Portsmouth-based PCB assembly, test and repair company, Soumac, have teamed up with the world-renowned Electronics and Computer Science department at the University of Southampton to launch the Soumac Award.

Open to all students, this annual prize is awarded for an outstanding student project that displays a passion and enthusiasm for the industry, an innovative use of technology to solve a problem and is commercially viable. This year’s inaugural winner is a low-cost atmospheric imaging and data collection device, designed and built by final-year student Jonathan Griffiths.

The quality of entrants to the first year of this competition was particulary high and Jonathan’s project was joined in a final shortlist of three, alongside a smart phone-operated electronic lock and small scale quadcopter platform for robotic swarm development.

Despite tough competition, Jonathan’s project, the development and build of a device to take temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure and GPS readings, alongside images, all in the confines of a ping pong ball, stood out. The device had even been tested, going up into the earth’s atmosphere attached to a weather balloon, which ended up in the Nevada desert, USA.

Alongside a cash prize and trophy, Jonathan got to showcase his project on the Soumac stand at the recent Southern Manufacturing Show in Farnborough.

Jonathan said of winning the award: "I feel privileged to have been awarded the 2014 Soumac Award. It was an honour to be given the opportunity to present my project at the 2014 Southern Manufacturing Show. It has given me an insight into the inner workings of the industry."

Soumac Managing Director, Mike Souter, said: “After interviewing the candidates and getting them to demonstrate their projects it was quite a difficult decision to decide on the winner. However, Jonathan’s project won our award by showing great innovation, overcoming a lot of technical problems and demonstrating his project worked.”

Of Soumac’s decision to launch the competition, Professor Neil White, Head of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton commented: "We are delighted that Soumac has awarded this new prize, which recognizes the quality and diversity of our students’ project work. Projects are a major part of our curriculum, giving the students a chance to use their skills and imagination in tackling real problems of the kind they will confront in industry."

Jonathan received his prize at the Southern Manufacturing Show at Farnborough and is photographed here with Soumac Director Steve Woods.

Three ECS students have launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to mass produce their super-high resolution open source screen adapter - OSCAR.

Freddie Temperton, Adam Gryko and Will Bright, who are all in the second year of their MEng programme in Electronic Engineering at ECS, have devised and prototyped the product; their team is completed by Ali Lown, Lead Software Developer, who is studying at Imperial College London. They are hoping that the value of the new product, described in their slick video, will help them move towards their funding goal of at least £15,000.

OSCAR is an adapter that allows you to connect a super high resolution 9.7” screen, often found in tablets, to your computer. It comes pre-connected to the LCD panel ready to be attached and is compatible with all operating systems using a Thunderbolt or DisplayPort connection.

The board is Arduino compatible which makes modifying the behaviour easy and all the software and hardware is open source. The particular display used with OSCAR is the one most commonly found in the iPad 3 and 4, marketed as the 'Retina Display' and, according to the team’s website, has a whopping 2048x1536 pixels. This gives it an amazing pixel density of 264ppi (pixels per inch) and glorious colours. The team have designed a case in laser-cut clear acrylic which also enhances the display by putting it in an equally clean-looking surround.

The team suggest possible uses of OSCAR, including high resolution photo and video editing; watching high definition video; a portable second monitor for your laptop; gaming; colour sensitive work; PDF reading; and any Arduino project imaginable!

According to the team OSCAR takes care of driving the LED backlight and regulating the panel power supply. With the onboard ATmega32U4, the device is Arduino compatible and acts like an Arduino Leonardo. This enables USB communications so that you can use OSCAR to control elements such as backlight brightness and enables you to expand the functionality of OSCAR. Adding an IR receiver for control or adding an IMU board to automatically rotate the screen are all possible.

The team add: ‘We are sparing no expense when it comes to manufacturing. OSCAR will be produced in the UK with the PCBs being made and assembled nearby, and a London-based laser cutting company will produce the cases. The kits will be assembled, personally tested and shipped from Southampton, making sure we uphold quality throughout the product.’

In addition to the video the team’s website also provides a full description of the product. The students are already over 40 per cent of the way towards their goal with 20 days remaining ... watch this space!!!

