news

infrastructure plan good news for civil engineers of the future

Chris Kilsby

30.11.11
Leading experts at one of the country’s top institutions for civil engineering research have today welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement to invest £30bn into infrastructure schemes across the UK.

The team based in Newcastle University’s School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences say the investment into our transport networks, buildings and communication systems is vital if we are to deliver an infrastructure for the 21st century. And achieving this goal will require a new generation of civil engineers with the vision to build a sustainable infrastructure that will continue to meet our needs in an ever changing environment.

Rated second in the country for research power in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise Newcastle University’s civil engineering department is doing just that. Chris Kilsby, Professor of Hydrology and Climate Change, is part of a world-leading research team responsible for an EPSRC-funded, £6.1million programme aimed at addressing the fundamental issue of ensuring sustainable infrastructure for the UK.

He explains: “Our infrastructure is acutely vulnerable to weather extremes and other threats and the risk is made much greater because of the interdependence of our key networks – energy, transport, water and telecommunications. “At the same time, efficient and resilient infrastructure is essential to the growth and competitiveness of the UK economy and to quality of life and the environment in the face of rising demand and increasing energy prices. “This investment is vital and here at Newcastle we are recruiting some of the best students from all over the UK and worldwide to train to be the engineers who will design, adapt and build the infrastructure for the future.”

An estimated £150 billion has been invested in the UK’s infrastructure over the last five years and experts predict a further £40-50 billion will be needed every year between now and 2030 in order to maintain current levels of service. Privatisation of key services such as water and energy, new expectations that many decisions are to be taken locally and the fact that information and communications technologies are now integrated into every one of these key networks means the whole system is vulnerable.

Toll roads - one of many of the mooted infrastructure projects and an initiative in which Newcastle University is a world leader - requires the development of hi-tech systems in order to be implemented and the University has received more than £4m in transport research grants to help deliver solutions to managing transport systems.

Professor of Intelligent Transport Professor Phil Blythe said there would be huge demand for excellent civil engineering graduates over the next few years. “Transport is vital in delivering a successful economy and at the moment it is estimated that congestion and unpredictable journey times is estimated to cost the UK economy up to £20bn a year. “It is vital that the government invests in new transport infrastructure projects to maintain the UK competitiveness and to utilise the skills and expertise of the world class civil engineering students that Newcastle University delivers.”

newcastle civil engineering graduate shortlisted for graduate of the year award

Tom Bramald

15.11.11
2010 graduate Simon Rawlins has been selected from more than 90 nominations from across the world for the NCE 2011 Graduate of the Year award. A graduate from the MEng Civil and Structural Engineering course, and now working with Amey, Simon will visit the Institution of Civil Engineers in December for the awards presentation lunch where a share of more than £3000 of prize money is on offer.

Run by New Civil Engineer, the major trade magazine for Civil Engineering, the graduate of the year award is sponsored by 16 leading companies. The competition is judged by a panel of senior engineers and aims to recognise the valuable contribution graduates make to the civil engineering community.

CeG host tyndall assembly and public debate on cities being forces of good

Stephanie Glendinning

13.10.11
The School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences hosted the Tyndall Assembly from 13 - 16 September 2011. The Tyndall Assembly is the annual conference for the researchers and staff of the partner Universities of the Tyndall Centre, which brings together world leading scientists, economists, engineers and social scientists who are working to develop sustainable responses to climate change.

As part of the Assembly an Open Debate was held on 14 September and some 150 experts, interested parties and members of the public debating whether we can re-engineer cities to be forces for environmental good. Cities are the home to half the world’s population and growing rapidly, cities consume large proportions of the world's resources and are responsible for as much as 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. The debate was led by Stephanie Glendinning (CeG) and the panel was made up from local (Mr Andy Mace, Arup: Newcastle Office; Mr Adrian Hilton, Regional Climate Change Coordinator for North East Councils and Georgia Giannopoulou from the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape, Newcastle University) and international experts.

