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Department of Engineering

Staff and student directory

Staff and student directory

Marking the retirement of Baroness Platt of Writtle

Baroness Platt of Writtle, President of the Cambridge University Engineers Association (CUEA) 1987-2001, was recently presented with a gift by Professor David Newland to mark her retirement in September this year.

He visited her at home to present an antique print of the Senate House and King's college chapel dated 1795, on behalf of the Association of which he is Chairman.

Baroness Platt, who graduated from the Engineering Department in 1943 and went on to become Chairman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, became President of the CUEA in 1987.

The new President of the Association is Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, who graduated from the Department in 1951. There are currently over 6000 registered members of the CUEA, which is the association for former members of the Department of Engineering and Chemical Engineering.

Outreach Officer for Engineering

Dr Joy Warde has recently been appointed as Outreach Officer for the Department of Engineering.

She will be working with Peter Long and Geoff Parkes to coordinate the Department's outreach activities. These currently include events for the Cambridge Science Festival, the Headstart and Sutton Trust Summer schools and various science and technology activities aimed at schools run in conjunction with SATRO, such as Techlink04. Joy's longer term aim will be to increase the level of outreach activities using student volunteers and encourage schools to use the Department's facilities outside of University Full Term.

Joy has plenty of experience in this type of work, having been a founder Member of Seek (Science and Engineering Experiments for Kids), which is based in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. Joy completed her first degree and PhD in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, specialising in Neural Networks. Following a short period of post-doctoral research, she trained as a teacher and taught GCSE science at Comberton Village College for three years before the birth of her daughter.

She is now looking forward to the challenges of raising awareness of engineering as a career choice amongst school children and acting as coordinator for the multidude of activities that are already taking place. If you are interested in either running or taking part in Outreach activities, or are already involved in such events, please do contact Joy either by email (jj112@cam.ac.uk), or on Tel: 01223 332702.

Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Teaching Fellow

The MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development has won support from the Royal Academy of Engineering through the award of a RAEng Visiting Teaching Fellow.

These positions are supported by the Academy to promote experience led teaching from hands-on engineers at the early stages of their careers who are able to relate to the operational and real life challenges they face on a daily basis in industry. Sarah Royse of Inbuilt Consulting (a subsidiary of the RES Group) has accepted this role and will contribute to lectures and seminars, facilitate site visits and co-supervise projects. She will also be able to provide career advice and support for students on the MPhil programme, as well as encouraging MEng students to become involved in their appropriate professional bodies.

Sarah Royse

Sarah is a Chartered Engineer having obtained her degree in Mathematics and Physics from Durham University in 2001. She worked for Max Fordham Consulting Engineers for 5 years before joining Inbuilt Consulting in 2007. In 2008 she won the ACE Young Consultant of the Year Award, and is an Advisor to the UK Green Building Council and a Steering Committee member of CIBSE's Energy Performance Group. Her professional qualifications include Membership of the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), certified CIBSE Low Carbon Consultant, and Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA).

Sarah started her role this Lent term and the initial appointment is for two years.

Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Teaching Fellow appointed to the Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE) masters course

Tanya de Hoog

The IDBE course team is delighted to announce that the Royal Academy of Engineering has appointed structural engineer Tanya de Hoog as a Visiting Teaching Fellow to the IDBE masters course at the University of Cambridge.

Tanya, herself a graduate of the course, is a Principal of the international structural engineering design consultancy Thornton Tomasetti, and founding co-director of the London office. She is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Institution of Structural Engineers. As a dynamic rising international leader in engineering design for the built environment, Tanya will be an inspiring role model for current IDBE students.

Tanya will attend IDBE course weeks over the two year appointment and spend time in direct contact with students on the course. She will present lectures on leadership and contemporary practice, will mentor individual students, supervise student assignments, and set and review studio design projects.

The Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE) masters course has been run jointly by the Departments of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Cambridge since 1994. The two year, part-time course takes around 25 students each year, all of whom have a good honours degree in a relevant discipline and at least three years (and often much more) professional experience in the built environment. The students are from all built environment professions. The course is structured across two years such that each cohort also meets and works with the cohorts before and after their own; therefore each individual student has the opportunity to make connections with up to 74 others. The current age range is 24 to 64, and students fly in for the course weeks from as far afield as Australia, America and South Africa. Many graduates of the course have gone on to senior positions in their firms, some have set up new companies with people they met on the course, and there has even been an IDBE wedding.

The course was established with the support of the Ove Arup Foundation. Other trusts subsequently lent valuable support. The IStructE Educational Trust and The Panasonic Trust regularly provide bursary support for suitably qualified candidates taking the course.

More information about the course can be found at www.idbe.org where you can also download the latest newsletters.

Email: info@idbe.org

Telephone: 01223 760117

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