Twenty minutes of Engineering
Date: 15th February 2017. 13.00
Venue: C-floow Break-out Space, Engineering Building
Speaker: Dr Denes Csala
Title: Visualising the challenges of energy transitions
“Twenty minutes of Engineering” is a novel series of short informal talks, offered by academics and researchers at Lancaster’s Engineering Department, on cutting edge engineering research themes. The friendly and relaxed lunch time atmosphere of the break-out area, in the Engineering Building, will resonate of the state of the art in advanced manufacturing, new materials, terahertz, photonics, renewable energies, including wave, tidal and wind, bioenergy and biomass utilisation, nuclear and chemical engineering and many other exciting topics. The “Twenty minutes of Engineering” talks are thought for a wider audience that wishes to be updated on the latest advancements in Engineering, without the depth and the detail of regular seminars.
“Twenty minutes of Engineering” will run at 13.00 on selected dates, announced in the Engineering Department website, in C-floor’s Break-out space in the Engineering building. Everyone is very welcome to attend.
Dates, speakers and titles for upcoming sessions:
| Date |
Speaker |
Title |
| 15th Feb | Denes Csala | Visualising the challenges of energy transitions |
| 1st March | Steve Monk | Lancaster and the Nuclear Industry |
| 22nd March | Timothy Douglas | Mineralized hydrogels for bone regeneration |
| 03rd May | Nuno Bimbo | Squeezing hydrogen in porous materials |
| 17th May | Hungyen Lin | Sensing with Terahertz radiation |
Nuno Bimbo
IMechE event
Date: 15 February 2017, 18:00
Venue: Lecture Theatre 6, Management School, Lancaster University
Speaker: Professor George A Aggidis
Title: Hydropower Goes Marine
Because of the intimate relationship between HT and applications it is not surprising that advances in the technical capabilities of HT have followed the developing needs of the users’ processes. Increased working temperatures, pressures and resistance to corrosion are examples of how changes to the applications have driven HT technology. So are the requirements for simpler on-site maintenance, longer working lives, increased performance envelopes, increased efficiencies – triple regulation, reduced specialisation and particularly lower costs, which have all been driven by the need to meet users’ needs in a competitive environment. HT as power take off options for marine energy extend the current applications envelope with innovative marinised solutions assisting emerging clean renewable energy sources.
Professor George A. Aggidis, BEng(Hons), MSc, PhD, CEng, CMarEng, Eur Ing, MASME, FIMarEST, FEI, FIMechE, FIET, Board Member of the IMechE Fluid Machinery Group, is Professor of Energy Engineering at Lancaster University, UK, and Director of Lancaster University Renewable Energy Group & Fluid Machinery Group. His previous career included 25 years’ industrial and academic experience, of which nine years were spent abroad.
He started his engineering career with Mather & Platt Ltd, Manchester, UK, followed by appointments both in the UK and abroad. His final position in industry was Director and Engineering Development Manager for the Fluid Machinery, and Hydropower UK company, Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Ltd.
He has over 150 research papers, designs, developments and 12 patent contributions in the field of fluid machinery and renewable energy, developed turbines for hydro power generation projects and has physical research prototypes of fluid machinery operating successfully worldwide.
He has a strong focus on engineering science applied to industry-led requirements in renewable energy and fluid machinery. His main research area is in computational and experimental modelling, control and the economics of novel fluid machinery applied to energy and renewables, including wave, tidal and hydro power.
Nuno Bimbo
Energy Lancaster Seminar
Date: 17 February 2017, 11:30
Venue: FST Training and Development Centre, A76 Science and Technology Building
Speaker: Professor Christian Breyer (Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), Finland)
Title: 100% renewable electricity: how could it work and pathways to get there
Please confirm attendance for catering purposes. There will be tea, coffee and cakes served from 11.30 outside the Lecture Theatre. You can register here
(https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/100-renewable-electricity-how-could-it-work-and-pathways-to-get-there-tickets-31877092241).