Robogals Southampton has hosted the annual Seminar Inducting New Executives (SINE) conference in only its first year in operation.

The conference provides an opportunity for the new (and outgoing) executive committees of each Robogals chapter in the UK to learn more about the organisation and to share ideas. This year's SINE conference was larger than ever, with 50 attendees from across eight universities: Bristol, Manchester, Imperial College London, Exeter, Liverpool, Loughborough, Cambridge and Southampton. Also in attendance was the Regional Executive Officer (REO) for Robogals UK, Lauren Hassall; the CEO of Robogals, Nicole Brown, and the COO of Robogals, Samantha Cheah.

The conference consisted of three activity-filled days. The first day was hosted by Robogals Southampton's Silver Sponsor, Snowflake Software, at their Southampton office. This included workshops introducing the attendees to Robogals as well as a Robotics workshop by National Instruments (Robogals Southampton's Partner) and a workshop on elevator pitches by Snowflake Software.

The second day was hosted at the University, and consisted of Role-Specific training for the new executives as well as a workshop by Teach First. The day culminated in a Great Gatsby-themed boat party hosted by Robogals Southampton. The boat trip was sponsored by ECS and ARM (Robogals Southampton's Bronze sponsor). Chapter awards were presented during the sail to the Southampton Container Terminal, with Robogals Southampton winning Best Publicity and Best Impact (despite having been in operation for only a year!)

The final day consisted of a trip to SeaCity Museum, a tour of the Zepler Institute cleanrooms, and a talk by ECS Professor Steve Gunn. All attendees had nothing but praise for the conference, with the CEO and COO declaring it the best UK SINE to date!

Photo: SINE conference participants at the workshops event, hosted by Snowflake Software

Professor William Redman-White of Electronics and Computer Science has been elected a Fellow of the IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) in recognition of his significant contributions to integrated circuit and system design for communications.

Professor Redman-White joins an elite group from around the world of those recognised by the IEEE for their unusual distinction in the world of electrical and electronic technology. The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology in areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Elevation to Fellowship status follows a rigorous evaluation procedure. The formal presentation was made by the President of the IEEE in San Francisco at the International Solid State Circuits Conference. This is the leading technical event for the IC design community in both industry and academia, and Professor Redman-White served as the analogue committee chair for many years.

Unusually, while maintaining an active academic position in Southampton, Professor Redman-White has spent the great majority of his career in industry, and the recognition as a Fellow is primarily for his contributions in Integrated Circuit (IC) architecture and design during 21 years of working with Philips Semiconductors (latterly NXP), in Southampton, France and California. As one of just a handful of senior Engineering Fellows within the company, he provided technical leadership for engineers and management in many IC product areas including cellular telecoms, wireless LAN, optical storage and TV.

Professor Redman-White is convinced that such joint positions are of great benefit to academic engineering staff who specialise in the more applied areas: ‘Many Masters and PhD projects with direct industrial relevance have been fostered,’ he says - ‘for example, filter circuits developed in a PhD with Philips are now widely used in most mobile phone and WiFi ICs’. In addition to these very near-market projects, Professor Redman-White has also led more academic research into design issues specific to Silicon on Insulator (SOI) technology, and has made a significant contribution to device characterisation and CAD modelling. His current academic work also includes power management, and he continues to work actively in industry in the area of high-speed communications.

‘The industrial experience has also proved to be of great benefit to the content and relevance of University courses,’ he adds. ‘Students attending my analogue and wireless courses are frequently reminded that cost and manufacturability are critical factors, even at the design stage.' These courses have also been made accessible to industry, and scores of delegates have taken advantage.

Come face-to-face with an interactive rhino, marvel at the wonders of the Universe, make your own robot, crack a code, explore gravitational waves, or build a bridge out of paper and sticky tape and see how many chocolate bars it can hold.

Take part in these and other exciting activities when you visit the University of Southampton’s stand at this year’s Big Bang Fair.

