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9th March 2010 (Source: Young Engineers )
YOUNG ENGINEERS CLAIM ‘NO-ONE MAKES A BIGGER BANG’
“Ideas are one thing, but our country needs engineers to make them happen”, says past winner
Budding young engineers from across the country are gearing up to attend the upcoming Big Bang Fair in Manchester (10-12 March) http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/ and to compete for some big prizes in the Young Engineer for Britain Competition.
They have taken up the challenge to invent and build projects aimed at helping make the world a better place. Forty-one student projects have reached the national finals after winning regional events around the UK last summer.
The aspiring young engineers will be demonstrating mechanical and electronic projects designed to make life easier and safer for able-bodied and disabled people, to help the environment, to enhance experiences in sports, business and leisure. The Young Engineer for Britain finalists are also competing in the National Science and Engineering Competition where the total prize fund is £50,000
Ruth Amos, winner of the title in 2006, who subsequently, aged just 19, was named as the youngest woman ever to be included in the ‘Top 35 women in Britain under the age of 35’ list by Management Today, says, “Britain has prospered in the past through ingenuity and once led the world through its engineering prowess. Somehow we lost our way and now it is more vital than ever to re-create our engineering success. But ideas on their own are not enough, we need to have the skills to make them happen. The Young Engineer for Britain Competition is a key part of that process.”
Own Firm
Ruth, now 20, is taking a three-year break before starting university and managed to start up her own business in 2006 as a result of her competition victory. Her company now successfully markets her award winning ‘Stair-Steady’ device, which enables physically impaired people to negotiate stairs using their own two feet without the need for a stair-lift. She has also become an engineering ambassador regularly speaking at events around the country and has achieved a high media profile through her personal appearances. Ruth, who is from Sheffield, will be one of the Top Tier judges in the 2010 competition finals.
Entering the competition
Any secondary school students aged 12-19 can enter the 2011 Young Engineer for Britain Competition with enhanced exam projects, or, projects designed specifically as entries for the competition. More details can be found at http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=165
2010 Finalists
A list of 2010 Young Engineer for Britain finalists and their projects follows:
James Popper (18), Marlborough College, has developed ‘Cooksmart’, a safety device for cookers, which detects flames, but minimises false alarms;
Joseph Murray (17), Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Omagh, Northern Ireland, has produced a bathroom mirror with a child tamper alarm and mirror, which doesn’t steam up;
Emma Devlin (19), Banbridge Academy, County Down, Northern Ireland, has devised a netball skills counter, which gauges the distance, as well as the number of scoring throws;
James Lambert (17), Cheltenham College, who has developed an energy-saving flat pack Christmas tree with integrated lights, designed to fit neatly in a corner of a room so as not to take up excessive space;
Fraser Pearson (19), The Chase Technology College, Malvern, Worcestershire, has invented a wind-powered IPod charger;
Josh Smith (16), Chelmer Valley High School, Chelmsford, is entering his multi-charger for use when travelling;
David Muir (16), Duncanrig Secondary School, East Kilbride, Scotland, has devised a voice-activated controller for domestic appliances;
Shawn Brown (19), Ysgol Llanbedr Pont Steffan, Lampeter, Wales, has produced a bamboo-framed electric tri-cycle from naturally sustainable materials;
Simon Brookes (18), Balcarras School, Cheltenham, has made a security device for lorries, which prevents thieves stealing diesel from the fuel tank;
Conor Robinson (17), the Wallace High School, Lisburn, Northern Ireland, has come up with a fan controller to prevent computers overheating;
Joe Yarwood (16), St Martin’s School, Brentwood, Essex, has devised a mood light responding to guitar music;
Aseem Mishra (16), Hymer’s College, Hull, Humberside, has produced a high-intensity LED lighting system, which illuminates drums when they are struck;
Sahil Dawar (16), King’s College School, Wimbledon, has produced a bicycle milometer meter kit to excite an interest in engineering for children;
Adam Robbins (16), Nottingham High School, has engineered an automatic fish-feeder and temperature control for aquariums;
Anthony Brown (17), Nottingham High School, has devised a remote control wireless house key;