Shobhakar Dhakal from the Global Carbon Project in Tsukuba (Japan) stated that “Cities are definitely forces for environmental good”. He said that we need to strengthen the management of cities in order to make them a good force for the environment. He argued that there are windows of opportunities as new technologies and best knowledge can be applied in Asia as cities are newly designed rather than being retrofitted as is the case in the UK and Europe.

Cynthia Rosenzweig from NASA Goddard Institute in New York (USA) shared with us the experiences and research of over 100 members representing 50 cities from across the world, work which is summarised in her latest book (Climate Change and Cities). She said that although cities are highly vulnerable to climate change, that they also have great potential to lead on climate change adaption and mitigation efforts. She concluded by giving a resounding YES! that cities can be re-engineered for environmental good, but we have to have the right players and processes in pace. She said that cities can be forces of good (and New York is a good example for this!) but it requires experts, engineers, scientists, politicians and the public working together under a common leadership.

Please see: https://lectopia.ncl.ac.uk/lectopia/lectopia.lasso?ut=15875&id=11182 for the speaker presentations

CeG students' cycle hire scheme rolls out across Newcastle

Rob Grisdale and Jack Payne

27.7.11
A fleet of 150 bikes are now available to pick up and drop off in a Paris-style rental programme that was launched across the city last week.

Business district improvement agency NE1 has teamed up with ScratchBikes, a business launched by Newcastle University Civil Engineering graduates Rob Grisdale and Jack Payne.

People can use the bikes by registering online for one of three different memberships in a scheme designed to reduce the city’s carbon footprint. Bikes can be collected or returned to any one of 15 hire stations at key points including Central Station, Monument and the Haymarket, the RVI and university and college campuses.

Another seven hire points will reach residents in outlying suburbs in a bid to encourage workers, students and members of the public to cycle into the city. If needed, the bike can be re-hired when the two hours expire.

Rob explained: “Newcastle is a compact city, so cycling is a brilliant way of getting around and an excellent way to get fit and healthy. “Cycling from the Quayside up Dean Street to the Monument is a great workout even for the most ardent cyclist – rest assured, elsewhere the city is pretty flat so not such a testing journey."

honorary citizenship for Professor Novak

Pavel Novak

14.7.11
Emeritus Professor Pavel Novak, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, has bee awarded Honorary Citizenship of Stribro, Czech Republic - the town of his birth.

Stribro, a pretty town on a rocky promontory in western Bohemia, was once famous for its silver mines - silver in Czech is stribro - and has a history spanning more than 900 years. It was always an important link on the central European route between Nuremberg and Prague.

During his recent visit to the Czech Republic Professor Novak, who spent his early childhood years in Stribro, was presented with the Honorary Citizenship certificate by the town mayor in the presence of the town council, local MP and member of Senate and other dignitaries.

In his response to the mayor's address, Professor Noval also mentioned that in Newcastle, honorary citizens were granted the right to graze cattle on the Town Moor, although he doubted that anything like this would be feasible in Stribro.

concrete under fire seminar

Colin Davie

14.4.11
On 23 March academics and engineers gathered at the Institute of Structural Engineers in London for the Concrete under Fire seminar on high temperature effects on concrete.

The event was co-organised and chaired by Colin Davie and was held under the banner of the NAFEMS organisation. Talks relating to both fire and nuclear applications were given by academics and practicing engineers from across the UK and Europe. The aim of the seminar was to provide insight for numerical modellers into current practice in design and analysis as well as the current forefront of research in the area, including that carried out in CeG.

Following the recent events in Japan and the Fukushima nuclear plant, the seminar stimulated intensive discussion after the talks with the panel of expert speakers debating numerous issues with the audience.

students make an impact with the help of EPSRC

Colin Davie

14.4.11
At the end of March, Stephanie Millar and Lee Ager, two Stage 4 Civil and Structural Engineering students, travelled with their project supervisor Colin Davie, to the Swedish Technical Institute in Borås, Sweden to take part in a 5 day knowledge exchange visit. The students, whose individual research projects concern the effects of fire on concrete, are continuing work begun during the EPSRC project An advanced numerical tool for the prediction and analysis of spalling in concrete structures exposed to combined thermal and mechanical loading.

