ECS students had the opportunity to hear personal perspectives on entrepreneurship from distinguished alumnus, Mike Payne, when he visited the department last week.
Mike graduated from the Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Southampton in 1965. After a Masters degree in Physics in London, he moved to the United States in 1969. He is celebrated as a co-founder of some of the most important companies in the CAD and PLM communities â including SolidWorks, PTC, and Space Claim (acquired last year by ANSYS for $85M) â which have changed the way everyday articles are designed and manufactured. In 2010 Mike was awarded the CAD Society Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution, recognizing a lifetime and legacy of excellence in building business and technology for 3D CAD and engineering.
Mike was warmly welcome to ECS by Zilong Wang, President of the ECS Entrepreneurs student group which organized the event, and then distilled his experience and enthusiasm for the industry and for entrepreneurship in the first of a new regular series of ECS Entrepreneurs talks.
"It was such a great pleasure to have Mike as first speaker of our new entrepreneur talks series," said Zilong. "It means more to hear from someone who also graduated from ECS and has done something extraordinary - just as Mike did with SolidWorks. It was very inspiring."
Rehabilitation technologists at the University of Southampton led by Dr Chris Freeman are part of a national team who will transform science fiction to reality. Over the next three years, the team will produce prototypes of soft robotic trousers to transform the lives of those with mobility impairments. This is the first time soft robotic technologies have been employed to address rehabilitation and health care needs in a single piece of clothing. Sci-fi dreams will become practical solutions, enabling our ageing population to live with greater independence and dignity.
Starting in July 2015, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council have awarded the team two million pounds for this exciting three-year project. The prototype wearable technology will include trousers and socks that are easy to use, comfortable, adaptable and meet each userâs individual mobility needs.
Dr Freeman of the Electronics and Electrical Engineering research group within Electronics and Computer Science, said: âI am excited to be part of this multidisciplinary project, which brings together the UKâs leading researchers in control systems, soft robotics and smart materials. We will develop fundamental technologies that will transform independent living for the disabled and infirm. Clinical and user involvement at every stage will ensure we produce the right not the wrong trousers.â?
Smart trousers could help vulnerable people avoid falls by supporting them whilst walking, give people added bionic strength to move between sitting and standing positions, and help people climb stairs which were previously insurmountable. They could replace the stair lift in the home and other bulky and uncomfortable mobility and stability aids. Ultimately they have the potential to free many wheelchair users from their wheelchairs.
This intelligent clothing or âsecond skinâ will use artificial âmusclesâ made from smart materials and reactive polymers which are capable of exerting great forces. They will be developed using the latest wearable soft robotic, nanoscience, 3D fabrication, functional electrical stimulation and full-body monitoring technologies, all driven by the need of the end users, who will also be directly involved in the project. They will include control systems that monitor the wearer and adapt to give the most suitable assistance, working with the bodyâs own muscles. For patients needing rehabilitation the smart clothing can initially provide strong support and subsequently reduce assistance as the patient recovers mobility and strength.
Many existing devices used by people with mobility problems can cause or aggravate conditions such as poor circulation, skin pressure damage or susceptibility to falls, each of which is a drain on health resources. Wearable Soft Robotics has the potential to alleviate many of these problems and reduce healthcare costs.
This year's London reception for ECS alumni will be held at BMA House, Tavistock Square, on Tuesday 12 May.
Formal invitations to alumni will be issued within the next few weeks and we are looking forward to seeing an excellent representation of graduates from all the ECS degree programmes, including Computer Science, Electronic Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
Last year's event attracted over 260 graduates from more than 50 years of the School's history, and provided a great opportunity to reconnect with fellow ECS alumni, as well as catch up on activities and new initiatives in ECS.
BMA House is a splendid venue, which we return to for the second year, while Faraday House at Savoy Place completes its renovation. The event takes place between 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm, with wine and canapes, and will include a short presentation on recent developments in ECS.
Davide Zilli, a PhD student in Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), has won a silver Engineering prize at the prestigious SET for BRITAIN poster competition and exhibition.
Davide, along with fellow ECS PhD student Mustafa Kutlu, was among 21 University of Southampton PhD students and Early Career Researchers selected to present their research to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges. Their work had been chosen from a wide range of applicants, to encourage, support and promote Britain's early-stage and early-career research scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians who are an essential part of continuing progress in and development of UK research and development.
The researchers, were judged in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony, judged by leading academics, with the gold medallist receiving £3,000, while silver and bronze will receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively. The Engineering category also saw bronze for another Southampton PhD student - Angieszka Dzielendziak from the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment.