The Fair takes place at the NEC in Birmingham, from March 13 to 16, and a team from the University of Southampton will be on hand to challenge you in a range of interactive demonstrations exploring the innovative research taking place at the University:

Get up close to Erica the Rhino – 13-16 March She grunts and snorts and even responds to tweets. Erica the Rhino is an almost lifesize, fibreglass rhino that can react to the environment around her. Adapted by Electronics and Computer Science students, Erica is powered by Raspberry Pis, sensors, LEDs and sound output. Visit our stand to find out how we brought Erica to life.

Build a robot –14-15 March Ever wondered what it is like to build your own robot? Come along and get an interactive engineering and computing experience and find out how to make and control robots using hands-on demos and Raspberry Pis.

Explore the world of nanotechnology – 14-15 March Investigate engineering at a very small scale. Nanotechnology looks at materials that are smaller than a strand of hair. Experiments have to be carried out in clean rooms where no extra particles of dust and germs can contaminate the process. Head over to our stand to take part in a range of real experiments and experience what it is like to work in a clean room environment.

Marvel at the wonders of the skies –13-16 March Explore the secrets our Universe has to offer by stepping inside our mobile planetarium – the Soton Astrodome. Southampton students will guide you through the wonders of the night sky and explain more about the pioneering astrophysics research being carried out at the University.

Leading the way with laser technology – 16 March Be dazzled with our hands-on activities demonstrating how telephone, video and messaged data is sent around the world using lasers. Play with mirrors, lenses and transistors and learn more about our world-leading research into particle physics.

Constructing Bridges – 13 March Use four pieces of paper and a metre of sticky tape to construct your own bridge to span a 40cm gap. How many Mars bars will your construction take? Can you beat the record? Our exhibit helps demonstrate the fundamental principles of construction faced by civil engineers in their day-to-day roles.

Signal and Noise - 13-16 March How do we use mathematics to find patterns in the world? The world is full of information, but can we ignore the ‘noise’ we don't want and find the ‘signal’ that is hidden underneath?

• Can mathematics help us find out other people's secrets, and keep our own? Become an amateur mathematical James Bond and have a go at cracking a code. • Using only jelly beans, a kebab stick, and a small amount of sticky tape, we demonstrate how gravity is transmitted in the form of a wave. • Could you use statistics to win a million? Take part in various games of chance and see if you can find the pattern that allows you to predict the world, and win your first million.

To find out more about the world-leading research being carried out at the University of Southampton visit www.southampton.ac.uk.

A wireless network of sensors that is set to revolutionise soil-based salinity measuring is being developed by a University of Southampton researcher and a team of Australian academics.

Dr Nick Harris, from Electronics and Electrical Engineering, worked with a group of professors from the University of Western Australia (UWA) to produce the revolutionary sensor that can carry out non-destructive testing of soil samples.

The sensor is capable of measuring the chloride (salt) in the soil moisture and linking up with other sensors to create a wireless network that can collate and relay the measurement readings. The network can also control the time intervals at which measurements are taken.

The sensor is placed in the soil and measures the chloride levels in the soil moisture in a non-destructive way. These chloride levels make up a high proportion of the overall soil salinity.

“Traditionally soil-based measurements involve taking samples and transporting them to the laboratory for analysis,” said Nick. “This is very labour and cost intensive and therefore it usually means spot checks only with samples being taken every two to three months. It also doesn’t differentiate between chloride in crystallised form and chloride in dissolved form. This can be an important difference as plants only ‘see’ chloride in the soil moisture.

“The removal of a soil sample from its natural environment also means that the same sample can only be measured once, so the traditional (destructive) method is not suited to measuring changes at a point over a period of time.”

The new sensors are connected to a small unit and can be ‘planted’ in the ground and left to their own devices. The limiting factor for lifetime is usually the sensor. However, these sensors are expected to have a lifetime in excess of one year. The battery-powered unit can transmit data and information by short range radio, Bluetooth, satellite or mobile phone network as well as allowing data to be logged to a memory card to be collected later.

The novel device allows up to seven sensors to be connected at a time to a single transmitter allowing multi-point measurements to be simply taken.

