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Smart Wind and Solar Power

Wind power is booming on the open plains of eastern Colorado. Travel seven miles north of the town of Limon on Highway 71 and then head east on County Road 3p, a swath of dusty gravel running alongside new power lines: within minutes you’ll be surrounded by towering wind turbines in rows stretching for miles. Three large wind farms have been built in the area since 2011. A new one is going up this year. Every few seconds, almost every one of the hundreds of turbines records the wind speed and its own power output. Every five minutes they dispatch data to high-performance computers 100 miles away at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. There artificial-intelligence-based software crunches the numbers, along with data from weather satellites, weather stations, and other…

Former Community Member
Our Volunteers

The IET Trinidad and Tobago Local Network of the IET Caribbean Communities organise a programme of engineering activities in the Caribbean. All of these events and activities are made possible by the efforts of a dedicated group of volunteers. If you would like to know more about our committees, or would like to be a volunteer for us, please get in touch with any of the volunteers listed here. Anthony Chadee Chairman David Drakes Vice Chairman Sean Ocho Treasurer Deoraj Beephan Secretary Gerald Mendes Member & International Professional Registration Advisor Robert Dumbell Member Colin Chase Member Ahmad Mohammed Member & 2014/2015 PATW Co-ordinator Jason R. Rameshwar Member & Caribbean Communities MyCommunity Administrator

Jason Robert Rameshwar
The Lord Mayor Visits The IET Stand At The STEM Careers Fair

On Friday 27th June, the Science Council worked with the Lord Mayor’s office and the City of London to deliver a STEM careers event in the Guildhall for Year 9 students from schools in the City of London and neighbouring boroughs with the aim of developing careers awareness for their students. From our point of view it was a very successful event. It showed the wide range of science and technology based careers available in the City of London and the career options available. The Lord Mayor is herself very committed to all this and to raising the aspirations of local students. She supported the event and spoke at the reception. Our IET London network put on a stand located right in the centre of the exhibition area where we received about 300 visitors including the Lord Mayor and her entourage…

Davy Thielens in Circuits
Growing IET Membership In The Caribbean.

During a visit to Trinidad and Tobago this summer, then IET President Dr Mike Short applauded the Caribbean Local Network for its work in promoting the IET. The IET’s Community Committee – Americas (CCA) June 2012 meeting was held in Trinidad and Tobago. Attended by Dr Mike Short, this visit gave the Caribbean Local Network a chance to improve on its ties with industry and academia as well as show off the many achievements it has already made. The Trinidad and Tobago Network as it was known, really began to come into its own when current chair Deoraj Beephan stepped up to the role in 2009. Officially approved as the Caribbean Local Network this summer, Deoraj’s work to develop the Network has been a great success. Read the full article in IET Member News

Lisa Miles
Lord Browne: Coming Out Of The Glass Closet

When Lord Browne was 'pulled out' of the closet in 2007, the CEO of BP became the world's highest profile gay businessman. It was a revelation that was to cause him to fall on his sword and lose his job. Lord Browne's sumptuous offices in Mayfair's rather swish Burlington Gardens overlook the rear façade of the Royal Academy, where austere statues of Cicero, Plato and a host of other classical thinkers peer across the road into his glass office. If you were to follow their gaze, you would be taken into a glass-walled conference room where we sit discussing his latest book, 'The Glass Closet'. It's a book that could help to change the way the corporate world thinks about sexual orientation in the workplace. Sir Richard Branson describes it as "a fascinating book that shows how businesses can…

Lisa Miles
Would you like to volunteer for Teddington?

Have you ever thought about volunteering and do you have some spare time to give? Are you looking to take the next step in your career? Volunteering is a fantastic way to enhance your professional development with the IET. By volunteering for your local network you can gain experience in areas such as event planning and marketing, and also build on other skills such as liaising with speakers and gaining business contacts. The Teddington committee are currently looking for enthusiastic and committed individuals to help with their marketing and the creation and running of their events. Volunteers will be required to attend the monthly meetings and occasional committee meetings. Other responsibilities will include the creation and running of regular events held on the first Wednesday of every…

Gemma Hadley
Energy use in UK homes - report

Sustainable Homes have produced an insightful report on energy use in the UK's homes. Report for download: http://www.sustainablehomes.co.uk/resources/publications2?submissionGuid=d28ee0ea-9930-4717-9472-ff8621cff5c6

Former Community Member
Wind Turbines - Love Them Or Hate Them?

