiased, is much harder; it requires complete eradication from memory of one’s background and past impressions to the point when the traveller’s mind becomes a tabula rasa, capable of perceiving the world as it really is. Let us ask ourselves: what makes Albert Einstein’s travel diaries so important that a respected…

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    E+T Magazine

  • TikTok banned on UK government phones

    Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden has announced that TikTok will be banned from government devices . However, ministers and officials in the UK will still be able to use the Chinese-owned app on their personal phones. "The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices," Dowden said. "The use of other data-extracting apps will be kept under review." Over recent months,  TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny over its handling of user data. Several public administrations have raised concerns over the possibility that TikTok-owner ByteDance will be asked to share its data with the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests. The United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have already…

  • Bottled water market masks lack of water infrastructure in poor nations, UN warns

    Based on an analysis of literature and data from 109 countries, the report says that in just five decades bottled water has developed into “a major and essentially standalone economic sector,” experiencing 73 per cent growth from 2010 to 2020. Sales are expected to almost double by 2030, from $270bn (£224bn) to $500bn (£415bn). The report concludes that the unrestricted expansion of the bottled water industry “is not aligned strategically with the goal of providing universal access to drinking water or at least slows global progress in this regard, distracting development efforts and redirecting attention to a less reliable and less affordable option for many, while remaining highly profitable for producers.” It finds that providing safe water to the roughly two billion people without it…

  • View from Brussels: If it ain’t broke, don't fix it

    At the height of the energy price crisis, the political pressure on the EU to do something about sky-high bills was so great that Brussels announced it would look at rewriting the rules that underpin electricity markets. This was a huge deal, as officials had previously insisted that those rules were not to be touched and that messing with them might prove to be disastrous for the 27 countries that make up the EU. But the price crisis was too substantial to ignore. Some countries announced support schemes that totalled more than 5 per cent of their GDPs, while everyday voters struggled to understand why expensive gas prices were pushing up the price of cheap renewables. Brussels responded by saying that the current market "no longer works". That prompted a scramble from governments to…

  • Eccentric Engineer: How the golf ball got its dimples

    Golf has produced a number of engineering innovations, which hopefully offset the sport’s baleful contribution to fashion. But perhaps most charming and effective are simple dimples. The earliest golf balls were probably made of wood, but the first recognisable ‘type’ was the ‘featherie’, a hand-sewn leather pouch, stuffed, as you might expect, with feathers – in fact ‘a gentleman’s top hat full’ of goose feathers. The ‘featherie’ had some obvious drawbacks – it wasn’t usually all that round, it flew less far when wet and had a tendency to explode on contact with a hard surface, turning the game into something resembling a pillow fight. Fortunately, in 1848, Robert Adams Paterson noted that gutta-percha, the dried sap of the Malaysian sapodilla tree, formed a hard rubber-like substance…

  • Over two tonnes of uranium missing in Libya, UN agency warns

    The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has told the organisation’s member states that 10 drums containing uranium “were not present as previously declared” at the location in Libya.  The missing uranium stockpile could pose radiological risk and security concerns, the agency has said.  The IAEA sounded the alarm  after a visit by its inspectors to the undisclosed site earlier this week, where it found less uranium than originally reported. Currently, officials are working to locate the 2.3 missing tonnes.  “The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear material may present a radiological risk as well as nuclear security concerns,” the IAEA said, adding that reaching the site required “complex logistics”. It is unclear when the uranium went missing or who could…

  • Engineering students mostly white men despite diversity efforts, report finds

    EngineeringUK has released a new report – 'Engineering in higher education' – which shows that just 18.5 per cent of engineering undergraduates are female students. The report describes this as an “exceptionally low” figure compared to the 56.5 per cent representation seen across all subjects. The issue is mirrored across the engineering and technology workforce. The report also finds a lack of ethnic diversity, with the majority (66.1 per cent) of engineering and technology students being white, although this figure is slightly lower than all subjects combined, where over 70 per cent (72.1 per cent) of students are white. This is a result of the better representation of Asian students in engineering and technology (18 vs 12.7 per cent for all subjects). However, only 8.1 per cent of engineering…

  • Sponsored: Why model electric motors?

