Welcome to the Community Insights blog!

This blog features posts from and about the EngX community. Want to contribute? Read our blogging guide to help you get started.

  • NAB Retrospective

    It has been over three months since NAB2019 in Las Vegas which I thought was a suitable time to look back at the event and what has been the key themes that stemmed from it. ATSC3.0 A big focus was ATSC3.0, which is almost a perennial discussion. The key change this year though is that  actual field tests have actually taken place in the US in May , as well as the  beginning of the FCC issuing of licenses . At the conference itself ATSC3.0 was declared ‘Ready for Deployment’ which was somewhat old news as it has been already  deployed in South Korea in 2017  but that is countered by the somewhat big lack of devices that support the standard outside of Korea. What does ATSC3.0 bring to the TV entertainment sphere? Well if I want to be somewhat critical it brings the digital enhancements of DVB…

    Ian Nock
    Ian Nock

  • NASA Lecture: Space Is The Place (IET London Network)

    Dr. Ravi N. Margasahayam, M.S., M.B.A, Co-Chair for Ground Safety Review Panel (GSRP) - NASA, gave an inspirational talk on the value of innovation and how thinking different is the best way to fix problems. His talk described the different challenges he has encountered over the years and how space exploration has given him opportunity to create multi-tiered solution models. These innovation equations have developed into team collaboration methods within NASA, where bedrock principles help define organisational excellence. Specifically, he talked about how lessons learned are crucial in ensuring technology innovations remains relevant not only for the team but for the entire industry. He showed many videos, one in particular was how NASA has robot teams (Yeap) and that if the land vehicle cannot…

  • Big Bang Doncaster Racecourse 25th June 2019

    IET SYLN were once again able to support and co-sponsor the overall the Big Bang event held at the Doncaster Racecourse on the 25th June 2019 This is an annual event set up by the area STEM Hub DEBP Ltd and attracted over 4000 schoolchildren from around the South Yorkshire region and some from beyond. The opportunity for the schools is excellent in terms of being able to look at many aspects of engineering and manufacturing and discuss with exhibitors about their roles and the businesses organisations they represent. To take away a much better and well informed understanding about the engineering profession when making choices about careers. The IET SYLN stand was led by our School Liaison Officer Layla Graham & supported by main committee members John Lawrence our current chairman, Alan Chater…

    Alan Chater
    Alan Chater

  • (updated) Two Teams From Malaysia Shortlisted For IET Global Challenge

    Two teams from Malaysia had been shortlisted for IET Global Challenge 2018/19. Organized in partnership with Greenpeace and GreenSeas, the IET Global Challenge is a competition for 18 to 35-year-olds to develop an innovative solution to tackle the problem of plastic waste in the oceans. The Greenpeace challenge required participants to propose a practical way to reduce overall use of packaging, eliminate single-use plastic packaging by 2025, and introduce more reusable packaging formats. Meanwhile, to qualify into the GreenSeas challenge, participants should create a remotely-controlled all-terrain machine that is capable of moving up and down the beach for a reasonable amount of time, picking up cigarette butts from the surface of the sand and collecting them in a chamber or hopper. The Malaysian…

    LING TING RANG (PETER)
    LING TING RANG (PETER)

  • Aeronautical & Automotive Winners At GradEX19

    A member of our committee was a judge at the recent Graduate Expo at Staffordshire University (GradEx). Howard Evans, originally from Bentley and who now works as a consultant judged the students. Pictured are the winners in the Aeronautical & Automotive category presented by David Hawkins – the Dean of Creative Arts and Engineering at the University.   1 st - Dominic McCormack   2 nd - Thomas Wise   3 rd - Jacob Cullen

    Samuel Wane
    Samuel Wane

  • Time For Change: Addressing The Energy Deficit That Is Emerging Resulting From The Move To Electric Cars

    With the continued decline in the auto sector I think new personal challenges (and opportunities) await ahead. The auto sector is being squeezed by several forces and all is not just Brexit related. Yes the uncertainty of the Brexit situation is a significant factor but manufacturing can always deal with change. Whilst not wishing to come down in favour of either the remain or leave position, it is the uncertainty generated during ongoing debate since the referendum by all sides of the argument that has resulted in a toxic situation in the economic, social, commercial and political spheres.  This is significantly damaging our auto industry and supplier base.  Far more significant though is the misinformed statements that are constantly emerging relating to diesel engines. It is beyond doubt…

    Louis Redding
    Louis Redding

  • Three IET OCs From Malaysia Shortlisted For IET Campus Group Of The Year Award

    This year, YPS Malaysia is honored to have three of its OC groups shortlisted for IET Campus Group of the Year Award. The teams are University of Southampton Malaysia OC, Swinburne Sarawak OC, and University Tunku Abdul Rahman OC. The IET On Campus Group of the Year Award is a way of recognising and rewarding the IET On Campus student group that has gone above and beyond the rest between 30 April 2018 – 30 April 2019. OCs who applied for the award were required to answer four questions, with appropriate descriptions and elaborations. Elements include: (1) Most successful event of the year (2) Most engaging social media post (3) A time the OC has collaborated (4) The greatest challenge the OC has overcome Winner will grab £1,000 to spend on an activity of their choice, and every member in the…