Davide Zilliâs research concerns monitoring animals by listening to the sound they make, and to do so through the use of widely available technologies, such as smartphones. He says: âMany animals are difficult to spot, because they are nocturnal, very small or very elusive, and often they make this a strategy for survival. However, the sound they emit can be a very good indicator of their presence. In the last two years I've been looking for a critically endangered insect, call the New Forest Cicada. It was only ever found in the New Forest, the national park west of Southampton, and it's the only species of cicada we have in the UK. There is a great interest in monitoring bats, birds and even elephants and rhinos, which emit lower frequency calls that travel miles and can warn us that an individual animal is in danger.â?
Mustafa Kutluâs research focuses on developing rehabilitation technology that will enable stroke patients to receive effective therapy in their own homes. He explains: âWe are extremely proud of the technology we have been developing over the last two years, and are excited that its importance has been recognised in this way. We have been working closely with clinicians and people with stroke to make sure the rehabilitation systems address the needs of the 1.2m stroke survivors in the UK. An event like SET for BRITAIN brings us closer to the goal of getting this technology into peopleâs homes.â?
Andrew Miller MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee said, âThis annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the countryâs best young researchers.
âThese early career engineers, mathematician and scientists are the architects of our future and SET for BRITAIN is politiciansâ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.â?
The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee run the SET for BRITAIN event in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Council for the Mathematical Sciences, the Institute of Physics, The Physiological Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Society of Biology and the Society of Chemical Industry, with financial support from BP, Wiley, Essar, INEOS, the Clay Mathematics Institute, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the Bank of England and the Institute of Biomedical Science.
Our 2015 Engineering and Technology Careers Fair was the biggest and most successful so far, with 85 companies in attendance and over 950 student visitors.
The annual Fair, which began in 2008, is a key feature of the year-round careers and employability activities organized by Electronics and Computer Science and the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, enabling students to meet and engage with some of the UKâs leading technology companies, and to find out more about long-term career prospects and internships. Companies also welcome the opportunity to speak to students who are interested in their business, and to highlight their opportunities in a very competitive market for highly skilled students.
"Itâs always a very lively day," said Careers Fair Director, Joyce Lewis. "Thereâs a huge amount of energy and excitement in the room, which you sense as soon as you step through the door.
"Our students have a very good idea of what they are looking for in their careers, so they are always keen to meet the companies and find out more about specific development routes open to them - particularly the kinds of technologies they might be working with. Many of the companies have ECS graduates on their stands, who can offer useful insights into module choices and project work."
Trends this year included a greater representation of energy companies, and a strong demand for graduates focusing on security. The Fairâs âInnovation Zoneâ included 11 companies from the SetSquared initiative, based at the University Science Park, highlighting the importance of new technologies and start-ups in driving forward technology.
"The Fair continues to demonstrate the huge number of opportunities that are open to our students," said Joyce Lewis. "But while itâs a major part of our careers activities, we also work closely with the companies throughout the year and really value these strong relationships and the support given to our students.
"This year in particular we have welcomed companies most weekends to run challenges and competitions in our labs, and almost every weekday evening in term has seen a company coming to our building to give a presentation. This really helps build the studentsâ awareness of what the companies offer and what is the best choice for them."
Next yearâs Fair takes place on Tuesday 9 February ... full information about careers and employability events is available at the Careers Hub.
Jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the scheme aims to provide universities with additional support to enable them to attract science talent from overseas and retain respected UK scientists of outstanding achievement and potential.
Professor Hywel Morgan, professor of Bioelectronics in Electronics and Computer Science and Deputy Director of the Universityâs Institute for Life Sciences, received his award for his research into âLow cost thin film transistor electronic systems for healthcare and diagnosticsâ.
Professor Morgan says: âMy research focuses on the fusion of low cost electronic devices with microfluidic systems for next generation miniature diagnostic systems. The long term goal is to develop sophisticated yet inexpensive analytical devices that have a wide range of applications, from allowing doctors to make faster and more accurate diagnosis, to answering fundamental research questions about disease.
âI am thrilled and honoured to have received this award from the Royal Society and Wolfson Foundation. It will allow me and my group to push forward our research in this very exciting and fast moving interdisciplinary field.â?
Professor Morgan is one of two University of Southampton professors among the Royal Societyâs new Wolfson Research Merit appointments. Professor Tim Minshull, a marine geophysicist within Ocean and Earth Science, has also received the award for his research into âThe ocean-continent transition at magma-poor rifted marginsâ.
ECS Electronic Engineering students Dominic Maskell and Nathan Ruttley were invited to take part in the final of the Capgemini Super Techies competition, held in London earlier this month.