    In this webinar, attendees will see how multiphysics modeling and simulation can help engineers continue to make improvements in electric motor design by gaining insight into the effects electromagnetics, vibrations, thermal management, and stress have on their design. Learn about optimising permanent magnet motors, particularly for the shapes and positions of the magnets; computing critical parameters like torque, core, and copper losses; and much more. Register for this webinar to learn about: Gain an understanding of the importance of multiphysics modeling and simulation for designing electric motors The various factors that affect electric motor design, such as electromagnetics, vibrations, thermal management, and stress Discover new techniques for optimising permanent magnet motors…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Nasa unveils new spacesuit for future Moon missions

    Nasa is retiring the iconic big, puffy spacesuits worn by the first men to walk on the Moon. Instead, the agency has unveiled a new line of space fashion, more form-fitting and comfortable for men and women astronauts.  The new spacesuits were displayed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, during an event hosted for the media and students hosted by Axiom Space, the company that designed the garments.  The suits will be worn by astronauts travelling to the Moon as part of Nasa's Artemis programme. The new suit design is said to have cost $228.5m (£189.6m) to perfect. Called the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), the spacesuit incorporates the latest technology, affords the wearer enhanced mobility and offers added protection from hazards on the Moon, Nasa said.   The…

  • ‘Cosmic concrete’ developed, twice as strong as regular concrete

    The scientists behind the invention used simulated Martian soil mixed with potato starch and a pinch of salt to create the material, which is twice as strong as ordinary concrete and is perfectly suited for construction work in extra-terrestrial environments. Building infrastructure in space is currently prohibitively expensive and difficult to achieve. Future space construction will need to rely on simple materials that are easily available to astronauts: StarCrete offers one possible solution. The research team demonstrated that ordinary potato starch can act as a binder when mixed with simulated Mars dust to produce a concrete-like material. When tested, StarCrete had a compressive strength of 72 megapascals (MPa), which is over twice as strong as the 32MPa seen in ordinary concrete…

  • OneWeb to launch internet service in Asia; abandons Russian-held satellites

    The company has also abandoned efforts to retrieve satellites worth $50m that were located in Russia around the start of the Ukrainian invasion. The satellites are currently held in their Soyuz launch site at the Russia-owned Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. OneWeb chief executive Neil Masterson said: “I spend no time thinking about it. We’ve completely moved on. There is value getting them back, but I can tell you that I’m not getting them back any time soon.” The firm, which has already received an insurance payout regarding the fallout with Russia, has nearly completed its satellite constellation, which will provide worldwide internet connectivity. So far, OneWeb has launched 584 satellites out of 648, meaning that it services are almost ready to go. The latest deal with Thailand…

  • The measure of: Mercedes-Benz’s eSprinter van

    Mercedes-Benz’s new electric van will be launched in the US and Canada in the second half of 2023, and in Europe by the end of the year. According to Mercedes, the new eSprinter comes with a multitude of technical innovations. The battery has a usable capacity of 113kWh and a range of up to 400km, with the manufacturer claiming it can travel up to 500km in urban areas. During a test drive in October 2022, the eSprinter covered the 475km distance from Stuttgart to Munich and back on one charge. From mid-2025, Mercedes-Benz aims to launch only purely electric van models on the market. For this purpose, the company is relying on its new electric platform, which will initially be used on three continents. Image credit: Mercedes Benz AG Cover Images Vital statistics…

  • View from India: A lesson from nature's bounty

    The Indian region of Ladakh conjures up images of picturesque landscapes, clear skies, highest mountain passes, adventure activities and ancient Buddhist monasteries. A sum of all this could be Ladakh for most of us but, like most things, there’s an exception; in this case Nordan, a Ladakhi teenager, could be singled out for his deep insight into the region. The documentary is an engaging story but what makes it compelling is that Nordan goes beyond the obvious. His curiosity about the place makes us feel as if we were there. He gives us a microscopic view of the area. From afar the Himalayas are lofty; in this film, one gets a close-up of the mountains along with their varied surfaces. Coming to nature’s bounty, flowers seem to float along the clouds. We’re made aware that it takes a fistful…

  • Bug-sized robots given ability to self-repair their wings after damage

    The artificial muscles have been optimised so that the robot can better isolate defects and overcome minor damage, such as tiny holes in its actuators. A novel laser-repair method was also developed to help the robot recover from severe damage, such as a fire that scorches the device. Using their techniques, a damaged robot was able to maintain flight-level performance after one of its artificial muscles was jabbed by 10 needles, while the actuator was able to operate even after a large hole was burnt into it. The repair methods enabled a robot to keep flying even after the researchers cut off 20 per cent of its wing tip. This could make swarms of tiny robots better able to perform tasks in tough environments, such as conducting a search mission through a collapsing building or dense…