Last year a windfarm was constructed in the fields close to the village where I live. Personally (and I know others will not agree with me) I love wind turbines and watched their construction with great excitement… After meaning to for some time, I finally took a walk up to the site to take a closer look at the turbines and see if they are as noisy as the ‘Stop the Wind Farm’ protestors would have us believe... I’ve been up close and personal to one before (while in Cornwall a few years ago) and it was silent, but I wondered if that was just a one off perhaps, since others have been so vocal about the noise pollution factor. It was a particularly breezy evening and the turbines were turning a quite a speed so I decided that this was as good a day as any to do my research! One of the…

Lisa Miles
R&D at the BBC: can the Beeb sustain its tech reputation?

We have the BBC to thank for many tech advances from the last two centuries, but can the world-famous public service sustain its R&D activities? The BBC is responsible for a myriad of innovations ranging from FM stereo radio and teletext to interactive television services that are accessible via the red button. The British Broadcasting Corporation has been a front runner of communications development since its creation in the early 1920s. The captains of the radio industry, led by Marconi, Radio Communication Company, Metropolitan-Vickers, General Electric, Western Electric and British Thomson-Houston, met at the London-based headquarters of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) to discuss how to market radio sets to the general public. Read the full article on the E&T Website

Lisa Miles
Could You Be An IET Media Expert?

The IET is often approached by external media outlets with requests for interviews with spokespeople working in specific areas of engineering and technology. We are aware that some of our volunteers may be experts in these areas so wanted to bring this opportunity to your attention. Being a spokesperson for the IET can be a very effective way of raising your profile and it can also count towards your CPD. The relevant areas where we lack media spokespeople are: Tunnels Infrastructure What we are looking for in a spokesperson: Able and willing to represent the IET – and the IET’s position on engineering topics Wide and up-to-date expertise, with many years of experience in the subject area – and an objective perspective Engaging, personable and confident speaker Willing to attend a day’s media…

Former Community Member
Railway Quiz Night

Thursday, 12 June, there was only one place to be in London and that was at the Annual Railway Quiz Night! We had our usual room with a view courtesy of Doggetts Coat and Badge at Southwark. Peter Sheppard did the honours as Quiz Master once again and didn’t disappoint by wearing yet another different uniform. This time his uniform actually formed part of the Quiz, you got a bonus for solving the cryptic clue ‘"Instant Shed Less High Cowl" which turned out to be Freight Operating Company (FOC) "English Welsh and Scottish". There was a good turnout for the event with a mixed age group and it was excellent to see so many young railway professionals present. Following the questions there was a networking opportunity/buffet before team ‘Twenty Four Trains’ were declared the winners. The Railway…

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
Career Manager Version 3: One Year On!

It has now been a year since the launch of IET Career Manager v3, so we thought it would be a good chance to give you an update on what has been happening since the launch. One year ago, on the 24 th June 2013 after an extensive period of user acceptance testing with our volunteers and with updated and added functionality, we switched over from our v2 of Career Manager to v3. Following initial feedback from early adopters of the new system, and with the enhanced change control functionality we had built into the tool, we have been able to apply some minor changes mainly to the labelling and guidance to ensure that Career Manager v3 continued to be embraced by its users. With a steadily increasing user group of approximately 8600 users now using the new version of Career Manager, and 4689 brand…

Kathryn Bain
Could You Be An IET Media Expert For Space Engineering?

The IET is often approached by external media outlets with requests for interviews with spokespeople working in specific areas of engineering and technology. We are aware that some of our volunteers may be experts in these areas so wanted to bring this opportunity to your attention. Being a spokesperson for the IET can be a very effective way of raising your profile and it can also count towards your CPD. One of the key areas where we lack media spokespeople is space engineering . What we are looking for in a spokesperson: Able and willing to represent the IET – and the IET’s position on space engineering Wide and up-to-date expertise, with many years of experience in the subject area – and an objective perspective Engaging, personable and confident speaker Willing to attend a day’s media training…

Former Community Member
IET - Isle of Man Group TT Zero Event

The IET Isle of Man Group recently organised an event to coincide with the TT Zero races on the Island which forms part of the annual TT Race series. This year’s race was won by Team Mugen who were also runners-up, however, the students from Team Buckeye Current at Ohio State University came an amazing third. The IET event consisted of a networking opportunity before the event to view the motorcycle that won the 2009 TTXGP race and meet up with members, non members, guests and some of the teams/riders involved in the 2014 TT Zero race series. There were presentations from Team Buckeye Current, Team Ion Horse at Kingston University and Brammo, together with a rider’s perspective from Robert Barker from Buckeye. The event was Chaired by Stan Kewley, Chairman of the IoM Group who commented as…