Over 200 teams had entered for the competition, with 16 making it through to the final. This is the first year that Capgemini had held the competition in the UK, although it has been a feature of their Indian operation for a number of years. Only 12 universities in the UK were selected to take part. The competition asked teams of two students to review a business case study, and to make innovative recommendations to solve the challenges involved.
The teams were asked to submit a short presentation of three slides, and to outline their solution including both technology and business ideas. Dominic and Nathan successfully took part in nationwide heats before being invited to the UK Final in the company's London offices.
Dominic and Nathan, who are in the second year of their MEng Electronic Engineering degrees at the University, came second in the group stage of the competition and plan to enter again next year. 'I really enjoyed taking part in this event,' said Dominic, 'and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in combining technology and business.
'Not only did it give Nathan and I a chance to improve our presentation skills and receive detailed feedback, but also to network with Capgemini graduates. Overall, it was great fun and we are proud we got as far as we did.'
'Congratulations to Dominic and Nathan on an excellent achievement,' said Professor Neil White, Head of Electronics and Computer Science. 'We encourage our students to take part in these challenges, and it is especially good to see that Dominic and Nathan excelled not only in the engineering context but also on their business acumen too!'
Professor William Webb, President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and alumnus of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), will be giving an Engineering@Southampton distinguished lecture at the University of Southampton on Wednesday 6 May.
His lecture is entitled: âThe Internet of Things: why is the promise taking so long to fulfil?â. Professor Webb will consider the fact that the Internet of Things promises much: to make our world work better, improve healthcare, reduce congestion and much more. But despite that fact that 50 billion devices are predicted within a decade, little has happened. William will discuss why this is the case, and explore the lack of wireless connectivity standards in some areas and the plethora in others. He will look at how standards are formed and become widely accepted; the key drivers and motivators of the major players in the industry; and, finally, he will predict how we might resolve the connectivity issue and reach the promised 50 billion.
William, who is the youngest President of the IET for over 100 years, has held a number of senior positions in the IT and telecommunications sectors. He began his engineering career at Southampton in 1986 and after completing his undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering, he embarked on a PhD with Professor Ray Steele and also worked for his consultancy company part-time. He has held a number of senior positions in the IT and telecommunications sectors. He is currently CEO of the Weightless SIG, the standards body developing a new global M2M technology. He is also a Director at Webb Search, an independent wireless communications consultancy.
He was one of the founding directors of Neul, a company developing machine-to-machine technologies and networks, which was formed at the start of 2011. Prior to this he was a Director at Ofcom where he managed a team providing technical advice and performing research across all areas of Ofcomâs regulatory remit. He also led some of the major reviews conducted by Ofcom including the Spectrum Framework Review, the development of Spectrum Usage Rights and most recently cognitive or white space (refers to frequencies allocated to a broadcasting service but not used locally) policy. He worked for a range of communications consultancies in the UK in the fields of hardware design, computer simulation, propagation modelling, spectrum management and strategy development, as well as spending three years providing strategic management across Motorolaâs entire communications portfolio, based in Chicago.
ECS Entrepreneurs will be hosting a Dragons' Den event on campus on Saturday 2 May and graduates from 2014 are eligible to pitch their business ideas for real investment.
ECS students have a reputation for their commitment to enterprise and to developing new business ideas and technology applications. The ECS Entrepreneurs society has been encouraging student enterprise since it was founded two years ago, and it is now moving to directly help students fund and develop their business ideas through an exciting Dragons' Den event.
All current students in the University as well as graduates from 2014 have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to 'Dragons' who include Southampton graduates Max Toti and Russell Champion.
The event takes place in the Bridge Bar of the Students' Union, Highfield Campus, from 2 pm on Saturday 2 May. To find out more about pitching your business idea or attending the event, see the event webpage:
http://www.ecs-entrepreneur.com/dragonsden
âThe hollow cathode is one of the key components for modern propulsion thruster designs, which emits electrons for long-time space applicationsâ?, said project leader Professor Steve Gabriel.
The collaboration aims to:
Establish the scaling laws and physical modelling of hollow cathodes for a variety of current classes
Develop a 100-A-class hollow cathode design for future high power electric propulsion
Enable space applications of high power electric propulsion in Japan and the UK based on the cathode technology achieved by this collaboration.
Fundamental to this work is TDHVLâs knowledge and research ability in numerical modelling techniques, as well as its research strength in state-of-the-art space science. The partnership will be the cornerstone for future international R&D collaborations between TDHVL and JAXA.