Ryan Storrie (19), St Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt, County Derry, Northern Ireland, has devised an improved personal multi-stage fitness tester, which eliminates cheating;
Michael Harper (19), Tendring Technology College, Frinton on Sea, Essex, has made an MP3 amplifier with an LED display that ‘dances’ to the music;
Michael John Lynch (18), St Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt, County Derry, Northern Ireland, has devised a parental control device to limit usage of electronic equipment by children;
Caitlan Rowlands (16), Amman Valley School, Carmarthenshire, Wales, has designed clothing displaying a variety of processes and techniques;
Zach Dean (17), Sir Thomas Moore Catholic School, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, has made an innovative electronic scoreboard for ice-hockey;
James Buckley (19), King Edward’s School, Edgbaston, Birmingham, has devised a GPS tracking system to monitor the position of groups taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme;
David Boyd (18), Cambridge House Grammar School, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, has fabricated a farm pen to facilitate the adoption of orphaned lambs by ewes;
Anthony Rowling (19), South Craven School, Keithley, Yorkshire, has come up with a means of housing poultry in urban environments in an effort to encourage healthy eating;
Richard Misiak-Kelly (16), St Leonard’s Roman Catholic School, Durham, has created an innovative guitar stand;
Rauridh Rafferty (16), Merchiston School, Edinburgh, Scotland, has designed a stylish tee-shirt storage unit;
Sophie Robinson (17), Hungerhill School, Doncaster, has produced an innovative point-of-sale display system;
Samuel Pate (19), Shenfield High School, Essex, has designed an aesthetically pleasing shelving system incorporating environmentally friendly lighting and using innovative materials;
Thomas Bartlett (19), Amman Valley School, Carmarthenshire, Wales, has devised a modular kitchen unit system, which enables householders to easily fit their kitchens by themselves and to rearrange the layout whenever they wish;
Hefin Jones (18), Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi, Cardigan, Wales, has designed a foldable contemporary chair made from recycled coffee cups and oak;
Samual Harris, (19), Cheam High School, has produced a Scale engineering/design concept model of a carbon neutral hybrid motorbike;
Robert Grasse (18), Merchant Taylor’s School, Northwood, Middlesex, has devised a motor bike trailer for a windsurfer and all associated kit;
Sean Crawley (16), Colaiste Lorcain, County Kildare, Ireland, has designed an infra-red road safety system to help drivers coming out of concealed driveways;
There is one further contender, who has requested no advance publicity.
For further information contact:
Joanne Phillips, Young Engineers, Chiltlee Manor, Liphook, Hants GU30 7AZ
Tel: 01428 727265; Email: projects@youngeng.org
About Young Engineers
Participation in Young Engineers stimulates interest, appreciation and engagement in the practical application of engineering and technology by young people in primary and secondary education. It enables volunteer teachers and their supporters to provide exciting, challenging and creative activities that enrich the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) curriculum.
An exciting programme of competitions is organized each year to create excitement and to help develop communications, literacy and numeracy skills, both individually and as part of a team. This programme includes Young Engineer for Britain Competition, the Royal Navy Challenge, the Gatwick Airport Challenge, the Airbus Challenge, STEM Challenge Days and the Junior Engineer for Britain K’NEX Challenge. Central to Young Engineers’ operations is its growing nationwide network of after school engineering clubs. The Young Engineers website: www.youngeng.org provides a virtual community for teachers engaged in STEM education and offers them an invaluable resource, loaded with information and hands-on engineering activities, designed both to inspire students’ minds and develop their know-how.
Young Engineers is funded and supported entirely by industry and professional institutions and is endorsed by Government. Patron is HRH The Duke of York, KG, KCVO, ADC.
National sponsors are Lloyd's Register Educational Trust, BAA, the Royal Navy and Airbus. Other key sponsors and supporters include:
Engineering UK , Tomorrows Engineers , Network Rail , Institution of Engineering & Technology , ST Microelectronics , ARM , Gatwick Airport Limited , Data Harvest , Thales , Cobham , ARUP , Rolls Royce , Sellafield , Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers , 29th May 1961 Trust , ERA Foundation , RAF College Cranwell , Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation , Society of Operational Engineers, Smaart Publishing, E-ON and TfL
Media contact: Malcolm McLaren-Clark
Tel: 01798 865799; email: info@malcolmclark.co.uk
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