The power of online communities

One of the questions we get asked about online communities is ‘Why bother?’ It’s a fair question and rather than giving you a list of theoretical answers we came across an example where virtual discussions in the IET Control & Automation Online Community became a physical event which will be taking place in September 2015. It’s a good illustration of the potential online communities have to meet the IET’s objectives. A discussion that began on MyCommunity has developed into new event for the Control & Automation Technical and Professional Network (TPN). Real value can come from getting involved in discussions on MyCommunity, as shown by the creation of the upcoming lecture on the use of dynamic simulation in the development of control systems. This event was developed off the back of a discussion…

2015-16 Committee

Tola Saka Chair Graeme McKinley Vice Chair Calum MacInnes Treasurer Craig Walker Secretary Ifeanyi Azolibe Online Community Administrator

Other Scottish IET Communities

IET Scotland   IET Scotland South East Network   IET Scotland South East Young Professionals   IET Scotland South West Network   IET Scotland South West Young Professionals   IET Scotland North Network

SERMS Committee Members 2017-18

Chairman:                          D Dick , OBE BA (Hons) MLitt PhD                                                        CEng FIET Vice Chairman:                  N G Shepherd , MA MSc CEng MIET Past Chairman:                J A Prettyman , MIET Honorary Secretary:          I B Currier , MBE TD BSc  CEng  FIET                                                Honorary Treasurer:        Eur lng J F Russell , BSc (Mech. Eng)                                              MEng (Civil Eng) MSc (Elect. Eng)                                              MSc (Computer Science)                                              Dip. Acc. & Fin. BA (German)                                              CEng MCIBSE  MIET Programme Secretary:     F B McCall , CEng  MIET                                          

IET SGM - Please Vote

Just a reminder that the IET SGM is coming up. You should all have received voting papers either in the post or by email now. Please take the time to read the proposals and vote! There is a large amount of information available on the internet for both options. It is important that the outcome of the SGM reflects what the membership actually wants, and this is only possible if the membership votes :) If you have questions about using a proxy, or about the two proposals, please comment below, and I will endeavour to provide un-biased help/answers. If you would like my personal opinion, I can of course also give this, but I encourage you to make up your own mind.

New Chairman For Aerospace Network

The Aerospace Network would like to introduce David Lindley, Chairman of the Aerospace TPN.    David is a Senior Consultant at MBDA in Stevenage and specialises in Aviation Safety with over 25 years’ experience in both the Military and Civil Aviation sectors.   David is looking forward to his three years in office as Chairman and has put together some strategic goals for the Network which he would like to share with Aerospace Community members. In addition, David has also prepared the following opening address .   David recently filmed an awareness video for the Network which can be viewed here .

Control PhD deadline extended

Good news - in order to give the judges more time to consider, we have agreed to extend the deadline to 30th September for the PhD Award - so there is still time for you to get your nominations in. Further information on the award itself and links to the nomination forms can be found here One of the previous winners of the award, Stefano Longo, now sits on our exec committee. Read about Stefano

Why Robot?

I was reading this morning about Google's humanoid robot, Atlas, that can run on natural terrains without falling. Atlas is over 6ft tall and it seems that he has been scaring some folks! The latest iteration of Atlas can now run on battery power and be controlled wirelessly. So, this got me thinking! Robots are a good thing right? So why are humans so mean to them? You will no doubt have seen the report of HitchBOT being "killed" in Philadephia at the beginning of August. It was part of a social experiment to assess how humans relate to robots, and then, not longer after that there was a report in the news about some children in Japan who attacked a stray robot walking round a shopping mall. Most children simply stepped aside and didn't get in the way, however there were a number who deliberately…

Other Useful IET Links For Scotland

Local and Technical Networks Scotland South East IET South East Scotland Afternoon Meetings and Events (SESAME)  (Formerly 'Scotland South East Retired Members') Scotland South West Scotland North IET Scotland

Fuselab Go - Ediburgh International Science Festival

Edinburgh International Science Festival - Fuselab Go: Pioneer a new way of life Fuselab Go is a free, two-day event, applications for the second phase of the tour are open now. Who: All 15-18 year olds What: This is your opportunity to design, prototype and put your big ideas to the test in a series of workshops, talks and events over two days When and where: Aberdeen: 8/9 and 10/11 Sept; Dundee: 14/15 Sept; Glasgow: 17/18 and 23/24 Sept; Edinburgh: 28/29 Sept and 30 Sept/1 Oct Fuselab Go is your chance to bring products to life; from thinking up concepts for new products, to pitching ideas and prototyping innovations. Inspirational mentors and speakers from the design and technology industries will lend their expertise to the Fuselab Go experience, giving you the opportunity to draw lessons…

IET Rail Section Presents: Communication Backbone Networks for MRT Applications

IET YPS Presents: Benefits Of Professional Registration and a Visit to a Compact Fermentation Plant

Check out great photos from the event. Click on the photo below to view more.