    LING TING RANG (PETER)
    LING TING RANG (PETER)

  • Physics Education

    Any Physicists or Engineers able to help with physics research?  If so please please detail what you think got you through your their physics studies at https://leeds.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/doing-physics

    David Blake
    David Blake

  • #IAmAnEngineer Is Our New Social Media Campaign

    To mark this year’s International Women in Engineering Day, and to highlight diversity across engineering and technology – not just gender – we have today launched a new social media campaign #IAmAnEngineer, which features a variety of real-life engineers.The campaign follows new IET research that found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of British women are considering taking on careers in engineering despite there only being 12%* (Engineering UK) currently in industry. When exploring the reasons why, the IET led research found that nearly a fifth of women (17%) suggest the disparity in those thinking about pursuing engineering and those who follow through could be down to a lack of visible role models. This becomes most evident when considering the 28% of women who don’t think they’re clever enough…

    EngX Editorial
    EngX Editorial

  • Has Our Attitude To Media Changed Without Us Noticing?

    Does social media enhance our experience of media? Are we less passive in our engagement with content now? What happens when large numbers of fans can communicate? Media content continues to evolve in interesting and sometimes unexpected ways.   We are always being told that media is continually changing because of advances in technology. The original way that people used to consume films and TV was live – in a cinema on a screen, or at home on a TV set. Then home video-taping allowed people to time-shift, and to ‘collect’ films and TV programmes for viewing whenever they wanted. Then streaming allowed people to binge-watch an entire series on the day of release (or weeks later), and the physical ‘collecting’ of vinyl records, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays began to fade because of the enhanced ease…

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • The MME Department’s Annual Conference & Exhibition On 22nd May, 2019

    The IET TT LN was invited by the University of the West Indies to set up a Booth at its annual  MME Department’s Annual Conference & Exhibition on May 22, 2019. This event was very successful as usual,  as there were many visitors to the IET TT LN  Booth which was manned throughout the day by various Executives of the IET TT LN. Various IET materials were on display to market and highlight the very activities that the IET has to offer.  The visitors were very impressed and show interest in becoming members of the IET.

    J. Maraj
    J. Maraj

  • LN 'Myths busted' poster

    Good day all I believe this poster was circulated in an email recently by the IET communities team. For those who missed that email, here is the link to the poster.  http://email.ietinfo.org/files/amf_iet/project_1955/IET_Communities_Mythbusters_Infographic.pdf Thank you IET Communities team.

    Siong Tang
    Siong Tang

  • Fusion – Powering The Future ? (IET Central London Network)

    Dr Joe Milnes of the UKAEA  (UK Atomic Energy Authority) gave a fantastic talk about how to, as he put it, make a “sun in a bottle”. A great overview was provided on the engineering challenges & how other disciplines such as materials science, computer simulation, & obviously physics, are required to solve many of these challenges alongside engineers. Given the UK government’s commitment to reduce CO2 emission by 45% by 2030 & to zero by 2050, Dr Milnes presented the advantages of fusion as an energy supply given that the fuel source is plentiful and obviously carbon free. This was balanced with a joke about it being “always 30 years away”, though optimistically he did say that he was confident that this time it really would be available within 20-30 years from now due to the research conducted…

    Rimesh Patel
    Rimesh Patel

  • Healthcare of the future

    For those who made it along to the joint IET Healthcare Technologies and Robotics and Mechatronics event on 'The Future of Medicine - The Role of Doctors in 2029' heard about some of the amazing technologies that are being developed to take us into the future of medicine.After the event, I found these online and we did cover some of the amazing AI and robotics advances that are not just online thoughts, but currently being looked at by our industry and academia.  These areas may not be all about the medicine, but it is interesting how the technology can be utilised in other ways. 'Alternative Limb Project' showcases the Creative Possibilities of Prosthetics Adobe's New AI Detects Photoshopped Faces

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Fusion - Powering The Future? (IET Central London Network)

    Fusion - Nope, we're not talking blackcurrants infused into water. Dr Joe Milnes JET Operating Contract Senior Manager - Culham Science Centre, UK Atomic Energy Authority gave a very insightful account of how the Joint European Torus (JET) has been progressing the journey of fusion energy at the IET Central London Network evening lecture held at the IET Savoy Place. Amongst other particulars, he explained how JET is helping the journey towards commercial fusion energy to be used across a grid-network. During the event he described in clarity how the Tokamak concept is being used to develop fusion energy and how other platforms like Spherical, MAST, H3AT and ITER are playing a major role for fusion development – and at the same time also defining brand new complementary processes such as the…

    Rimesh Patel
    Rimesh Patel

  • Thank You IET Toronto Local Network! -- From Ryerson Formula Racing

    Below is a Thank You note received from the group of students from Ryerson Formula Racing. " Hello Jenny, We have been busy all year preparing for our competitions, FSAE Michigan and FSAE North. Now that these competitions are complete and we are entering our summer testing phase, we would like to reach out and thank you for your support in completing RF-19. Without your help, we would not have been able to produce a car worth naming it our 25th-anniversary vehicle. Thank you for your generous donation. IET helped us push our boundaries this year and attend a second competition. Formula North really tested our car and taught us a lot about both the static and dynamic events. Thank you for your involvement with Ryerson Formula Racing and we look forward to working with you in the future! We…

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • RAF Air Defence Radar Museum Visit

    4th July 2019, Registration from 1:30pm,  visit begins at 2pm and finishes at 5pm RAF Air Defence Radar Museum Nr RRH Neatishead Horning Norfolk NR12 8YB Register here...