“These soil-based chloride sensors can benefit a wide range of applications. Large parts of the world have problems with salt causing agricultural land to be unusable but the new sensors allow the level of salt to be measured in real time, rather than once every few months as was previously the case,” said Nick.

“At plant level probes can be positioned at continuous levels of depth to determine the salt concentration to which roots are exposed and whether this concentration changes with the depth of the soil or in different weather conditions. We can also measure how well a plant performs at a particular concentration and change the salt content for a few days and observe the effects.

“On a bigger scale, sensors could be placed at different locations at catchment scale to observe any changes in the level of salinity within a field over time, having a direct impact on irrigation strategies. We have already been able to make some interesting observations on real world chloride concentration changes over just 24 hour periods, illustrating the dangers of relying on single point, single time measurements,” added Nick.

Nick’s sabbatical at UWA was supported with £2,000 of funding from the World University Network with the sensor development work supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

He worked on the research project with Dr Andy Cranny, in ECS; and professors Keith Smettem, Neil Coles, Ed Barrett-Lennard and Mark Rivers from UWA.

This year's reception for ECS alumni of all years will be held in London on Tuesday 13 May from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm.

Invitations to the event were issued earlier this month to all ECS alumni for whom the University has current email addresses. The reception is being held this year at BMA House, a spectacular venue on Tavistock Square, central London, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, and home of the British Medical Association since 1925.

The annual reception provides the opportunity for former students of Electronic Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and IT, to reconnect with each other and with members of the ECS academic staff, and to find out about recent developments in ECS. Over 250 graduates dating back over 60 years are able to meet and renew contact; one of this year's distinguished guests is Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, who graduated from the University of Southampton in 1974, and is this year celebrating her 40th anniversary at the University of Southampton

“Last year's summer reception exceeded all our expectations”, said Professor Neil White, Head of ECS. “There was an outstandingly positive atmosphere in the room and it was really great to see the ECS community in such good spirit, with so much common interest and so many old and new connections being made. We are very much looking forward to seeing our graduates again, and being able to tell them about our recent successes over the last 12 months. We are also keen to raise awareness of opportunities for engagement with ECS students and enterprise and research activities in the future."

Alumni are warmly invited to catch up with friends, network with fellow ECS graduates, and meet ECS academic staff, current students, and the University’s Alumni Relations team over drinks and canapés!

For further information about this event, or to find out more about the ECS Careers and Employability initiative and ways of being involved, contact Joyce Lewis; tel. +44(0)23 8059 5453; email j.k.lewis@ecs.soton.ac.uk

Three students from Electronics and Computer Science were invited to attend the annual dinner for the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), held this year at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

In an excellent result for ECS, Tom Smith, Dominic Bull and Robbie Nimmo won three of the four national prizes awarded for the IET Power Academy Essay Competition this year. The subject of the essay was the future of the UK energy network, and in addition to attending the dinner, held in London last month, the students have been invited to take part in the Third Annual Renewable Power Generation Conference in Naples, Italy, taking place in September.

Tom Smith graduates this year from the MEng course in Electronic Engineering with Power Systems, and Dominic Bull graduates from the MEng in Electrical Engineering. Robbie Nimmo is in the third year of the MEng in Electrical Engineering. All three have held IET Power Academy Scholarships, which provide financial bursaries, mentoring support from industry partners, and opportunities for summer work placements.

Tom commented: “The Power Academy has built my confidence as an engineer. There is so much more to the profession than just the technical stuff learnt at university. I learnt some key skills in project management and working with people that I have used in my degree course to great success, especially in group tasks. Working in industry puts our studies into context - no longer am I just learning control theory or thermodynamic cycles to pass an exam, I can see how these ideas are practically applied to solve real-world issues.”

“The IET Power Academy is a fantastic scheme that helps fast-track Southampton students into a successful career,” said Dr Chris Freeman, of the Electronics and Electrical Engineering research group in ECS. “It provides both financial support and valuable experience within the UK energy sector, with students receiving paid summer work placements, a bursary, a company mentor and fantastic networking opportunities. The Power Academy is perhaps the most generous and high profile sponsorship scheme available and I would urge every eligible student to apply!”

