Category: Our Community

Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day

Posted on by Clare Lapworth

Sunday 23rd June is International Women in Engineering Day – we are proud to have so many amazing women working and studying here, in such a wide variety of disciplines and roles. Here are just a few…

Professor Lucy Berthoud – Professor of Space Engineering

I teach SpaProfessor Lucy Berthoudcecraft Systems Engineering in the Aerospace Engineering department and I also work in industry at Thales Alenia Space UK -a spacecraft design company. In industry I work on satellite design for future science missions and at the University of Bristol I work with students to help them to design and build their own satellites.

Read more about Lucy’s work

Kalyani Rajkumar – Research Associate, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Kalyani RajkumarKalyani successfully completed her postgraduate course in Advanced Microelectronic Systems Engineering (AMSE) at the University of Bristol and now works on 5G technology at the Smart Internet lab at the University.

Read more about her student experience.

Dr Antonia Tzemanaki – Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering – Member of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory

I reDr Antonia Tzemanakisearch and develop wearable robotic devices with application in healthcare. This can lead to finding novel solutions to problems that can transform society, which I find very exciting. I also try to combine teaching and research, as working with students on these challenges can be very fulfilling.

Christine Braganza and Ella Allan (students, Department of Mechanical Engineering) and Octavia Clark (student, Engineering Design)

Christine Braganza, Ella Allan and Octavia Clark

Christine, Octavia and Ella created ‘A Grand Gromplication’ for the 2018 Gromit Unleashed 2 charity trail with the help of our brilliant technicians. Read more.

 

 

Professor Weiru Liu – Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Research Director

Professor Weiru LiuMy research is to investigate advanced technologies for developing data-driven intelligent autonomous systems in an  increasingly connected world, so as to  benefit our society and our citizens. Applications of intelligent autonomous systems  are endless, from future transportation, digital health, to personal assistance and  environment monitoring, to name a few.

Dr Ruzanna Chitchyan – EPSRC fellow on Living with Environmental Change and Yael Zekaria – Research Associate, Department of Computer Science

RuzaDr Ruzanna Chitchyan and Yael Zekaria at the International Conference on ICT for Sustainabilitynna is providing software support as the UK’s energy system moves from a fossil fuel-based, centralised set up to a clean, localised, renewables-based alternative. Yael works on modelling skills shortages and training needs, helping  to ensure that the work force is ready for such a transition. Their work is essential to ensure the UK continues to have a reliable, affordable energy supply to homes and businesses. They also focus on the societal impact of the new energy models, making sure that they lead to positive social and community building activities.

Ruzanna is a member of the Cabot Institute for the Environment.

Rachael De’Ath – Senior Teaching Associate, Department of Civil Engineering

Rachael De'Ath working on siteI am a Chartered Structural Engineer at Arup Bristol as well as lecturing at University. I love designing buildings and working as part of a team to deliver them. I think it is really important as it can make such a difference to many people. My particular area of interest and experience is in reuse of existing buildings which I believe is a really important part of sustainable development, as well as always being an interesting challenge as an Engineer!

Rachael was one of the Telegraph Top 50 Women in Engineering 2018.

Grace Kelly and Cora Fung – students, Department of Civil Engineering

Grace Kelly and Cora Fung receiving their awards

Grace Kelly and Cora Fung came first and second in the Institute of Civil Engineers South West Emerging Engineers Award.

The Emerging Engineers Award promotes and rewards outstanding communication of civil engineering ideas and research.

Read the news story.

Dr Karen Aplin – Senior Lecturer in Space Engineering

Dr Karen Aplin and Dr Keri Nicoll working on the Snowdon summit

In this picture I’m with my colleague Dr Keri Nicoll (Universities of Bath and Reading) working on my cosmic ray and meteorological station at Snowdon Summit. I study the effects of space weather on our atmosphere and this research is part of a Welsh language outreach project run by the Royal Astronomical Society. Two Bristol Engineering undergraduate women are also working on this project – Ilham Said from the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Annabelle Bale from Engineering Mathematics.

