Blog from the Faculty of Engineering
PhD students Abhishek Gautam and Lewis Munshi, and five undergraduate students from the Aerospace department have had the amazing opportunity to work on flight dynamics, wing design and developing a jet suit exoskeleton for Gravity Industries. Truly putting engineering theory into practice.
Our second-year Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Design students did a practical experiment to see which types of vehicle travel through water as well as they run on roads.
The competition saw 190 students working in teams of three to four to design, build and test a successful amphibious vehicle. Their vehicles had to traverse the water obstacle course in less than 40 seconds and weigh in at less than 450 grams.
The purpose of the project is for the students to model and physically realise engineering systems, to manufacture working prototypes and to assess their vehicle’s performance.
And, as you can see from the video, it’s about enjoying the process too!
Our second year Civil Engineering MEng students compete to create the most resilient structure using the knowledge gained through their course. The shaking table runs a series of greater magnitude shakes until only one tower remains intact.
MEng in Civil Engineering students learn about the design of steel and concrete structures in the context of realistic multi-storey buildings incorporating common beam, column and slab arrangements.
If you want to gain a greater knowledge in earthquake engineering, we have the MSc in Earthquake Engineering and Infrastructure Resilience. One of the highlights of this programme is a field trip to an earthquake affected area, where students can visit structures and inspect recent damage.
Find out more about Civil Engineering at the University of Bristol
Computer Science student Tom has built a working replica of the Enigma Machine used to send encoded messages during World War Two. He spent a six week internship in our Engineering Hackspace building the replica, which is now being used by students and school children to explore codes and number theory.
Bristol is a world leader in cryptography and our Computer Science students learn all about keeping systems like power stations and the NHS safe from hackers.
Find out more at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/computerscience/
That’s what Indian student Samia Mohinta faced when starting her MSc in Advanced Computing last month. Samia has thrown herself into life in Bristol and has some advice and insight for others in a similar position…
Hello readers,
Are you having cold feet – terrified to leave your home country? Or have you taken the big leap, but missing home? Keep reading! This post lists all that I found useful while coming to the UK and after two weeks of being here.
This is my first time anywhere outside India. I am an avid traveller, but stepping out of India, to go to a place for a year without family and friends, did freak me out. So, trust me, I can understand how you all are feeling. Don’t worry, you are not alone.
Here are a few tips to help organise yourself and shake off the blues before and after you travel to the UK:
Life is all about taking risks. Sign yourself up for an adventure every day and reap the satisfaction it brings. This new world in Bristol is a lot different from yours back in India. It is way more organised. It is also extremely welcoming. Be confident. You shall shine!
Thank you for being with me till the end.
PS : I shall come back with some other fun stuff about my adventures in Bristol. Stay tuned!
There are many options at Bristol if you need any support settling into University life or just need to chat to somebody. Find out where to get help here.
Formula Student is a long-running international competition where the best engineering students across the world design, manufacture and race open-wheeled single seater formula styled vehicles. The vehicles produced by some of the top teams are truly astounding feats of engineering, with some cars able to accelerate from 0-60 MPH in under 1.5 seconds! The big finale is the head-to-head race at Silverstone, where the teams battle it out to find the overall winner.
Chief Engineer, Harry White, explains the uniqueness of this project: “This competition is one of the best opportunities available to university students to experience a complex, real-life engineering problem that requires analytical thinking, design and team work.”
“It allows students to develop important skills that may be less focused on in a classical engineering degree, such as business, marketing and cost analysis.” He continues “We’ll be working hard towards developing our business and marketing case, with the goal of ranking amongst the top teams next year.”
This year’s team are currently building their first car to compete at the 2019 competition. Harry updates us on their progress: “We have most of a rolling chassis, with only a few modifications still required to produce a product that fundamentally works. The next steps this year will be to develop the powertrain, which is no small task, and to continue developing the rolling chassis until the car can drive under its own power. From there the next task will be an extensive testing and commissioning stage. There’s a significant difference between a car that can move and a car that can race.”
One of the great benefits of the project is for the students to work equally as part of team, with all members having the opportunity to contribute significantly to the design. As Harry points out: “There’s a lot of design involved with creating a car from scratch, and this means that younger members of the team can contribute in a way that would be almost impossible in more established teams.”
Importantly, there’s the social aspect of the project: “Working as part of a dedicated team, all focused on achieving the same goal, leads to a tight-knit group of friends, between different years and courses; a social dynamic that is difficult to find elsewhere.”
As Harry sums up: “Formula student is an amazing opportunity that gives real engineering experience and is as rewarding as it is demanding; at Bristol Electric Racing there is the opportunity for anyone who is motivated enough to do great things.”
You can follow the team’s progress on Facebook.