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  • Meet The Committee - Bill Ellis, Tayside District

    William G Ellis, Representative for Tayside BSc (Hons) Electronic Engineering – Robert Gordon’s Institute of Technology, Aberdeen, 1969 - 1973   Now semi-retired but runs his own part-time utilities consultancy business and is also a STEM Ambassador.   Previously: Worked with Ferranti in Edinburgh designing test equipment for radar systems. Thereafter, enjoyed a 24 year career with Scottish Hydro Electric (now SSE) based initially at Cruachan Power Station in Argyll and latterly based at several locations in Perth. During this time, areas of responsibility were electronic control systems, telecommunications systems and HV generators, transmission and distribution systems.   Member of the Scotland North Committee of the Institution of Engineering and Technology since 1989 to present. Has organised…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Confused About CPD Or IPD?

    The window to submit your 2016 CPD returns opened on 3rd January 2017 . Since we opened the window for CPD returns, there have been a few people asking questions about the differences between IPD and CPD and what can be counted as CPD.  The answer is really that any development you are doing, be that working toward professional registration (generally considered Initial Professional Development or IPD) or wider career development (generally considered to be Continuing Professional Development or CPD), any completed activities can be recorded on Career Manager as CPD Activities, and any future plans you have can be recorded as either mapped UK-SPEC or CPD Objectives with planned actions against them. As a Professional Development Community Member, we hope that you've already discovered the benefits…

    Kathryn Bain
    Kathryn Bain

  • Are you interested to volunteer at the IET Victoria Network?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Are you interested to volunteer at the IET WA Network?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Are you interested to volunteer at the IET Tasmania Network?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Are you interested to volunteer at the IET South Australia & Northern Territory Network?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Are you interested to volunteer at the IET Queensland Network?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Are you interested to volunteer at the IET NSW Network?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Are you interested to volunteer at the IET Brunei Network?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • We Are Recruiting Volunteers For Our Networks, Are You Interested?

    If you are passionate about raising awareness of science, engineering, and technology and want to be more engaged, then this could be the perfect opportunity!  Visit our website to find out more about: a list of volunteering positions, what a LN is; what we’re looking for in a volunteer; how you could benefit, and how to apply.

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • From Baird To The Digital Age

    On the 27th of January the IEEE held a whole day event "From Baird to the Digital Age" at the Royal Institution.  The previous day, the 26th, they had unveiled a plaque outside 22 Frith Street to commemorate John Logie Baird's first public demonstration of his television system there on the 26th of January 1926.  The session on the 27th comprised a number of talks, preceded by introductions by Ali Hessami the Chair of the UK and Ireland Section and Karen Bartleson the current President of the IEEE.  The talks started with Donald McLean discussing Baird's achievements, followed by Iain Logie Baird (JLB's grandson) who talked about Baird the person, and the morning session was completed by a short video showing the plaque unveiling the previous day.  In the afternoon there were four talks.  The…

    Graham Turner
    Graham Turner

  • Your community needs your help!

    The volunteers in Barcelona are looking for ideas and suggestions for activities to organise in the future. For a flavour of the sorts of events that have been organised in the past, please do take a look at our blog section   We'd very much appreciate your help by completing a short survey, which should take no longer than 10 minutes.  This will help us with our forward plans, and we look forward to seeing the results! Link to the survey If you have any questions at all, please email me direct Joanne Longton Community Manager

    Joanne Longton
    Joanne Longton

  • What Is Happening In The Districts - Aberdeen

    After the first Scotland North meeting of 2017, I thought I would give you an insight into what happens behind the activities that you see advertised – and there is a lot. For those that don’t know the layout of the Scotland North Committee, the area is split into districts that each have a representative on the Scotland North Committee.  The Committee pulls together the event plans for the year and submits the budget.  The Scotland North Committee organises events in Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Perth, Thurso, Orkney, Shetland, Stornoway.  These events cover a range of engineering, management and general interest. So, what has been happening in the districts over the past few months, what happens behind the scenes?  This week I have focused on the Aberdeen district. Bit of background for those…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Challenges of Ageing Aircraft and how to address them