    Alex Barrett
    Alex Barrett

  • We've Launched A New Space Competition To Inspire And Engage 6 To 13-year Olds

    To help inspire the next generation of astronauts and engineers, we have today launched a new competition with iconic comic Beano inviting six to 13-year olds to design a product which they could not live without on Mars.The ‘Life on Mars’ competition is open for entries from now until 3 July 2019. Entrants must send their design for a product, along with a few sentences on how they would adapt it to work on Mars. The competition has launched after new IET research found children are looking to space just as much as their grandparents were 50 years ago, but for very different reasons. Nearly two thirds* (61%) of children are worried about environmental damage to the planet, with 49% believing we will have to look to Space for somewhere to live in the future. The research was conducted amongst…

  • Harnessing Offshore Wind Energy-update!

    Weds 5th June 2019 Sarath Tennakoon joined us from Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda to update us on the latest technologies of the DC power super grid, HVDC, and  the advantages of offshore wind energy . The mechanisms of the wind turbine and the scaleability of them was also discussed. It was a great reunion for many colleagues as Sarath was a lecturer at Staffordshire University and is now an Emeritus Professor. The highlight was the discussions this prompted with the group of over fifty attendees, with the R&D team from GE being present amongst engineers from all areas. If you were present and would like a CPD certificate, then please download one from our FILES area. UPDATE:Sarath has kindly given his slides, these are attached, and in the File area ( https://communities.theiet.org…

    Samuel Wane
    Samuel Wane

  • Technical Visit to East Bros Timber Ltd Fully Subscribed

    Looking forward to the fully subscribed technical tour tomorrow @ East Brothers Timber.

    Anna Gilbert
    Anna Gilbert

  • International Construction Measurement Standards, 2nd Edition Now Issued For Consultation

    Life cycle costs (LCC) play a pivotal role in the financial management of construction projects around the world. As a part of the whole life cost (WLC), they allow critical decisions to be made about the importance of capital and longer-term costs that ultimately affect asset performance, longevity, disaster resilience and sustainability. It is for this reason that the ICMS Coalition has revised and extended the scope of International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) to incorporate this broader cost classification. This new edition supersedes the first edition of ICMS (July 2017) although this second edition can still be used solely for capital cost reporting.Since inception, the driving principle behind ICMS have been that consistent practice in presenting construction costs globally…

    Joanne Longton
    Joanne Longton

  • We Caught Up With Last Year's William James Award Winner, Rossana Castaldo - “The Power To Change People’s Lives – That’s What Keeps Me Going”

    As we approach the 2019  Healthcare Technologies Student and Early Career awards (submission deadline, 28 June at 17:00) we caught up with last year's William James award winner to find out the rewards of research life, her route into postdoctoral research and the perks of winning an IET award. Rossana Castaldo, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Univeristy of Warwick, is working in biomedical engineering and developing technology which promises to improve chemotherapy treatment.  Tell us more about your research Our bodies operate according to circadian rhythms – they change physically, mentally and behaviourally following a daily cycle. These circadian rhythms affect chemotherapy treatment and treatment affects them too, so they need to be monitored.This can be done by blood, salivary…

  • Scientific Video Protocols

    Scientific Video Protocols is a full open-access peer-reviewed video journal publishing in 4k cinematic quality.  The home page is  https://scivpro.com/ There are interesting interviews from leaders of research groups including ones from the Cavendish.  Take a look at  https://scivpro.com/manuscript/10_32386_scivpro_000008/ for an interview with Sir Richard Friend regarding Perovskite LEDs.

    David Blake
    David Blake

  • YWE winner, Sophie Harker, features on new Engineering Matters podcast

    Last year's IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year (YWE) winner, Sophie Harker, features in the latest Engineering Matters podcast .In the podcast, Sophie discusses how she first became interested in engineering, her career to date and her aspirations to become an astronaut. The podcast includes a call to action for young woman engineers to apply for this year's YWE awards. Entries are open until 7 July 2019. Sophie also received the Sir Henry Royce Achievement Medal for Young Professionals and since her award win, she has been actively involved in IET activities, volunteering as a media spokesperson for British Science Week. Sophie's also taking part in planned activities for this year's International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) and our Engineer a Better World campaign, which launches soon…

    EngX Editorial
    EngX Editorial

Community Rules & Guidelines