The School’s Dr Martin Sweatman has decoded a system of Pictish symbols and revealed its link with other symbol systems used by ancient civilisations across the world. Dr Sweatman, who is a Reader in Chemical Engineering in the School, had previously used his scientific training to decode an early zodiacal system found across western Eurasia, from European Palaeolithic caves to sites in Turkey, Egypt and Mesopotamia. He has now gone one step further by linking Pictish symbols to this system.
Researchers from the School of Engineering are part of a pan-University research hub for quantum-enhanced imaging systems, which just received a £28m funding boost from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Chancellor’s Fellow in Electronics Dr Danial Chitnis and Professor Robert Henderson from the School’s Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems (IMNS), are members of the UK Quantum Technology Hub in Quantum Enhanced Imaging (QuantIC) which received the funding.
The School’s Deputy Head of School and Bert Whittington Chair Professor Gareth Harrison is part of an expert panel which recently concluded a major inquiry into the future of Scotland’s energy. The two-year long inquiry was initiated by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), Scotland’s National Academy, to address the challenge of meeting Scotland’s future energy requirements in the face of increasing demand, power station closures, and pressing carbon reduction targets.
Researchers from the School of Engineering have devised a fabric dressing which could improve wound recovery for patients suffering from burns or skin grafts. Dr Norbert Radacsi, Antonios Keirouz and Mei Zhang from the School’s Institute for Materials and Processes (IMP), and Dr Anthony Callanan from the Institute of Bioengineering (IBioE), are part of a team which produced this super-thin 'artificial skin' using nanoscale technology.
The School’s Dr Antonis Giannopoulos is part of an international team of scientists that have secured support from the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) to advance the search for water on Mars.
Software developed by the School’s Dr Antonis Giannopoulos and Northumbria University’s Dr Craig Warren has been selected by Google to take part in its prestigious Summer of Code mentoring programme. Google’s international scheme connects talented student coders with software development companies offering paid opportunities over the summer holidays.
In early May, the School invited two speakers from the United States to run a whole-day intensive careers event for postdoctoral researchers. The workshops - which focused on career building, transitioning to non-academic roles, and overcoming barriers to productivity - were facilitated by Dr Karen Kelsky and Kellee Weinhold, of The Professor Is In, who provide specialist advice on all elements of the academic and post-academic career and job search.
The School's Professor Timothy Drysdale has been recognised for his pioneering work using remote laboratories in engineering teaching at the National Instruments' annual international conference, NI Week (20-23 May 2019) in Austin, Texas.
In mid-May the School hosted a three-day workshop with industry and academic partners from Thailand, to explore technological improvements that promise to boost the commercial production of spirulina.
On Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 May, the Hewitt-Reese Spring School for Modelling Multiphase Flows took place in honour of two pioneering fluid dynamicists – the School’s Professor Jason Reese and Professor Geoff Hewitt of Imperial College London – who both passed away earlier this year.