The Power Academy is a unique partnership between industry and academia, established to address the looming skills shortage in power engineering through a combination of financial support and workplace mentoring for students. You can find out more about the opportunities for scholarships and industrial engagement on their website.

Dr. Long Tran-Thanh, a research fellow at University of Southampton, hailing from Hue, Vietnam (but grew up in Budapest, Hungary), is attending Parliament to present his science to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of "SET for Britain" on Monday 17 March.

Long’s poster on research about budget-limited multi-armed bandits will be judged against dozens of other mathematicians’ research in the only national competition of its kind.

Long was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament.

On presenting his research in Parliament, he said, “As a theoretical research scientist, I believe it is very important to communicate scientific results and their applicability to everyday life to a wider audience. As such, I am very excited about this event as it gives us, research scientists, a fantastic opportunity to convey the message about the importance of science to the decision makers in the government”.

Andrew Miller MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said, “This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers. “These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and SET for Britain is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”

Long’s research has been entered into the Mathematics session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.

Professor Nicholas Woodhouse, President of the Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI), sponsors of the Gold Mathematical Sciences award, said, “CMI is delighted to support the inaugural SET for Britain Mathematical Sciences exhibition. The Institute is dedicated to increasing and disseminating mathematical knowledge and supports the work of leading researchers throughout the world at various stages of their careers. The future of mathematics in the UK is both challenging and exciting and we believe it is essential to nurture the best technical talent”.

Sir Adrian Smith, Chair, the Council for the Mathematical Sciences (CMS) said: “The CMS is delighted that the mathematical sciences have been involved in this prestigious event for the very first time; it is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the importance of the mathematical sciences to a wider audience. It is paramount to encourage early-career research scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians and the SET for Britain event is a very effective way of doing this. We have been encouraged by the enthusiastic response from early-career researchers in the mathematical sciences and feel sure this will this continue in the future”.

The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee run the event in collaboration with the Council for Mathematical Sciences, the Institute of Physics, The Physiological Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Society of Biology and the Society of Chemical Industry, with financial support from BP, the Clay Mathematics Institute, Essar, INEOS, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Germains Seed Technology, Boeing, the Bank of England and the Institute of Biomedical Science.

Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton is delighted to announce that leading investment management firm Winton Capital Management has agreed to support academic prizes for students in Computer Science over the next three years.

Winton is renewing a commitment made in 2010, recognizing both the quality of student achievement in ECS, but also the importance of prizes such as this in building strong recruitment to the subject area and also to the University of Southampton.

ECS is the UK’s largest and most successful integrated department of Computer Science and Electronics and has a world-leading reputation for its education and research which draws students to the University from around the world. Over the last 20 years ECS has made fundamental contributions to the development of the Web, the establishment of agent technologies, to Open Access publishing and digital libraries, and to a range of other technologies at the forefront of Computer Science.

Winton Capital Management’s philanthropic support will continue three prizes: for the top student in Computer Science Year 1; the top final-year student on the four-year MEng programme in Computer Science; and the top student on the one-year postgraduate MSc in Software Engineering.

‘Being awarded a prize from a notable company for successful academic work at one of the top universities for Computer Science holds considerable value in many ways,’ said Robert Streeting, who received a Winton Prize in July 2013. ‘Receiving one for the top aggregate mark at the end of my degree only enhances this effect; having this prize on my CV gives me great employability and great freedom in pursuing the career that I want.’

Matthew Beddall, CIO at Winton Capital and a Southampton graduate (Maths/Computer Science 2001), commented: ‘As a Southampton graduate myself, I am well aware of the quality of the education and research at the University. We are very pleased to continue our support for ECS and especially for Computer Science students, which we believe is a great encouragement and inspiration for their hard work.’

‘We are very pleased to acknowledge the continued generosity of Winton Capital Management in making these awards,’ said Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering.

‘It is well known that our courses are intensive and challenging and our students work extremely hard. These Prizes will be a great recognition of their effort, and will improve our ability to recruit the best and brightest students from around the world. ‘We very much look forward to working with Winton Capital Management over the next three years and to welcoming the company to ECS to meet our students.’