During the trip the three visitors from CeG gained valuable insight into the experimental techniques employed by the Swedish researchers to investigate concrete exposed to very high temperature and in exchange the experimentalists were trained in the numerical modelling techniques employed by researchers in CeG. The students were also able to carry out some experiments of their own (heating concrete samples to 600°C) the results of which will form part of their projects.

The trip was made possible with a Newcastle University EPSRC Impact Award and the kind assistance of Robert Jansson of SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden.

IPCC expert meeting on settlements and infrastructure

Richard Dawson

14.4.11
Richard Dawson was one of 40 or so experts from across the world invited to attend the IPCC's Expert Meeting on 'Human Settlements and Infrastructure' in Kolkata in March 2011. To date there was no comprehensive assessment on the role that urban planning and infrastructure could play in adaptation and mitigation, let alone a quantitative overview of the possible contributions of different options and their costs. This meeting looked at key interactions between adaptation and mitigation through settlements, their infrastructure and industry and set out the priorities to be considered in the IPCC's 5th Assessment Report and beyond.

spring 2011 CeG PhD away weekend

Carla Washbourne

8.4.11
The Spring 2011 CeG PhD Away Weekend took place on 26 and 27 March 2011 at the picturesque Low Gillerthwaite Field Centre in the Lake District. Attendees enjoyed a weekend of unseasonably warm weather, exploring the Cumbrian countryside around Ennerdale Water.

The event brought together students from 5 groups across CeG for a weekend of activities aimed at improving the dialogue between researchers in different disciplines. Building on the success of previous PhD away trips, the event provided an opportunity for researchers to share their experiences, discuss their research in an informal setting and meet colleagues based in other parts of the school. The trip also facilitated the further integration of CeG home, EU and international students.

The trip was organised by Alex Colman (Postgraduate Researcher in Structural Engineering) with the industrial scale catering operation ably coordinated by Alex Nicholson (Postgraduate Researcher in Water). The visit would not have been possible without kind support from CeG research groups, and it is hoped that many successful future events will follow.

RESNET: Resilient Electricity Networks for Great Britain

Sean Wilkinson, Chris Kilsby, Richard Dawson

1.4.11
CeG are a partner in the EPSRC Resilient Futures project. The project, led by Manchester, has been awarded £1.3m with £400k coming to CeG.

The resilience of GB's electricity energy network is being challenged on three fronts:

• policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions through decarbonising energy supply will alter substantially the existing supply mix
• decarbonising of the 'energy' system will likely involve considerable shift of previously non-electric energy demand onto the electricity network with accompanying changes in how much electricity is needed and when it is needed; and
• the expected mean changes in climate will alter the electricity demand and performance of electricity infrastructure, and increased severity and frequency of extreme weather events will impact on the electrical network and distribution systems.

To address these multiple challenges, the RESNET project (Resilient Electricity Networks for Great Britain) will develop and demonstrate a comprehensive systems-level approach to analysing the resilience of the existing and proposed electricity networks. It will develop, test and refine tools for evaluating adaptation measures designed to enhance the resilience of the network including societal and technical adaptation. Newcastle will develop a new climate downscaling method for analysing changing wind conditions. Newcastle will also lead on the work packages analysing the resilience of the energy network and testing the effectiveness of adaptation options.

christchurch earthquake investigation

Sean Wilkinson

28.3.11
Sean Wilkinson has just returned from Christchurch where he has been investigating the effects of the recent 6.3 magnitude earthquake. The reconnaissance mission was conducted by the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team and the academic members of this mission were sponsored by EPSRC to attend. This mission was a little different to previous missions as it was visiting a region with good buildings codes and good building stock. Although the magnitude of the earthquake was relatively small its close proximity to the city and its shallow focus resulted in very intense ground shaking. The preliminary findings are that the vast majority of modern buildings did not collapse; however there was still a lot of damage to both structural and non-structural elements. The area was also severely affected by liquefaction resulting in foundation failures and failure of buried services. The grant, which Sean is PI on, has funding to attend 5 earthquakes over the next 5 years, and so Sean is now helping to organise the next field mission which will be going to Japan.