 

Cara Williamson and Anouk Spelt – PhD students

Cara Williamson and Anouk Spelt

Cara and Anouk are based in the Bio-Inspired Flight lab under the supervision of Dr Shane Windsor. Together, they set up the Urban Gull Project which uses GPS tags to follow 11 lesser black-backed gulls nesting on roofs in Bristol. The project combines engineering and biology. They aim to investigate how urban gulls use and navigate through the urban environment to find out how they save energy and use this knowledge to improve drone navigation in cities. They have also designed and run an outreach event to inspire young people in underrepresented demographics to choose a career in STEM subjects, So far they’ve reached more than 550 young people in Bristol.

Catherine Manning – HR Officer

Catherine Manning
I see myself as facilitator – helping all staff within the Engineering Faculty not only to enjoy being at work, but to fulfill their career potential.  No two days are the same!  I could be supporting someone with disabilities that needs extra assistance, providing HR training on terms and conditions of employment or working on faculty-led projects that promote staff well-being. It’s a busy and varied role and I thoroughly enjoy being part of a team.

Valentina Noacco – NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellow, Water and Environmental Engineering Research Group
Valentina Noacco speaking at a workshopValentina works with the insurance sector to help them make more robust decisions based on their catastrophe models.  By transferring methods, software and expertise on uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, this research has an impact in the real world ensuring financial resilience and better preparation for when disasters hit.

 

Dr Valeska Ting – Reader in Smart Nanomaterials, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Dr Valeska Ting working in the labI am a materials engineer working on the design, fabrication and testing of nanomaterial-based composites. The materials we develop will help us to lower the carbon dioxide emissions from transportation and will allow the adoption of more sustainable fuel sources such as renewable hydrogen.

 

Want to be part of our community?

We’re always looking for more excellent people to join our community. See the full list of job opportunities in the Faculty of Engineering.

Find out more about undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Read about our work to improve diversity.

My mental health: An honest chat with Professor Dave Cliff

Posted on by sophie.paterson

Dave Cliff, Professor of Computer Science, talks about his experience with a break down in his mental health. How catastrophic thinking, panic attacks and the stigma around mental health made his life miserable and how he came through the other side.

Talking about your mental health (good, bad and everything in between) is something we really encourage and we’re proud that our staff are leading by example. If you’re a student and need to talk to someone about your mental health or get some support you can talk to the teams in your school office, or find more resources on the University of Bristol website. If you ever need a chat you can contact the Samaritans 24/7  no matter who you are. 

“People said I was brave”

Dave talks about people’s reactions to  the video and the bravery of asking for help

I once made a video, or should I say: a video was once made of me. It was a talking-head interview, about the time I had a breakdown. Severe anxiety and depression; suicidal thoughts. It’s seven minutes long, and I speak maybe a thousand words.

I did it because I was asked to do so by a colleague, an old friend, who was putting together material for a new non-credit bearing elective course that would be made available to all students at The University of Bristol, where I work. I didn’t give it much thought, didn’t know what questions I would be asked and didn’t rehearse any of the answers. We shot it in one take, maybe 25 or 30 minutes in total, and then the video production folk went away and skilfully edited it down to a more manageable length. Once the final edit was released to our students, and to the rest of the world on YouTube, I started getting feedback, comments — people saying nice things about it — and in those comments something caught me by surprise. There was this one word that got used a lot when people commented on what I’d done, a word that I didn’t expect at all. People said that I was brave.

I’ve thought quite hard about this and, given this opportunity to write about it now, almost 18 months since we shot the footage and more than five years since I got sick, I’d like to explain why I don’t think I was brave at all. Or, at least, why I don’t want to be thought of as brave for making a video.

Should I first introduce myself? I’m a Professor of Computer Science at The University of Bristol, a role I’ve been in for the past 11 years. Prior to that I’d held professorial posts at Southampton and at MIT, plus I’d spent seven years working in frontline industrial artificial intelligence R&D for Hewlett-Packard and for Deutsche Bank. But what I’m writing here isn’t about my CV. Let’s get back to this bravery thing.

