IN BRIEF IN BRIEF CELEBRATING SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IN BRIEF British Science Association, in everyday life. There are intimate Fair, the UK’s largest science and partnership with EngineeringUK, café discussions, shopping centre engineering fair which launches with funding from the science-busking and city-wide the NSEW in . Among Department for Business, science festivals. the headline shows held at the Innovation and Skills, it aims This year’s NSEW national ICC London ExCel Centre from to inspire and engage people school competition ‘How do 10 to 12 March, will be Sky 1’s from all walks of life directly you solve a problem like…?’ Brainiac Live! and the BBC’s Bang with science, engineering and is an engineering design Goes the Theory. The Big Bang technology. task challenging school Fair expects to attract 25,000 The theme for NSEW 2011, children to invent imaginative people, the majority of whom which runs from 11 to 20 March, technological solutions to will be children. The fair will is ‘Communication’. The subject some of life’s challenges, from also host the BBC’s Wallace encompasses a wide variety of climate change to simple and Gromit ‘World of Invention’ National Science and different topics and sub-themes cooking issues. There are also roadshow over its three-day run. Engineering Week (NSEW) is a from morse code to social media several regional festivals taking RIBA STIRLING PRIZE nine-day long celebration that to neurons to body behaviour. place, including Newcastle, For more information visit sees people of all ages taking There are thousands of events , , Bangor, www.nsew.org.uk MAXXI, the National Museum controlled gallery conditions. part in, and organising, a wide and activities in a variety of Leeds and York. of 21st century art in , has MAXXI was constructed using range of events across the venues that aim to illustrate how The Academy is a partner won the prestigious Stirling Prize 2,600 m2 of glass, with an country. Coordinated by the science and engineering relate to organisation of The Big Bang for the RIBA Building of the Year intricate array of shading devices and the 2010 World and buffer spaces on the roof to Festival World Building of the manage daylight and heat gain Year. The building was designed ensuring the museum is kept at by the London based architect, a moderate temperature suitable , who said in her for both artwork and visitors. GLOBAL ECONOMY DEBATES Stirling Prize acceptance speech At floor level there is a that one of the main reasons she ‘shadow gap’, which is a recess Senior engineers, industrialists ownership of UK companies and stays in the UK is for the quality around the walls creating shade and academics believe that the the degree to which a larger of the engineers here. to hide sockets and plugs so government has a role to play manufacturing sector could lead The mechanical and they don’t distract visually in encouraging and developing to sustainable growth for the UK electrical engineering design for but can be reached easily for innovation in the UK, but this economy. MAXXI was carried out by Max maintenance. A high efficiency should be limited to creating the A report that summarises Fordham LLP. The RIBA review air-conditioning system is right economic climate in which the three individual debates and of the building said: “The whole integrated into the fabric of innovation and entrepreneurism points to some common themes is bravely day lit with a sinuous the building, with conditioned can flourish. that emerged will be published roof of controllable skylights, air delivered at floor level from This was one conclusion from shortly. The report will be louvres and beams, whilst at grilles hidden by the shadow the third and final debate in the circulated widely with the aim the same time conforming gap. As the air heats up from Competing in the Global Economy of stimulating further discussion to very strict climate control people in the building, it rises to series which was organised and identifying some of the requirements of modern be extracted through controlled by The Royal Academy of issues where more study and Speakers at the second Competing in the Global Economy debate held at The galleries; the skylights both openings in the buffer zone of Engineering across the autumn information might be helpful. Royal Academy of Engineering in November 2010 orientate and excite the the roof glazing. The hidden and winter months. The debate One such issue, raised at all visitor, but also turn them engineering solutions allow series sought to explore some three debates, was the degree to retain corporate entities in William Wakeham FREng. A into uplifting spaces.” uninterrupted sightlines of the fundamental challenges to which UK routes to raising UK ownership in the face of further series of debates on The design’s aim was to use as which helped gain MAXXI its facing the UK’s economy as it capital differed from those in takeover pressures. the broad theme of natural much natural daylight as possible prestigious awards. emerges from recession into a competitor countries. This was The debates were organised resources will be held at the to illuminate the exhibits, rapidly changing world. felt to have an impact on the by the International Committee Academy in the spring and which lowers energy usage Read more about MAXXI at Previous debates in the series country’s ability to develop of the Academy under the summer of this year. © Paolo Ferrarini from lighting, while achieving www.maxfordham.com covered the impact of foreign entrepreneurial companies and chairmanship of Professor Sir

