IET EngX® Community Insights

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Looking for Power Electronics Engineers of the Future? Join The KTN on 15 May

The EPSRC Centre for Power Electronics in partnership with the TSB and KTN are running a showcase of early stage power electronics researchers on 15 th May at Warwick University. The objective is to encourage the sector to meet the engineers of the future, currently funded by EPSRC or TSB projects. The event will encourage a dialog assist these early stage researchers to better understand the needs of industry and industry, the aspirations of a forthcoming generation of power electronics engineers. To find out more and book to attend, click here: http://bit.ly/1jA1lYF

Former Community Member
#BringBackOurGirls: To Help Our Girls Have A Future And Opportunities

The 237 school children in question were studying for their physics exam when they were abducted. ''I'm no expert in Nigerian politics, let alone " Boko Haram ", which interprets as "Western education is sinful" - all I know, is how sad this crisis is playing out in one of the poorest parts of Nigeria, where education is at its low and remarkable that the Nigerian Government is not doing enough to free the release of over 200 missing schoolgirls. Although, now, there has been public anger in Nigeria and worldwide, regarding the governments earlier slow response. We are now seeing world powers getting involved, including the girl who fought her right to education, Malala'' Article by Yetunde Adediran IET Member, Founder and STEM Education Campaigner - creator of OpenVirtualSTEM Read more.. …

Former Community Member in students
£500 million package to support ultra low emission vehicles market, infrastructure and research

Government announces outline of £500 million package to support ultra low emission vehicles market, infrastructure and research. On 30 April 2014 - Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg yesterday announced the main elements of a £500 million package of measures to support the development and use of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) from 2015 to 2020. The measures have been designed to support the ultra low emission vehicle industry, as well as to help drivers afford and feel more confident in being able to use electric cars. Article in full: http://bit.ly/1niRNED

Former Community Member
The future of our cities lies in the technology - ecology balance

By 2050, it is predicted that the human population will have reached nine billion, with three quarters of us living in urban areas. If these areas are to support this rapid population growth, change will be essential. Sustainable urban development, which is integrated with technology, is the answer - but it cannot be achieved without recognising the vital role of the natural environment and its fundamental impact on economic prosperity, health and social cohesion. As space in cities becomes more precious, planning for green needs to be a fundamental consideration, not an optional add-on or a nod towards biodiversity. In light of this, a new report by Arup, supported by the Landscape Institute and Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, reveals how we need to rethink our urban environments. ‘Cities Alive…

Former Community Member
Using MyCommunity

For those of you new to the IET online community and would like some assistance, there plenty of tutorials and online guides on MyCommunity, which can be found by clicking on the support button on the left hand navigation bar.

Allan Casey
Government backs UK Launch Site Plan for Space Tourism

Excellent news that the UK government has backed plans for a four-fold expansion of the UK space industry to £40bn by 2030. Plans for developing a commercial spaceport in the UK look interesting as well. For more details on this BBC article click here .

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
Satellite Debris found in Amazon

Not what you normally expect to find on a fishing trip! Some debris from the Alphasat telecommunications satellite launch at the Kourou base in French Guiana was found in a remote part of the Amazon this week. For more information click here .

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
Space Robotics Presentations

Members in the Satellite Systems & Appliactions My Community may be interested in the following three presentations filmed towards the end of 2013. Catching a Comet: The Rosetta Space Mission Professor Ian Wright Catching a Comet: The Rosetta Space Mission >> Play webcast >> more Robotics Challenges for Planetary Exploration Professor Ralph Cordey Developments in Space Robotics >> Play webcast >> more Space Robotics Research: Past, Present and Future Professor Yang Gao Developments in Space Robotics >> Play webcast >> more

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
Royal Aeronautical Society Activities

Here are details of some activities coming up that may be of interest to you. Space Group lecture: The Future of Human Space Exploration 14 May 2014 RAeS HQ, London Click here to find out more. This lecture will be given by Dr Ellen Stofan, Chief Scientist and Jim Adams, Deputy Technologist at NASA. The Future of Weapon Systems Trials – A Case for European Collaboration? 20 May 2014 MOD Boscombe Down Click here to find out more. This conference looks to address the concern that Europe has insufficient capability to prove future Weapon Systems. Advanced Aero Concepts, Design and Operations Conference 22 – 24 July 2014 Bristol Click here to find out more.