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
IET Isle Of Man Group - TT Zero Event

The IET Isle of Man Group recently organised an event to coincide with the TT Zero races on the Island which forms part of the annual TT Race series. This year’s race was won by Team Mugen who were also runners-up, however, the students from Team Buckeye Current at Ohio State University came an amazing third. The IET event consisted of a networking opportunity before the event to view the motorcycle that won the 2009 TTXGP race and meet up with members, non members, guests and some of the teams/riders involved in the 2014 TT Zero race series. There were presentations from Team Buckeye Current, Team Ion Horse at Kingston University and Brammo, together with a rider’s perspective from Robert Barker from Buckeye. The event was Chaired by Stan Kewley, Chairman of the IoM Group who commented as…

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
Interview With Professor Simon Iwnicki, Institute Of Railway Research, Huddersfield University

Railway Professional magazine have recently interviewed Professor Simon Iwnicki, Head of the Institute of Railway Research at Huddersfield University ahead of his forthcoming year as Chairman of the IMechE Railway Group. See here for the full interview .

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
Interview with Simon Iwnicki, Institute of Railway Research, Huddersfield University

Railway Professional magazine have just interviewed Professor Simon Iwnicki, Head of the Institute of Railway Research at Huddersfield University ahead of his forthcoming year as Chairman of the IMechE Railway Group. See here for the full interview .

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
New Survey from WES for Qualified Women Engineers

Women in Engineering: Are you In or Out new survey from WES for qualified women engineers. Can you help by filling this out please?

Former Community Member
IET International Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Conference 2014 - China

This International conference aims to bring together global experts from government, academia and industry to examine the recent advances in hybrid and electric vehicle technologies and to discuss issues, problems and solutions involved in the large scale adoption of electric vehicles around the world. This three-day conference includes a mixture of technical presentations, panel discussions, followed by a technical visit to a prominent electric vehicles (EV) factory/research centre in Chongqing. Attendees will learn about the latest technology applications being developed in hybrid and electric vehicles; batteries, infrastructure and power supply as well as clean energy generation and storage. The event will also cover topics such as charging technologies and facilities, branding issues, innovative…

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
GNSS Vulnerability Workshop, Sydney, December 2013

The workshop brought together Australian experts on GNSS vulnerability from academia, industry and various government departments at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia on the 4th of December, 2013. Speakers at the workshop highlighted the threats, including from cheap illegal jammers, the other infrastructure sectors affected from aviation and maritime to communications and banking, and the remedies available, including technology being developed in Australia to geolocate interferers. The incorporation of GNSS into the national infrastructure resilience strategy was also discussed. Open discussion led to agreement that different measures to deal with vulnerability must be pursued in parallel: to protect GNSS as effectively as is possible, and to ensure backup systems exist…

Former Community Member in Navigation
Women In Engineering Webcast

If you missed the webcast this afternoon, fear not! Here is the link.

Former Community Member
Exclusive: Watch An Interview With Trunki Founder Rob Law

Trunki founder Rob Law loves a challenge, or so it would seem. Undeterred after being rejected by the Dragon’s Den panel, he went on to make his funky suitcases for children a huge success. Rob took on another challenge when he started looking into re-shoring the manufacturing of Trunki suitcases back to the UK. Despite no Government assistance being available at the time, Rob worked with the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) to ensure efficiency and the manufacturing of Trunki was successfully moved to Devon, UK. In this exclusive video Rob gives an insight into how to approach the idea of re-shoring, and how clever re-engineering of the product has allowed the company to match UK production output with Chinese output through cutting labour costs. Government support for re-shoring has since…

Phoebe Houssein
female engineers' & scientists' advice to the next generation

Girls can't what? Our female engineers' & scientists' advice to the next generation http://t.co/6QeYOqGmKp #NWED pic.twitter.com/fCMwLWP4u9 — Malvern Instruments (@malvern_news) June 23, 2014

Joanne Longton
Social Media

In an attempt to reach those potential members and guests at our events, the Local Network for Southern California can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/IETinSoCal or on twitter at @IET_SoCal

Richard Tregaskes

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