ICE North East graduate and students papers competition

Tom Bramald

22.3.11
Charlotte Owen, a first year Civil and Structural Engineering student, has finished third in this year's ICE North East Graduate and Students papers competition with her paper on "Adopting a systems approach to the analysis of a contemporary civil engineering student." The paper was based on an essay Charlotte had to write in semester 1 as part of her degree course.

First and second place in the competition went to Martin McGready (PD Ports) and Michael Gaunt (Mott MacDonald).

Alison Mee, Chairman of the North East Graduates and Students committee said, "Charlotte gave a really good presentation and did a really good job of explaining her subject, and also answered questions very well."

Tom Bramald, who mentored Charlotte's entry added, "The guys who placed first and second are graduates and working in industry. For Charlotte to be competing with them in Stage 1 of her studies is an outstanding achievement."

Arup provide strong foundations for civil engineering modules

Stephanie Glendinning

10.2.11
Civil engineering students at the University are benefiting from a teaching link with the Newcastle office of Arup, a design, planning and engineering company.

Lectures and practical sessions on sustainable design and engineering systems are being taught by Dr Stephanie Glendinning (pictured) together with senior staff from Arup.

Dr Glendinning spent a year working part-time with the company to gain first-hand experience of how the business world operates, which included working on the masterplan for Science Central, the hub of the Newcastle Science City initiative.

“My time with Arup gave me a really good insight into the masterplanning process of a large, sustainable development," she said. "I learned about the issues involved and how they are handled in practice. It’s great to develop a working relationship with a company like Arup and to be able to deliver the teaching module with their help. “In the past, almost all of our students have pretty much walked out of graduation and into a job but we have to accept that the world has changed. This is a great way to ensure that they have an understanding of how businesses actually work.”

Science Central is one of the UK’s largest city centre science and business sites and is planned on sustainable principles.

Dr Glendinning’s placement with ARUP was funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering. The University and Arup recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to consolidate research and teaching links.

university signs collaboration agreement with Arup

26.1.11
The University and global consultancy Arup have signed an agreement to work together in the fields of engineering, design, technology and sustainability.

The two organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and will pursue a joint strategic research agenda, collaborating nationally and internationally, focused on design and engineering excellence through research.

The activities are likely to cover areas including:

• Joint exploration of climate change impacts, adaptation and carbon sequestration
• Infrastructure systems – including the modeling of networks, structures and soils
• Urban sustainability, including the ‘city-as-a-lab’ concept being developed in Newcastle and Gateshead, energy-efficient buildings, intelligent urban transport systems and integrated resource modelling.

The agreement builds on current and recent collaborations between the two organisations, which include joint work on PhD studies, staff exchanges and Royal Academy of Engineering fellow lectureships.

For the full story, see:
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/newslink/item/newcastle-university-and-arup-join-forces-in-research-copy

cracks in your concrete? you need ‘BacillaFilla’

Colin Davie

18.11.10
A bacteria that can knit together cracks in concrete structures by producing a special ‘glue’ has been developed by a team of students at Newcastle University.

The genetically-modified microbe has been programmed to swim down fine cracks in the concrete. Once at the bottom it produces a mixture of calcium carbonate and a bacterial glue which combine with the filamentous bacterial cells to ‘knit’ the building back together.

Ultimately hardening to the same strength as the surrounding concrete, the ‘BacillaFilla’ – as it has been aptly named – has been developed to prolong the life of structures which are environmentally costly to build.

The students developed the idea as part of the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) contest, which involved 130 teams from around the world.

This major international science competition held in the US is set up to bring together a team of students from a variety of backgrounds to design and genetically engineer a bacterium to do something novel and useful.

The 2010 iGEM team, whose backgrounds range from computer science, civil engineering and bioinformatics to microbiology and biochemistry, scooped Gold for their research - the third time running that Newcastle University has won this accolade.