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
Curiosity Rover gets set for third drilling operation on Mars

Caked in red silt, NASA’s Curiosity rover looks like it’s been trekking through a Martian dust storm in this latest interactive panorama. But nothing can tarnish the joy of seeing this incredible machine hard at work on another planet. The dust-covered robot is currently preparing for its third drilling operation on Mars, at a site nicknamed the Kimberley. The rover will run this sample through a series of tests to give scientists a better understanding of the history of water in this area. For more details on the mission and some stunning images please click here .

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
Curiosity Rover Third Drilling Operation on Mars

Caked in red silt, NASA’s Curiosity rover looks like it’s been trekking through a Martian dust storm in this latest interactive panorama. But nothing can tarnish the joy of seeing this incredible machine hard at work on another planet. The dust-covered robot is currently preparing for its third drilling operation on Mars, at a site nicknamed the Kimberley. The rover will run this sample through a series of tests to give scientists a better understanding of the history of water in this area. For more details on the mission and some stunning images please click here .

Deborah-Claire McKenzie
BE Sector supports Future Cities - Internet of Things & Open Data Symposium (FIOS2014)

Held in February 2014, the event attracted o ver 100 people attendees from a variety of sectors. You can see a short video on the event here - http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/APS/OpenLabs/127638.htm And read the write up on the event here - http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/viewarticle/1401/ Did you attend?

Former Community Member
University experts help create first mobile-connected smart city ranking

Experts help develop the first ever global mobile-connected smart city ranking Smart cities will use communication technologies including mobile networks to advance city life A recent report by BIS values smart cities industry at more than $400 billion globally by 2020 Article in full: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/university-experts-create-smart-cities-ranking-1.371415 Have you played a part in this work?

Former Community Member
12th Staffordshire Conference on Clinical Biomechanics

The 12th SCCB conference is taking place at Staffordshire University in Stoke on Trent 2-3 May. Please see a full press release below: New research could prevent foot amputations among diabetic patients. Four out of five foot amputations among diabetic patients could be prevented according to scientists at Staffordshire University. This follows ground-breaking research by the Biomechanics Team at Staffordshire University which has identified the likely cause of foot ulceration among people with type 2 diabetes which in extreme cases can lead to amputation. Led by Professor of Biomechanics, Nachiappan Chockalingam, the team has discovered a correlation between blood sugar levels and stiffness of the heel pad. Stiffer heel pads limit the tissues' ability to evenly distribute loads which in turn…

Gemma Hadley
Functional Safety Made Easy

On 7 April 2014, the IET Bristol Local Network held a joint event with the Safety Community. Ron Pierce, the current Chairman of the Community Steering Group, gave a presentation titled Functional Safety Made Easy . His talk introduced some of the concepts and general principals of managing functional safety in critical systems, including some of the insights he has gathered through working as the nominated UK expert on MT61508-3, the standards committee responsible for maintaining IEC 61508 Part 3. The presentation, liberally illustrated with anecdotes from Ron's career in software engineering, went down well with the audience and inspired a lively Q&A session! Slides from the talk are available in the Bristol Network's Files Area on MyCommunity. Volunteers from the Safety Community Steering…

James Inge
Functional Safety Made Easy

On 7 April, we held a joint event with the IET Safety Community. Ron Pierce, the Community chairman, gave an interesting presentation introducing the key concepts of functional safety, illustrated with anecdotes from his career working with critical systems. As one of standardisation committee members responsible for Part 3 of IEC 61508, explain how some of the issues are tackled by the international standard for functional safety of programmeable safety-critical systems. If you missed the presentation or want a recap, you can download the slides from our Files area . You can join the IET Safety Community on MyCommunity at http://www.theiet.org/safety

James Inge
Exploring Automatic Control Education in Academia and Industry

In an effort to bridge a gap between academia and industry and explore educational aspects of control and automation recent paradigms, IET Control and Automation Network TPN, and in collaboration between Bahrain IET LN and College of Engineering at University of Bahrain, a successful one day symposium-colloquium on Control & Automation Education was organized on March the 5 th 2014 at University of Bahrain. The event has successfully scheduled a total (11) dedicated talks, and lasted from 8:00 am to 17:00 pm. The attendance has reached ( 90), though the total registered was exceeding 110. The event was supported by a number of automation enterprises operating in the Gulf Region, like Siemens, iComply, Johnson Controls, MHS Technologies. The event was also supported by Ramada Hotel and Everest…