Christian Breyer, D.Sc. (Tech.), is Finland’s first Professor of Solar Economy at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and his research focus in the area of renewable energy. Professor Breyer came to LUT from Reiner Lemoine Institute in Germany, where he worked as managing director and scientific director. He earned his doctorate from the University of Kassel in Germany in 2012 for his research on the “Economics of Hybrid Photovoltaic Power Plants”. Prior to that he worked several years in the research and development and market development department of Q-Cells, a former world market leader in solar cell manufacturing and solar power plant engineering.
He is one of the co-founders of DESERTEC Foundation, engaged in the Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme of the International Energy Agency and Chairman for Renewable Energy of the Energy Watch Group. Breyer has published approximately 60 scientific articles and 5 books as author, co-editor and contributor. His academic background is physics, energy systems engineering and general business.
www.researchgate.net/profile/Christian_Breyer
www.lut.fi/web/en/school-of-technology/lut-energy
http://www.neocarbonenergy.fi/ vision at https://youtu.be/Ww76jNrVHhw
Nuno Bimbo
Compressed air shut down
Safety valves need to be replaced on the air compressor in central services. This will mean a shutdown of the compressed air supply to the Physics building.
The shutdown is proposed to happen on Monday 13th February, between 1pm and 3pm.
Please contact me or Martin Ward as soon as possible if this is going to cause problems.
Shonah Ion
Equality and Diversity/ International Women’s Day
I would be grateful if colleagues in your department could follow our @LancasterEqual Twitter account. We are going to be doing an exciting Twitter campaign for International Women’s Day and I hope to get as many staff as possible involved.
Gráinne Wilkinson & Cherry Canovan
Going free to a good home:
1 x tall metal cabinet with shelves and double doors. This is the old style type of metal cabinet, not one of the newer ones supplied with the refurb. Unsure as to where the key is.
1 x small metal cabinet with double doors. Has a key.
Both are in B031 if anyone wants to take a look. Please contact f.rambridge@lancs.ac.uk
Fiona Rambridge
Do you fancy acting as a judge at the IOP’s North West undergraduate Physics Challenge this year?
Derek Ward-Thompson at UCLan has asked me to circulate the invitation to staff here at Lancaster. It’s at Salford University on Wednesday 29th March from 10.30am till 3pm.
If interested, please contact Derek directly (dward-thompson@uclan.ac.uk)
Gráinne Wilkinson & Jim Wild
Physics Refurbishment – Weekly Update
Please see below details of scheduled works on the Physics refurbishment project for week commencing Monday 30th January.
Physics scheduled works:
- Re-roofing works – low noise, no vibration
- Scaffolding stripping – minimal noise, minimal vibration
- Scaffolding stripping – minimal noise, minimal vibration
- M&E builders work – high noise, medium vibration
- M&E 1st fix – medium noise, medium vibration
- M&E 2nd fix – medium noise, minimum vibration
- 2nd fix partition works – medium noise, minimum vibration
- 2nd fix joinery works – medium noise, minimum vibration
- 1st fix joinery works – medium noise, minimum vibration
- Plastering – minimal noise, no vibration
- Mist coat decoration – minimal noise, no vibration
- 1st fix works – sliding door, minimal noise, minimal vibration
- Floor preparation – medium noise, minimum vibration
- Plant room cladding – medium noise, minimum vibration
- Existing toilet block and new entrance brickwork and steelwork – medium noise, medium vibration
Should you have any queries regarding the project please contact the Senior Project Manager, Helen Wood, via the Facilities Helpdesk on facilities.helpdesk@lancaster.ac.uk or 01524 593333.
Louisa Duff
VC Visit
The VC will visit Physics on Tues 21 February from 1300-1500hrs. The format and venues for the visit are given below and I’d be grateful if you could make a note in your diaries.
Part One (1300 – 1345hrs) Venue – B10
Head of department and their leadership/management team
The two questions Mark wants to discuss are:
1. Their reflections on the NSS 2016 outcomes, the strengths and weaknesses and work they have done ready for NSS 2017.
2. In the strategy refresh what they as department they would like to see added/updated.
Part Two (1345 – 1500hrs) Venue – C36
Whole department
Mark will talk for approximately 25 minutes followed by general questions from the department.
Gráinne Wilkinson