Networking Night With Two Presentations On And

Networking Night with Two Presentations on <Data Protection Act> and <Space, The Final Frontier> Speakers: Mr Jolyon Caplin and Miss Smrithi Keerthivarman Venue: Orchard Hotel, Lavender Room (Nearest MRT Orchard) Date: Tuesday 25th August 2015 Time: 6.30 registrations for 7.00 start of training Free for All Members and Non-Members Registration Link: https://localevents.theiet.org/1ee025 Introduction IET (Singapore Network) is providing an opportunity for members – particularly those from the Young Professionals Section – to become acquainted with the general procedures required to comply with Singapore’s Data Protection Act. The evening shall commence with a basic training session by Mr Jolyon Caplin then those attending can relax and enjoy the Present-Around-The-World presentation by this…

IET Energy Section Presents: Data Center Power Systems Design Philosophy

Data Center Power Systems Design Philosophy Speaker : Er. Goh Siak Joo Date: 01 September 2015 Venue: Orchard Hotel, Lavender Road (Nearest MRT Orchard) Registration Link: https://localevents.theiet.org/8e85be Free for all Members and Non Members Synopsis In today’s computing world and with the increased acceptance of cloud computing, any failure in a Data Centre can cause major economic and financial losses. Therefore, it is critical to have a reliable electrical supply infrastructure for Data Centres. A recent breakdown of a financial institution due to the failure of the electrical supply system in the hosting data centre has caused much discussions on this subject. This technical talk will discuss the Data Centre Power Systems Design Philosophy covering the Telecommunications Industry Association…

TTP ToneJet Printing Technology

There will be a tour of the TTP ToneJet electrostatic printing technology facility on Wed 9 Sept at 1830 hrs. Refreshments will be provided and there will be a presentation following the tour. TTP are at Melbourn, SG8 6EE. This will be a joint IET/I Mech E event. Full details are at https://nearyou.imeche.org/near-you/UK/Eastern/Beds---Cambs-Area/event-detail?id=10958

Robot Ethics - Noel Sharkey Podcasts

Hopefully by now you will have had a chance to look at the report of our Robot Ethics event held at the Science Museum back in June - if you've missed it you can view it here In the planning stages for the event, we had approached Professor Noel Sharkey to be one of the presenters. Sadly, he was not able to join us on this occaision as he had a prior commitment, however he did graciously agree to record some podcasts for us. Noel is well known for his early work on many aspects of neural computing, machine learning and genetic algorithms. As well as writing many academic articles, he also writes for national newspapers and magazines and has created thrilling robotics museum exhibitions, mechanical art installations and has run robotics and AI contests for young people from 26 countries including…

Forthcoming Events

Lots of interesting events booked up starting from September. Why not join us and take the opportunity to network and build up your CPD points at the same time.

Buffet Preceeding The Lecture On 29 October

On Thursday 29 October there is to be a joint IET/RAeS/I Mech E lecture at CUED by Ian Greig and colleagues from the Mercedes Benz F1 team. At 1800hrs, preceeding the talk, there will be a buffet organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) which the F1 group will attend. The buffet will be provided by external caterers and in the room next to the lecture theatre. The cost of the buffet is £15. If you wish to attend the buffet, please send a cheque for £15 to Royal Aeronautical Society, c/o Mike Hawkins, 5 Martin Close, Godmanchester, Cambs PE29 2WA. The cheque should be made out to Royal Aeronautical Society. Please include your name, address and contact details. The lecture is at 1930 hrs and entry is free of charge although a booking will be needed - see this page.

DRDC Biological & Chemical Defence Presentation now postponed to 2016

Unfortunately the DRDC Technical Presentation scheduled for September 9th has been postponed until spring 2016 due to matters beyond the speakers control. A joint presentation by the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) and Cubic Defence will take place on the 9 September. Further details will be available on the CPGCE events link and at www.CPGCE.org shortly.

MotoE ready and raring to go again!

The 2015 season of the MotoE Electric Motorcycle Racing Series started with the first round on 1-2 August 2015 at the Nurburgring. Here is a pre-season write-up by Rupal Patel, promoter of the MotoE series. The images in this blog are by kind permission of MotoE.

Female Civil Engineer Competition

Building the Future, Shaping our World, is a global female engineering competition for 11-18 year olds to promote women in engineering. It is being run by Rachel Hayden a year 12 student from Jersey College for Girls, through the International Women's Academy (IWA). The competition is divided into two main sections. Jersey Section This can be entered by any female individuals or teams of up to 4 people, aged 11-18 who currently live in Jersey, Channel Islands. You will have to design a sporting venue for the derelict Fort Regent swimming pool site. The winning team will get to present their design to the States Assembly, receive four iPad Mini 3's and four tickets to the opening ceremony of the Natwest Jersey Island Games 2015 and be automatically entered into the global section. All entries…

Jessica Lee wins the 2015 IET NorCal PATW

Congratultions to Jessica who won this years NorCal PATW and will be heading to the Regional final in Trinidad later this year Jessica ]presented on how learning from biological structures we can improve various kinds of technology, in her case the pulling power of a robot cockroach! Valedictory Message from the Chairperson of the Norcal Network I am pleased to report the success of the PATW organized by the IET Norcal Network at the University of California, Berkeley. I thank Sonia, Allen and John for working unceasingly for the program. I also want to thank Dr. Hayden Taylor and Ms Synyee Chin for accepting the request to serve as judges. Norcal Network is very grateful to the University of California for their gracious help in letting us use the facility for the function. My special thanks…

Europe, Middle East and Africa PATW final - 31 July, Abu Dhabi

Well, it's that time of the year again when I get back to my desk, thoroughly exhausted, after attending our Present Around the World final! What can I say about this year's final in Abu Dhabi? It seems to get better every year, and with 15 fantastic competitors, the challenge to compete for a place in the final was huge! A massive congratulations to Faisal Al Refae from Kuwait who won the competition! Also a massive congratulations to Harriet Walsh from Ireland who was the runner up. The other countries represented included Bahrain, Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Germany, Czech Republic and Mauritius. The other 13 competitors should still feel extremely proud that they made it to the regional final and were able to present to an audience of peers…

Motorcycle that can surf on water

I wonder what the surfing purists will think of this video showing Robbie Maddison, an Australian MotoX rider who uses a specifically convered MotoX bike to ride the waves ? Although he seems to ride some reasonably sized waves in the video, I'm not sure how he'd cope with Jaws in Maui. If you're a keen MotoX rider, is this something you'd like to try or if you're a dyed in the wool surfer do you think motorcycles should stay out of the water?