Joanne Longton
Presentation On The Psychology Of Autonomous Vehicles In Paris

At the end of November 2013, the Control & Automation Network of the IET and the France Network hosted an evening lecture on the “Psychology of Autonomous Vehicles” in the French capital, presented by a young scientist from the Transport Research Laboratory (UK), Dr. Nick Reed, expert on Human Factors for vehicle navigation. The lecture was very well-attended by a mixture of IET members and engineers, medical doctors and specialists from the French Automotive industry. Nick provided the background of the shift on vehicle control from the driver to the vehicle on board computers, with ongoing projects at most Vehicle OEMs and suppliers. Whilst robotic cars are not new, the technology is available; the demonstration by Google in 2010 has attracted the interest of industry and public. Nick highlighted…

Joanne Longton
It's coming! IET Future Intelligent Cities conference 4 - 5 Dec 2014

Have you checked out the IET Future Intelligent Cities conference website? Add 4 and 5 December 2014 to your diary! http://conferences.theiet.org/future-cities/ 'This exciting multi-stream conference will provide a platform to promote the technology behind recent and future developments as well as the critical system integration between industry sectors to create that ‘system of systems’ necessary to achieve thriving, sustainable cities with an improved quality of life.'

Former Community Member
What Is The Difference Between IPD And CPD?

The IET provides guidance and support to enable members to undertake planned and structured professional development throughout their professional life. IET members have a professional obligation to undertake professional development as detailed in the IET’s Rules of Conduct and professionally registered members (CEng, IEng, EngTech and ICTTech) must also follow the Engineering Council’s CPD Code . The IET refer to two different aspects of professional development, Initial Professional Development (IPD) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) but it can sometimes be difficult to define these terms. Initial Professional Development (IPD) refers to the development and practical application of the knowledge, skills and behaviour required for professional registration. Professional registration…

Kathryn Bain
A Volunteer In Godzone

Latest posts on 'A Volunteer in Godzone' by Karla Smith, Chair of the IET Christchurch Network A Volunteer in Godzone

Lisa Miles
Message from our Chairman

Control & Automation – it’s a pretty wide-ranging subject! But I believe there are core skills and interests that are likely to be common to pretty much everybody in the business. My own field, for the last 20 years or so, is C&I in midstream Oil, Gas & Petrochem, but I’ve been in or touched on enough other businesses to know that this is nothing like the whole story. Our newsletter, we hope, will alert you to events that you might otherwise have missed, perhaps highlight some trends and hot topics that you haven’t got around to looking at yet; and maybe sometimes just interest and amuse you. If it’s going to work, we need a two-way street: we’ll need to know who you are, what you like and dislike, what you found interesting, anything you think might be interesting, especially if you’re willing…

Joanne Longton
UK's Slowest Broadband Street.

Two streets with 30 times slower download speeds than UK average have been named the slowest broadband locations in the country. Those living on Erw Fawr in Henryd, Wales, and Wheatley Road in Stanford-Le-Hope, Essex, can only download 0.6 megabits of data per second, according to a report carried out by online comparison site uSwitch.com. Erw Fawr and Wheatley Road’s connections are 96 times slower than Loundes Road in Unstone, Derbyshire, which came the first in the comparison. That means that while inhabitants of the two slowest streets would have to wait more than 15 hours to download an HD-quality movie, those on Loundes Road, the fastest, could download the same movie in less than 10 minutes. Read the full article on the E&T website

Lisa Miles
MedPower 2014 Conference

The IET Hellas, IET Cyprus and IET Israel networks are organising the upcoming MedPower 2014 Conference: The 9th Mediterranean conference on Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution and Energy conversion. The Conference will focus on topics of interest to the Electric Power Industry. It intends to address the vast technological changes in all areas of the electric energy business, products, equipment, methods, and so on. MedPower 2014 will provide power engineers and technicians opportunities to be updated on current academic and industry developments, achievements and trends through presentations and open discussions. Presentations will emphasise the regional needs and peculiarities of environmental aspects associated with electric power generation, transmission, energy conversion systems…

Gemma Hadley

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