    A short while ago I attended a seminar organised by the Aerospace Network on the issues of  ‘Addressing Ageing Aircraft Sustainment’ . There were a good number of delegates at the event, who had the opportunity to hear from several different speakers on the various challenges around this topic and how they were addressing them.   The keynote speaker was Air Marshal Julian Young CB OBE, who during his presentation covered the RAF’s awareness of airworthiness and the challenges presented by Ageing Aircraft.  He highlighted the RAF’s fleet composition and some of their examples of Ageing Aircraft such as the Tornado from 1980-2019, Puma 1973-2025 and the Boeing 707 which was originally supposed to last from 1964-2014, but has now been extended to 2042 in its Rivet Joint guise.  Julian also discussed…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie

  • Meet The Committee - Iain King, Past Chair

    Iain King,  Past Chair With a strong background in Further and Higher Education, Iain is currently Programme and Development Manager for Engineering and Building Technology area at Inverness College UHI. He has curriculum responsibilities that include Foundation Apprentices, Technician Apprentices and the emerging Graduate Apprentices and cover a range of academic areas including: Architectural Technology, Civil Engineering, Electrical Installation, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. A member of the IET Scotland North LN Committee for 9 years, his current role being Past Chair.

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Meet The Committee - John Blacklock, Caithness & Orkney District

    John is a member of IET Caithness & Orkney District committee as part of IET Scotland North Local Network.   He actively promotes the engineering profession to the public through organising events and to schools and colleges by delivering STEM initiatives with organisation such as IET, IMechE, British Science Association, Bloodhound Educational Project.   He develops other engineers through being a Professional Interview Assessor with IMechE and IMarEST as well as being an IMechE; Academic Assessor, Industrial Advisor, MPDS mentor & scheme assessor.   John works for Jacobs from their Scrabster Offices and is embedded within Dounreay Site Restoration Limited to advise and deliver Nuclear Decommissioning projects. His experience and qualifications earned from previous positions with Ministry…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Meet The Committee - Prof Andrew Rae, Perth District

    Andrew Rae Andrew Rae graduated from Imperial College in 1987 and joined the High-Lift Section of the Aerodynamics Department at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. His activities there concentrated on the physics of multi-element aerofoils, largely but not exclusively for civil aircraft, including Reynolds number effects and wake vorticity. Based at the 5m Pressurised Wind Tunnel at Farnborough he was involved in the development and application of wind tunnel corrections and test techniques. He has managed tests at over 30 other major facilities in seven countries and worked on projects for Airbus, Boeing and several Formula 1 teams. He was Deputy Chairman of the Technical & Scientific Board of the European Wind Tunnel Association (EWA) and within this framework was the focus for…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Meet the Committee - Kenneth Laing, Hon Treasurer

    Kenneth Laing, Hon Treasurer I have been associated with the IET and IEE serving on the Scotland North committee as an ordinary committee member,  Honorary Secretary and currently Honorary Treasurer.  Too many years ago, I chaired the Aberdeen Younger Members section and served on the national Younger Members Committee.    I worked in the oil and gas industry in operations,  engineering and major projects. My background is in instrumentation including major control and safety systems, fiscal metering, integrity management and project engineering.

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Meet The Committee - Andrew Mackenzie, Vice Chair & Hon Secretary

    Andrew Mackenzie, Hon Secretary and Vice Chair Andrew Mackenzie is a Chartered Electrical Engineer with a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a PGCE (FE).  He worked for 26 years with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and before retirement reported directly to the Chief Executive as Head of Strategy dealing with Best Value, Internal Audit, Performance Management and Strategic Risk.  He chaired the Strategic Risk Committee, was a member of and Clerked the Senior Management Team. Since retiring he lectures in Advance Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy Technology at the University of the Highlands and Islands and is actively involved in the Western Isles’ STEM issues.  He is Hon Secretary and Vice Chair of IET Scotland North Local Network – as well as being an active crofter…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • Meet The Committee - Barry Mitchell, Chair

