News

We had four frantic live chats in Detection today, there was especially a lot of laser chat going on. The engineers have also been asked over 200 questions from you so far, so keep them coming, and remember to VOTE! Today’s highlights: Amanda answers an interesting question: Do you ever think about the people’s lives your inventions have saved? Ben describes his work: ellathompson : @ben Sum up your work in 5 words… bendrumm : @ellathompson – interesting, fun, challenging, mind boggling (some of the physics to do with our particle accelerator I will never understand!) Gary manages to shatter our laser illusions: critchers : Gary LAD do you use lasers for secret missions? niamhtitterton123 : Can lasers be weaponised? garyboorman : @all A quick note about lasers – lasers in movies aren’t quite the same as real-life! And Samer gets that laser excitement, back on track: What exactly do … Continue reading →

Lots of detection chat in the Detection Zone today… Today’s highlights: We learnt how Samer and Amanda use detectors: scorpio : what do you do with americium? samerkilani : we use it to test sensors. Americium emits particles and we are able to see them on our sensors. mrholden : what type of fire detectors do you work with? amandalewin : I design fire alarm systems so we use a combination of smoke and heat detectors depending on the situation. Sometimes we also need to be able to detect carbon monoxide. And Amanda’s crazy idea: What’s the craziest idea you’ve ever come up with?  

Day 2 and another busy day for the Detection Zone – lots of interest in the engineers’ careers and we’re up to nearly 100 questions answered in ASK. Today’s highlights: How to get girls interested in engineering: katheerineegoree98 : Do you think there is more that can be done to get girls more interested in engineering? bendrumm : Good question – that’s such a tough one to answer, my feeling is that in society engineers are stereotyped as being men, not women. The same is true of other jobs e.g. when I was a kid I always thought nurses were girls and doctors were men. Maybe some sort of tv program with a female lead engineer could help to change peoples thinking!? garyboorman : There is a lot more to be done to get girls into engineering! I don’t have all the answers, but I think the media could be … Continue reading →

And so it begins… The Detection Zone in I’m an Engineer has got off to a busy start. There were 3 live chats, and over 100 questions asked from over 200 registered students. Today’s highlights: Students dived in straight with serious questions about education, gender and the future… What is the best technology to put in a school classroom – assuming money is no object? Do you think there are enough woman in this pofession How does the principles of science and mathematics apply to your everyday tasks? And one to ponder on: What do you think is going to become the biggest challenge for engineers in the future? And there was still time to learn more about Samer, Gary, Dan, Ben & Amanda too: Which engineer plays guitar in 2 bands? Who’s our resident rock climber? And which engineer enjoys body building?  

Detection Zone is ready to go This June we’re running the STFC-funded Detection Zone, and with 29 chats already booked it’s going to be a very busy one! 150 students have registered so far, and there’s a queue of over 100 questions for the engineers to answer next week. Find out about the engineers… “sporty, well-fed” Ben and “active, foodie, technogeek” Samer have both posted some pretty impressive pictures of where they work “full of enthusiasm” Gary‘s alternative career choice would be a roadie, while “friendly, thoughtful gamer” Amanda would quite like to be a travel writer Dan says he loves really bad music – we’ll have to find out just what he likes to listen to next week! Can you guess which of the 5 engineers chose PE, rather than Physics, as their favourite school subject? Hope you’re looking forward to next week!

With the June event fast approaching, we can now announce the schools and scientists who’ll be taking part from 17th – 28th. We’re running the Detection Zone, funded by the STFC. Schools There are 19 schools involved and after a great event in March we’re hoping they’ll get just as much out of it as the classes did last time. Here’s what some teachers in the March event told us afterwards: “The class really engaged and were more aware of the different aspects encompassed by ‘engineering’ and how maths related to that”  “Really, really enjoyed it – I’ve done a follow up of giving them a week to ‘constructively daydream’ and come up with an idea or invention – even if it would be impossible to produce it yet. I’m really impressed by their ideas – plus they’ve signed contracts giving me 10% of future income from their inventions. Dragons Den, here we come!!” … Continue reading →

I’m an Engineer will be running two zones funded by STFC from 17th – 28th June. With just 7 weeks to go until the event, let us know as soon as possible if you’d like to take part. The zones are: Detection We need ever more sensitive ways of detecting stuff. The engineers could be designing giant detector systems, creating cameras or trouble shooting telescopes. Computing The engineers could be building high performance computers, using them to run climate change simulations or solving complex fluid dynamic problems with their help.   Engineers with links to STFC who’d like to take part should head here to apply: imanengineer.org.uk/engineer-registration Teachers need to register here: imanengineer.org.uk/teachers Let us know by Monday 6th May!  

As we finish one event it’s a real pleasure to announce another nine, thanks to the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). We’ve recently been awarded an STFC Public Engagement Grant to help run I’m an Engineer and I’m a Scientist for 3 years, taking us through to March 2016. This is brilliant news. Especially for I’m an Engineer, where it allows us to guarantee at least 3 zones per year. And that’s just the start. We’re looking for other organisations that might fund zones to allow engineers without an STFC connection to take part too. The first zone will run from the 17th to 28th June 2013 and we’ll be announcing the theme in a couple of weeks time. Thank you to everyone who tweeted support for the projects. We were overwhelmed with all the messages popping up on our presentation screen! Teachers should register here to take part, or check your … Continue reading →

Our self-funded March event went superbly. Nearly 400 students took part. Have a quick read through the daily updates below  for a flavour of the event and the Zone Report gives more depth. You can see the feedback that shows just how much the students and engineers get out of the event. As student ‘jessica123’ said about the 5 engineers “thank you sooo much for your time I have learnt a lot your are very nice people”   Daily updates Day 1 – Football, Grand Designs and the Olympics Day 2 – 3D printing, heat pumps and bridges Day 3 – Helicopters, straw huts and coal mines Day 4 – Sustainability in sport, Saudi Arabian cities and bamboo houses Day 5 – Global warming, Scottish independence and rocket science Day 6 – Carrot-powered cars, model rockets and transparent soil Day 7 – First eviction! Day 8 – Robots, red matter and petrol-powered … Continue reading →

It’s not just the engineers who have a chance to win in I’m an Engineer – we also pick a student winner for great questions and engagement during the event. – – – Congratulations to the Environment Zone student winner: putpolv01, from Putney High School, for engaging really well and asking some great questions during a chat at the start of the event (in fact it was a pretty great chat all round, so well done to the class!). – – – We received so many good questions that it was difficult to pick just one student – thanks to everyone who took part, we hope you enjoyed it!