Professor Neil Wipat said: “The students have done extremely well – this is a great achievement. Their work will now be used as a basis for research which is being carried out here at the University.”

The team instructors were Professor Neil Wipat and Dr Jennifer Hallinan, and the advisors were Dr Wendy Smith, Dr Matthew Pocock, Dr Colin Davie, Dr Jem Stach and Professor Colin Harwood.

Press release

first site visit for stage 1 civils students completed

Tom Bramald

11.11.10
The School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences has continued its strong track record of getting new Civil Engineering students on to a "live" site as early as possible in their course with the first Stage 1 site visit taking place today.

Hosted by Carillion, the visit took place at a new potable water reservoir being built for Northumbrian Water near Morpeth, Northumberland. Tom Bramald, who led the visits, said, "The job was a real mix of structural, environmental, geotechnical, and water engineering coupled with some interesting water supply and security issues too. Carillion have supported a number of visits by our students in recent years - our thanks go to them for their support."

Half of the Stage 1 Civil Engineering students attended today's visit with the other half visiting a new hospital building in a fortnight's time.

delivering an infrastructure for the 21st century

Jim Hall

8.11.10
Newcastle University has won a £6.1million grant to lead a major investigation into the vulnerability of the UK's infrastructure. The interdependence of our five key networks – energy, transport, telecommunications, water and waste - means our infrastructure is acutely vulnerable to changes in the weather and other threats.

Now a world-leading team of engineers and scientists has been pulled together to analyze the risks in the face of an uncertain future and suggest ways in which we can protect our infrastructure against potential meltdown.

Led by Newcastle University, the team will be analyzing how this can be done at the same time as meeting ambitious targets for carbon emissions reduction from energy, transport and other infrastructures. Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the programme aims to address the fundamental issue of ensuring a sustainable infrastructure for the UK.

Project lead Professor Jim Hall said it was crucial “to think ahead about the situations we might end up regretting in the future”. “The whole process of strategic planning is fraught with uncertainties,” he explained. “What we can’t do is plan for one unique predicted future because if we do that we risk getting things seriously wrong. “Instead, we will be developing computer simulation models that will enable complex national infrastructure systems to be tested for a wide range of possible future scenarios. “Testing infrastructure systems in a virtual environment will help to realistically plan for a range of possible futures so we are not suddenly caught unawares and in a situation where it is already too late to react. “Our aim is to show that by taking a ‘system of systems’ approach – that is, to look at the interaction of all our key networks – we can achieve a sustainable outcome.”

full press release

ICE G&S careers and beers event

Jennifer Kelly

8.11.10
The first ICE North East Graduates and Students event of the year was held on Wednesday 3 November at Opera in The Gate complex in Newcastle City Centre. 42 people joined the event to hear from graduate engineers about their experience of work so far and to collect hints and tips on entering the job market or taking a postgraduate course. Speakers came from Jacobs, the Environment Agency, Sunderland City Council, Newcastle University and Rapid 5D and, as well as their talks, took the time to take questions from individuals afterwards.

Jennifer Kelly of the ICE North East G&S committee said, "The night was a great success and we are so grateful to our speakers for giving up their time. Events like this are a great help and we hope that more students from across the North East universities will be able to join us at future events."

Engineers Without Borders newcastle branch starts up

Nicola Lazenby

8.11.10
Engineers Without Borders is an international development organisation that removes barriers to development through engineering.  This year, a new branch of EWB has been set up at Newcastle University and 67 students from various engineering disciplines are now branch members.  Although only a few weeks old, the inaugural year of the branch has already been action-packed with many more events on the horizon.

The first regional meeting of the year saw the Newcastle branch travel to Edinburgh for a “Slum Survivor” event that introduced new members to the aims of EWB, and included hands on work shops relating to various aspects of international development including hydropower, shelter building, camp planning and latrines.

After Edinburgh, the Newcastle branch committee attended a RedR/EWB training weekend at Clare Farm (Cambridgeshire). The training was very hands on, with workshops on slow sand filters, mud brick construction, an introduction to DelAgua kits, truss design and a whole range of other aspects which have been brought back to be incorporated in to the Newcastle branch weekly meetings.