    Barry Mitchell, Chair Barry Mitchell is a Chartered Electrical Engineer who has been working in the Oil and Gas Industry since 2010. He has a MEng degree (with Distinction) in electrical and electronic engineering from Robert Gordon University and has recently gained professional registration with the engineering council as a chartered engineer at the age of just 28. Barry received a scholarship from a large oil and gas operator throughout his time as a student and has gone on to complete a graduate programme with a large global service company in the oil and gas sector, winning the Oil and Gas UK Graduate of the Year Award in 2014. Since completing his graduate scheme Barry has been promoted quickly to engineer, senior and now to principal engineer level. Barry began his career by providing…

    Lynsay Callaghan
    Lynsay Callaghan

  • And the IET ARTS TPN Technical Prize for MotoE Racing goes to…

    MotoE is an official European Championship for electric motorcycle racers, teams from the across the globe, battle each other in five rounds within Europe for the privilege to call themselves the MotoE European Cup Champions.   It has been supported by the IET Automotive & Road Transport Systems TPN for several years as it raises awareness of electric motorcycles and the profile of the IET and TPN.  Also, all members of the Technical Panel are IET members.   On recent completion of the 2016 season, the Technical Panel had a difficult time choosing a winner for the IET ARTS TPN prize and had to split the prize between two universities.    The team from Nottingham University were awarded a prize for Innovation as they consistently improved lap times across every round in the season, taking track…

    Deborah-Claire McKenzie
    Deborah-Claire McKenzie

  • North Wales Tidal Energy and Coastal Protection Lecture

    On the 24th January, a number of members and non members attended a lecture presented by Mr Henry Dixon, Chairman of North Wales Tidal Energy, who outlined his companies plans to build a tidal barrage from Great Orme to Rhyl to harness the power from tidal action. The electricity that could be generated from this scheme would be 2.5GW enough for 1.1 million homes. The length of the wall 31Km . The electricity generated could also be used to feed a pump storage scheme. Wind and solar power is variable, the wind does not always blow and days can be bright or overcast, but the tidal movement can be accurately predicted for decades into the future. The environmental impact was also discussed, using the wall to provide coastal defenses and raising it in the event of global warming causing a rise…

    David S Crawford
    David S Crawford

  • Ottawa LN And Backstreet Builders Hold Open House

    On Thursday 26th January the Backstreet Builders team of 9 to 12 year olds held an Open House for the Ottawa LN. On show were their nascent efforts with the BBC micro:bit computer boards.   This board has been a great success with the team, who expressed their thanks for the donation of a board to each of the team members.  Notice in the video the keen interaction between team members, with peer-peer teaching.  One 9-year old member demonstrated a Python program that used the magnetometer, and then a program using the BLE communications between two BBC micro:bits.  All with just one week of effort. Next was a demonstration run of the First Lego League robot challenge.  The Backstreet builders gained first prize for the robot performance in the Ottawa qualifying tournament.  This run may be…

    Former Community Member
    Former Community Member

  • Towards 5G - Event Highlights

    The 3 rd annual Towards 5G was held successfully at Savoy Place, London at the end of January. It was attended by over 100 delegates from a wide ranging set of disciplines. We were lucky to have not 1, but 2 chairs for the day. Kafil Ahmed, chair of the network, presided over the second half of the day and Mike Short oversaw the first half. As Mike opened the seminar, he described how each generation of connectivity had been described by 1 word: 3G = multimedia; 4G = broadband. He challenged each speaker to give their 1 word to describe 5G – the words are shown in the picture to the left and you can find out who said each word at the end of the blog! Our first speaker was Professor Misha Dohler, who put on his special haptic glove, to tell us about the Internet of skills. The glove is able…

    Former Staff Member
    Former Staff Member

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