AUTUMN 2016 ISSUE 20 DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING NEWS Science behind remarkable new Wall of Death motorcycle world record Page 3 Could future buildings be made with bone and eggshells? Page 5 Smart glass goes from clear to opaque and back again – 27 million times Page 21 Laser technique promises super-fast and super-secure quantum cryptography Page 24 In this issue Welcome The upcoming book by Haroon Ahmed, Cambridge Science behind remarkable new Wall 3 of Death motorcycle world record Engineering: The First 150 Years, is nearing Sir James Dyson opens invention 4 completion. Spanning the breadth of research powerhouse at the University of Cambridge and the history of the Department and looking Dreaming big with biomimetics 5 toward the future, the book commemorates the Student projects find a home as new 6 achievements of all of the notable figures who have Oatley Garage opens studied, researched and worked in Cambridge to PhD student Sakthy Selvakumaran 7 advance the field of engineering. is on the Forbes 30 under 30 list Venice Architecture Biennale 2016 8 Turning through the pages of the book, I was struck Think small: Diminishing returns 9 by the many contrasts and parallels I find between the in neuroscience current Department and its history. We have always Interview with Dr Jenni Sidey 10 emphasised greatness, of course, but it’s clear that our Women in engineering celebrated 11 focus on excellence won’t slow down any time soon! IfM Design Show 2016 12-13 Cambridge spin-out secures $3m 14 A very striking contrast is seeing the increasing diversity to improve oil recovery efficiency of the students and researchers as we move through Alumna Anya Jones Receives 15 history. There is a photograph of a large classroom here Presidential Early Career Award in the Department, taken in the 1920s, with only three female students grouped together at the Professor Sir David MacKay 1967–2016 16 front; the remainder of the 100 or so students were all male. Our current undergraduate intake Hackathon unleashes the power 17 includes 28% women, which is a great improvement, even though we still have some way to go. of wearables Consortium scores €9 million 18 The Department’s Women in Engineering initiative has grown substantially, conducting frequent for textile nanofibre research outreach events and lectures within the Department. This newsletter highlights this initiative – in Trimble partnership will advance 19 an interview with Dr Jenni Sidey, a recently appointed University Lecturer, on page 10 and a recap engineering and construction of a poster competition to raise awareness of women engineers on page 11. 50 years of tribology 20 Smart glass goes from clear to opaque 21 As you read through this edition of the newsletter, I invite you to consider supporting the Department and back again – 27 million times with your preorder of the Cambridge Engineering book. More than 600 people have already preordered UK steel can survive if it transforms 22 and will have their names (or someone of their choice) printed in the List of Supporters. itself, say researchers Honours, awards and prizes 23 Laser technique promises super-fast 24 Professor David Cardwell FREng and super-secure quantum cryptography Cover image: Guy Martin on site at the Wall of Death where he attempted to break a world speed record live on Channel 4. Credit: Ryan Cambridge Engineering McNamara/Channel 4 The First 150 Years Editors: Jacqueline Saggers and Christopher Jablonski Preorder the book today to save £10 on the Department of Engineering published price. Until 30 November 2016, you University of Cambridge may have your name (or a name nominated by Trumpington Street you) printed in the book as an enduring record Cambridge CB2 1PZ of your links with Cambridge Engineering. Telephone: +44 (0)1223 748228 Email: [email protected] How to preorder www.eng.cam.ac.uk You can order securely online at www.tmbooks.com Design: www.cantellday.co.uk or by calling +44 (0)20 7336 0144. Printing: Sudbury Print Group © 2016 University of Cambridge and Contributors as identified. The content of Department of Engineering News, with the exception of images and illustrations, is made available for non-commercial re-use in another work under the terms of the Creative Find us... Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync- eng.cam.ac.uk/Twitter eng.cam.ac.uk/Facebook sa/3.0/), subject to acknowledgement of the original L F author/s, title of individual work and the University www.cam.ac.uk/YoursCambridge of Cambridge. This Licence requires any new work I eng.cam.ac.uk/LinkedIn X eng.cam.ac.uk/YouTube with an adaptation of content to be distributed and For latest news re-licensed under the same licence terms. N eng.cam.ac.uk/Flickr I eng.cam.ac.uk/Instagram www.eng.cam.ac.uk/news 2 University of Cambridge Department of Engineering Issue 20 Autumn 2016 Ryan McNamara/Channel 4 Science behind remarkable new Wall of Death motorcycle world record Dr Hugh Hunt, Reader in temporary blindness, difficulty breathing and record attempt. It was 37.5 metres in diameter eventually unconsciousness. and quite a dramatic sight. It was constructed Engineering Dynamics and When you’re riding the Wall of Death the out of upturned shipping containers, welded Vibration, writes about his centrifugal force pushes you outwards and together and lined with timber. A refuge for experiences consulting for a then friction holds you up. Imagine the wall paramedics was constructed in the centre so was wet and slippery – you’d slide right down. if anything went wrong, medical help could be Channel 4 programme about That’s why it was very important that the wall summoned in a matter of seconds. the infamous Wall of Death in was kept dry and free from dust and drops of Guinness World Records was present to oil. Clearly, the wall has to be built indoors and officiate – and required a speed over 60mph in The Conversation. we needed a very big hangar for that. either one of two attempts. In his first attempt, The training for a high-G environment Guy achieved 72mph and there was much The Wall of Death has been the most involves flights in stunt aircraft. During those celebration. But during his second attempt (on enigmatic dare-devil motorbike stunt for more Guy found himself passing out at around 7G – his own home-made bike), he reached 78mph, than 100 years. Motorcyclists ride around and it doesn’t bear thinking about what would smashing his own record. the inside of a vertical wall, rather like a huge happen if consciousness was lost when riding If anyone is going to break Guy Martin’s barrel, at speeds of around 30mph. Most Wall a motorbike at 80mph on the wall. record of 78mph then they will have to build of Death “drums” are about 32 feet (10 metres) a wall at least as big as the Lincolnshire one. in diameter. So how fast can you go? In training, Guy thinks he once reached a peak It was thought that no one has ever ridden Let’s assume that Guy doesn’t want to exceed of 85mph but he backed off quickly as he was the Wall of Death any faster than 45mph, 7G (remember that he’d be experiencing the blacking out at this speed. Perhaps on a bigger but during the record attempt, experienced extreme forces for far longer than someone wall a new record will be set, but building a motorcyclist Guy Martin attempted to reach on a rollercoaster – and having to control a bigger wall is quite an undertaking. I think the 80mph, a speed which would completely motorbike, too) and that he wants to ride at record is safe for a few years. smash existing records. So how did he do? 80mph. Using Newton’s differential calculus, it And how on Earth can a motorcycle ride turns out that the centrifugal G-force increases around a vertical wall? with the square of your speed and decreases in proportion to the Wall of Death’s diameter. The G-force awakens This means, for example, that if you travel The limiting factor for speed on the Wall of at 80mph on a 10-metre wall you’d experience Death is human physiology. When riding the 25G of centrifugal force – certain death. But wall, you are subject to high acceleration – or on a bigger wall, say 40 metres in diameter, www.cam.ac.uk/YoursCambridge G-force. Under these conditions, blood drains you’d experience 6.4G – just about within the R Guy Martin’s Wall of Death: Live can be seen away from your brain and eyes, much as water physiological limit. on Channel 4’s catchup service. is flung out of clothes during the spin cycle of With the maths in mind, a huge Wall of www.channel4.com/programmes/guy- a washing machine. It leads to tunnel vision, Death was constructed especially for Guy’s martins-wall-of-death-live Issue 20 Autumn 2016 University of Cambridge Department of Engineering 3 Sir James Dyson opens invention powerhouse at the University of Cambridge Sindall Morgan Credit: The engineering hub focuses A bridge link offers easy access to testing said: “The research taking place in this building on advances including laboratories housing world-class fluid dynamics exists at the very cutting edge of engineering machinery, aerodynamics equipment and areas excellence. Allied to new ideas generated smart infrastructure, electric for aeroacoustics analysis. within the Dyson Centre, this will produce vehicles and efficient internal The building itself is as smart as the minds not only world-changing discoveries and combustion systems.