A busy October ended with some branch members attending the National Conference at Manchester University.  The national conference explored the charity work of EWB along with an introduction to other activities EWB branches can undertake.  The Newcastle representatives developed their knowledge in Outreach work, and the placement and bursary schemes available through EWB. It was also a good opportunity to network with other branches from across the country.

The Branch is now planning for the 1st Regional Meeting to be held at Newcastle University on 20th November 2010.  Named “GET SHELTERED!”, the weekend event will see Newcastle  University students joined by students from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Durham, Strathclyde and Manchester for workshops on mud-brick construction, straw and lime brick construction, truss designs and simple field surveying.

Weekly branch meetings are held on Thursday evenings at 1930hrs with topics such as Hydropower and sharing skills and ideas from the regional and national events.  The branch has also set out its year-long project.  The branch hopes to put together an outreach programme to local schools that will deliver simple workshops that highlight issues faced in developing countries including water treatment and sanitation, shelter building, renewable energy sources and nutrition.  The branch also has plans to visit the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) along with other branches from Scotland and the North early next year.

For further information regarding EWB Newcastle contact -ewb.newcastle@newcastle.ac.uk

CeG students win university engineering prizes

David Parker

8.10.10
Three CeG undergraduate students recently won scholarships awarded by the University's Engineering Exhibitions and Scholarships Committee.

Inga Vareikaite, studying BSc Surveying and Map Science, won a M A Burnip Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to just two female students across the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering each year.

Josh Stitt and Kaspars Novickis, both studying MEng Civil Engineering, won a R A Batey scholarship. Like the Burnip scholarship, only tow of these scholarships are awarded each year across the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering.

Congratulations to all three students from all in CeG.

new virtual tours of CeG facilities online

Tom Bramald

8.10.10
The School has recently had virtual, 360° tours of six of our facilities built. They have already proven to be very useful during recruitment talks and might be useful to those dealing with enquiries from international students who may find a visit difficult.

The virtual tours can be found at http://www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/facilities/index.htm.

It is hoped that more of the school's facilities soon can be captured soon.

students create home for african orphans

18.8.10
Ugandan orphans are set to benefit from a group of dedicated Newcastle students. Twelve architecture, planning and engineering students have been spending the summer in Mbarara helping to build a children’s village for thousands of orphans. Heavily affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic,the Mbarara community is home to many orphans who desperately need a safe, stable environment to live in.

The students involved in the project covered the cost of their own travel and living expenses and raised over £10,000 to pay for local labourers and building materials with the support of many benefactors, including local firm Gradon Architecture.

The team is now in the final stages of this phase of the construction: fitting electrics and plumbing, setting window panes, putting up fences and painting the building. Efforts are currently focused on finishing a large water tank on stilts connected to a nearby tap which will provide almost constant running water for the community. With no running water at present, the students and builders have to make several trips each day to a nearby lake to fill jerry cans.

Third year architecture student Laura Whittaker, said: “This is such an exciting opportunity for us to see how construction is done in another country, while helping a community by providing much needed new homes for orphan children in a developing country. “The project offers them the opportunity to help more children in better conditions, and provides important work for local labourers for at least a few months every year.”

Newcastle students have been volunteering in this region of Uganda since 2004, and have already completed several projects, including a school and hospital. The Wider Mbarara Project is a five-year plan to build a house for the orphans, accommodation blocks, kitchen and toilets.

CeG student shortlisted for European student of the year award

Sean Wilkinson and Andrew Robinson

9.8.10
Andrew Robinson, who graduated from the MEng Civil and Structural Engineering degree course last month, has been shortlisted in the Science, Engineering and Technology Student of the Year Awards.

The SET awards are Europe’s most important awards for Science and Engineering undergraduate students.

Supervised by Dr Sean Wilkinson, Andrew’s dissertation on the Use of network theory to assess the vulnerability of the UK National Grid to storm damage, has been shortlisted as one of three in the Best Civil Engineering Student category sponsored by Laing O’Rourke.