If someone was cycling too fast, had an accident, broke a limb, received medical care, took time off work to get well, and came back fixed, that’d be pretty routine. What if that person then made a talking-head video about what happened, how they’d been riding too fast for too long and how after the accident they don’t ride quite so fast now, quite so recklessly, now they know how painful the end-result can be? Would we call that person brave? I think not. When I made this video I didn’t for a moment think that I was being brave, because it shouldn’t be an act of bravery to talk about what is, after all, an experience that very many people go through and in which for many people, like me, the story ends well. I was just doing what I wish many more people would do, talking openly and honestly about mental health. I got sick, dangerously so. I sought help and got good care, for which I remain very very very thankful indeed. And I got better. And then I told people what happened. How does me telling that story mean that I’m brave?

I’m acutely aware that it doesn’t work out this way for everyone: some people suffer from chronic mental health issues that go on for a very long time, lifetimes even; some people don’t find, or ask for, the right help in time; their stories may not end nearly so as well as mine. In these senses, I was lucky.

As far as I’m concerned, me telling my story wasn’t a brave thing to do at all. It was an act of thanks, a little celebration of my recovery. Like getting back on the bike and going for a ride and enjoying the wind in your face and laughing out loud that you’re once again able to do something you love; that you’re fixed, the bad times are behind you, that you’re well.

Looking back over the whole sequence of events, if I had to choose one thing I did that I do think of as brave, it was the moment when I was first sat facing my doctor, took a deep breath, and spoke honestly about what was going on inside my head. Before I could get a word out I was in tears and could barely talk. But I knew I had run out of road, that I’d lost control and that I couldn’t deal with the situation alone. For me that was an extraordinarily difficult step to take, one that I very nearly didn’t. I am so glad that I did, and I guess I’m writing these words in the hope that maybe they’ll encourage someone else to take that first step, to reach out and ask for help. In my opinion, that’s the brave bit: the bit when you ask for help. No video required.

Writing this has made me think quite hard, and I realise now that when I spoke to my doctor that was the first time I’d said those words out loud. I was talking as much to myself as to the medic: it was my first admission, not just to my doctor but to me, that I was in a desperately bad way; the first time I said that I needed help. I wasn’t just telling my doctor I was sick, I was telling me too. For me, that was the really difficult part. If ever I was brave, that was the brave bit.

I’m very glad I took that step but it was not at all easy. If my video encourages others to take the same step when they’re in a bad place, to be brave enough to admit they need help and to seek that help, then I think it will have been useful. I hope that it is.

 

Best of the Impossible Garden (so far)

Posted on by sophie.paterson

The Impossible Garden is a set of new experimental sculptures, by artist Luke Jerram, inspired by visual phenomena. The exhibition is a collaboration with Bristol Vision Institute and aims to enhance our understanding of vision. All summer visitors have been exploring the garden and discovering engaging art exhibits, designed to stimulate debate about how visual impairments can affect our perception of the world around us. We gathered some of the best Instagram shots of the exhibits so far.

 

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By Luke Jerram

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Just a little glimpse of @lukejerramartist’s Impossible Garden at @brisbotanicgdn 🌿

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A taste of the glitch bench; this and many other exhibits designed to challenge your ideas of sight in the #impossiblegarden

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Think you can do better? The University of Bristol Botanic Garden is a riot of colour as the season change, so grab your camera. The Impossible Garden is open to the public until Sunday 25 November 2018. Open from 10 am until 4.30 pm, 7-days-a-week, including bank holidays. For those with visual impairments, we have audio and braille copies of the brochure available.

Find out more about the Impossible Garden.

Technical Apprenticeships in Engineering

Posted on by sophie.paterson

Our Technical Services team underpins all of the work that goes on in Engineering. They are the experts who run the labs,  make the components and work the cutting edge technology we use every day.

Every year we recruit and train new technical apprentices to support the team. Mictroy talks about his experience:

Find out more about Technical Apprenticeships at Bristol: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/staffdevelopment/professional-services/technical-staff/technical-apprenticeships/