  • Nigeria launches £559m fund to support young tech founders

    Nigeria is looking to support its technology and creative industries with a new fund for young investors who struggle to raise capital in Africa's largest economy. The country's vice-president Yemi Osinbajo launched the fund under the Digital and Creative Enterprises Programme (DCEP) in the federal capital Abuja, the presidency said in a statement. "DCEP is a government initiative to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital tech and creative industries and especially targeted at job creation," Osinbajo was quoted as saying at the launch of the fund. The initiative will target 15 to 35-year-olds. It will be supported by the government, which will provide $45m (£37m) while the private sector has pledged $271m (£225m).  Of the latter, African Development Bank will put in…

  • Book interview: ‘The Smartness Mandate’ by Orit Halpern

    “We call it a mandate,” says Dr Orit Halpern, “because we’re interested in how machine learning and artificial intelligence have become natural and necessary to the evolution of society. It’s when we decide a particular technology is essential to the way we live in a way it hasn’t always been.” As an example, the co-author of ‘The Smartness Mandate’ describes a scenario in which her overheated students instinctively resorted to the digital environment control system of the lecture room, when “they could have just opened the window. It’s now automatic to assume a computer-driven system will be more efficient.” During the past five decades, says Halpern, we have seen human intelligence redefined as computational. Halpern, who is Lighthouse Professor and chair of digital cultures and societal…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Placement of electric vehicle chargers could minimise energy grid stress

    Most national plans to combat climate change include increasing the electrification of vehicles and the percentage of electricity generated from renewable sources. But some projections show that these trends might require costly new power plants to meet peak loads in the evening when cars are plugged in after the workday. This could also lead to overproduction of power from solar farms during the daytime which can waste valuable electricity-generation capacity. MIT researchers have found that it’s possible to mitigate or eliminate both these problems without the need for advanced technological systems of connected devices and real-time communications, which could add to costs and energy consumption. Instead, encouraging the placing of charging stations for EVs in strategic ways and setting…

  • UK will avoid a ‘technical recession’ in 2023, chancellor says

    In his first full speech to Parliament, chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that the UK has "proved the doubters wrong" and confirmed that the country will not enter a technical recession in 2023.  Announcing the Spring Budget, Hunt stressed predictions that inflation rates will fall from their 10.7 per cent high, reached in the final quarter of 2022, to 2.9 per cent by the end of 2023. The chancellor described this as a sign that the government's economic measures are "working". Despite his announcement, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) still forecast a contraction of 0.2 per cent this year.  “We remain vigilant and will not hesitate to take whatever steps are necessary for economic stability," Hunt added.  During his speech, Hunt announced a package of measures aimed at reducing…

  • China must rethink chip strategy in light of US sanctions

    When it was founded in 2000, Grace Semiconductor aimed to build a chipmaking empire centred on Beijing but also make the most of political connections with the US. And with the son of former Chinese premier Jiang Zemin as one of its co-founders, the company was no stranger to forging geopolitical connections both inside and outside the country. It only took a couple of years for divorce proceedings to reveal a consultancy contract worth $2m over five years with Neil Bush, younger brother of the then US President, George W Bush. In the wake of the Chinese industrialisation and globalisation reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping more than a decade earlier which resulted in manufacturing expanding rapidly, Grace saw it as a logical move. In the current climate, such a connection seems unthinkable…

  • Samsung to build £189.6bn semiconductor ‘mega cluster’

    The South Korea-based chipmaker expects to invest 300 trillion won (£189bn) over the next 20 years to build five chipmaking plants near Seoul.  The semiconductor "mega cluster", as the company has called it, would open in 2042. The project was been framed within South Korea's ambitions to become one of the leading suppliers of silicon ships. The cluster aims to attract 150 other companies producing materials and components or designing high-tech chips, according to South Korea’s ministry of trade, industry and energy. The cluster is destined for Yongin, south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, where both SK hynix and Samsung have a presence. According to  President Seok-Yeol Yoon, it would be the "world's largest" chipmaking facility.  "The mega cluster will be the key base of our semiconductor…

  • Charging an EV from pole to pole

    By the time they reach ninety degrees south, Chris and Julie Ramsey will have driven over 27,000km (17,000 miles) through 14 countries across three continents. In exploration terms, such journeys would normally barely register with purists who still rate Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ 1979-82 Transglobe longitudinal circumnavigation as the benchmark. But when the history of 21st-century adventure is written, the Ramseys’ Pole to Pole Electric Vehicle Expedition (P2PEV) could merit a chapter of its own. Not so much because the husband-and-wife team will become the first to drive from the Magnetic North Pole to the Geographical South Pole, but because they will be undertaking the journey in an all-electric vehicle (EV). When they set off in their modified Nissan Ariya e-4ORCE from their departure point…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

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