6 INGENIA INGENIA ISSUE 46 MARCH 2011 7 IN BRIEF IN BRIEF ENGINEERING CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION The effect of climate change to do to respond are the subjects As more and more of the UK’s innovation and, crucially, public LEADERSHIP SCHEME the UK’s infrastructure and what of a report published by The infrastructure is being built engagement – there is a need the engineering profession can Royal Academy of Engineering around ICT systems and mobile for dialogue between the public, in February 2011. Infrastructure, communications, this loss of government and engineers The Engineering Leadership Engineering and Climate power could disable essential on the costs of a resilient Scheme celebrates its 15th Change Adaptation – ensuring services. infrastructure and acceptable anniversary this year. It services in an uncertain future Engineers are central to the future levels of service. was created by The Royal was launched by Engineering process of adaptation to deal At the presentation Academy of Engineering the Future, an alliance of with climate change. They will of the report to Sir John with the intention of helping professional engineering help ensure current assets are Beddington CMG FRS, the undergraduate engineering organisations. protected as well as developing government’s Chief Scientific students realise their potential The report looks at new infrastructure systems fit Adviser, a panel of engineers and achieve their goals. Last vulnerabilities across a number of for changing climate conditions from various disciplines warned year, it had a record number of crucial sectors, including energy, – including both long term that to be ready for a changing applications for its Advanced transport, communications and effects such as sea level rises or climate, all sectors needed to Award that carries with it a water. It also examines ‘cascade emergencies such as flash floods. work together to plan ahead £5,000 grant to enable the failures’ – when a severe event The report presents and regulate effectively. holder to carry out their own could cause disruption in one 20 findings to government personal development plan service before impacting on covering a range of areas from The report can be downloaded at over three years. others in a domino-style effect. planning and regulation to www.raeng.org.uk/infrastructure Angela Crowther has been one such awardee. With an interest in the engineer’s role in international development and the aim of eventually becoming GNSS SECURITY a chartered engineer, she studied a Masters degree in civil and The Royal Academy of series of consequences ranging the import, advertisement and enhance the resilience of GNSS architectural engineering at the Angela Crowther with some members of the construction team before a hard day’s work on site at the Bintang Hu Engineering published a from the inconvenient (lost phone possession of jamming devices. dependent systems against University of Bath. school, Aceh, Indonesia report Global Navigation Satellite connections) to possible loss of Finally, it advises the natural and man-made threats. Using the Engineering Systems: Reliance and Resilience life (interference with emergency creation of an R&D programme Leadership Award (ELA) funds, During the course of her Her experience helped her com to learn more about in March 2011. The report services communications). The focused on antenna and receiver The report can be downloaded Angela was able to work in placement, Angela Crowther to formulate ideas on how to Angela Crowther’s work and draws attention to the wide severity of the errors may be so improvements that would at www.raeng.org.uk/gnss Indonesia for nine months for aimed to understand more manage her next project. Since experiences. reliance on global navigation large as to give obviously wrong an engineering charity called about the engineer’s role in her ELA experience, Angela has The time for applying for satellite systems (GNSS) and results for any or all of position, Architectes de l’Urgence. helping development and gone on to become an employee engineering undergraduates the current limited use of navigation and timing users, but The charity sends architects, how to take a more sustainable of Expedition Engineering. to apply for either of the GNSS independent backups the real threat lies in “dangerously engineers and town planners and efficient route to achieve This has included work for the Engineering Leadership Schemes for positional, navigational misleading” results which may around the world to give it. Working within a tight Olympic Delivery Authority in will be August for the Standard and timing (PNT) uses. The not seem obviously wrong to help to the victims of natural, construction programme of their bid for sustainability and Award and October for the vulnerabilities of GNSS to operators. As PNT data is used by technological and human six months, as well as a limited www.expeditionworkshed.org Advanced Award. The Standard deliberate or accidental governments worldwide, there is catastrophes. Being assigned budget, she saw the school to an online engineering teaching Award enables undergraduates interference, both man-made also a potential threat to design and project manage a its completion, doubling resource. to take short courses to and natural are also highlighted. to global security. school that had been destroyed its size and adding three Last year she gained an enhance their engineering GNSS is now used Global Navigation Satellite by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, more classrooms and other Ingenious grant (see Ingenious knowledge and personal internationally by almost every Systems puts forward a number Angela drew on experience additional facilities. article on page 26) to write a skills. The Advanced Award industry and sector, from aviation of recommendations. It looks gained from disaster relief Angela found that the blog that promotes the role enables people to enhance to law enforcement as well as at security awareness and workshops. She was also able project process taught her of women in engineering. their studies and personal by the wider public, and so recommends that critical services to draw on two years’ worth of that engineering extends far Her blog, is titled Unexpected development throughout their reliance on it is at an all time high, include GNSS vulnerabilities in work placements - both onsite beyond the mathematical Consequences and has entries degree after their first year as an with safety of life applications their risk register and that these and in a design office. Much of theory that university courses such as ‘How many hamsters undergraduate. becoming widespread. There are are reviewed regularly and this experience, as well as lessons are based around and that does it take to power New currently a number of common mitigated effectively. learnt whilst studying a course before starting work an engineer York City’ and ‘Cut the Carbon!’. Visit www.engineering mode failures that could affect It also suggests policy on architecture in the US, was must first find out the needs of Readers can log on to http:// leadershipawards.org.uk the Global Positioning System responses, including the closing A Block R ‘replenishment’ series satellite, developed by Lockheed Martin. funded by the Academy. the communities themselves. pleasetrespass.wordpress. for more details. (GPS). This could bring about a of a legal loophole which allows Twelve satellites in the series were successfully launched © Lockheed Martin

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