David Parker, head of the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, said “This is a great achievement for Andrew and for Sean and is a reflection of the high quality of projects our final year students undertake.” Andrew is staying on with the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences to complete a PhD.

The award results will be announced in early September and more information about the shortlist is available from http://eu.setawards.org/news_article.vc?postboard_id=25&year=.

IIT Delhi internships completed

Tom Bramald

23.7.10
Two civil engineering students from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) have completed an eight week internship with the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

Mansi Dhiman joined the Transport group and worked on Air Pollution Modelling and Mapping while Swati Pasrija joined the Geotechnics group, working with Dr Gaetano Elia on slope stability research. In addition to their projects, both interns attended the 8th Annual British Geotechnical Association conference in London, visited Cragside (the home of pioneering engineer Lord Armstrong), and visited a number of local attractions during their stay.

Writing in their final reports, both interns commented on the technical knowledge they have gained during their work. But the scheme seems to have left a lasting impression of the wider university too - the research, international atmosphere and the city of Newcastle all contributed to an enjoyable placement with CeG.

The internship scheme is part of a strong relationship between CeG and IITD that has included workshops and collaborative research.

additional student places for september 2010 entry

Ruth Vater

21.7.10
Owing to the excellent performance of Newcastle University's Science and Engineering schools, the government has made some additional undergraduate student places available to the university.

The School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences will be able to take an additional 15 students in September. The 15 places will be spread across all of the School's undergraduate activity - geomatics, civil engineering, and foundation year.

ICE graduates and students paper competition

Sean Wilkinson

19.3.10
Newcastle students and graduates swept the board at the North East regional final of the ICE Graduates and Students Paper Competition this week. The competition is held annually to encourage graduate and student members to submit written papers on any topic of relevance to civil engineering and is open to all graduates and students in the North East. The entrants presented their paper at a meeting of the ICE on Wednesday night and Civil and Structural Engineering student Sarah Dunne won the competition with her paper On The Applicability Of Network Topology Models To Analyse Infrastructure Networks. Congratulation also to Sean Turner, one of our Hydrology and Climate Change MSc Students who came in second and to ex Civil and Structural Engineering Student Martin Heddon who came third.

This is a great achievement both our students and graduates as well as for the school. Sarah will now present her paper at the National Finals in London.

engineering education scheme 2009

Tom Bramald

17.12.09
Schools from across the North of England have been working with the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences for three days as part of the Engineering Education Scheme (EES). The EES links teams of Year 12 students and their teacher with local companies to work on real, scientific, engineering and technological problems. The scheme provides
students with an in-depth experience in science, engineering and technology that will enable them to make an informed decision about their future studies and career. As part of the scheme in the North
East, students undertake a three day residential at Newcastle university.

Teams based in CeG this year worked on projects including the design of timber piles, investigating fibre glass as a material for bridge construction, and the problem of scouring around bridge supports. "We have seen some very interesting projects this year and it has been a pleasure to see school students enjoying the excellent laboratory facilities of the school," commented Tom Bramald. "Students have worked in our environmental, hydrology, materials, heavy structures and geotechnical laboratories. I know our workshop was very busy handling student requests too. The investigations have been very well planned and executed by the students and we'd be delighted to see them as undergraduate students with us in the future."

The residential event relies heavily on the enthusiasm and support of the CeG technical and teaching staff and the contributions of all staff involved are highly valued by the students, teachers and companies involved.

The students will return to the university in March for a Celebration and Assessment Day when they will present their projects to a panel of academics and engineers.

For more information about the EES please visit:
http://www.engineering-education.org.uk/

Fenwick and Eccles site visit

Tom Bramald

15.12.09
Students and staff from across the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences visited the Fenwick and Eccles land reclamation project in North Tyneside last week. The site contains several pit heaps, left behind after the pits on site halted operations. The heaps are still on fire in their centres with temperatures reaching several hundred degrees centigrade in places. Carillion are working to reclaim the site for development as a country park.

Tom Bramald, leader for the visits, said, "This has been a great opportunity to see the diversity of problems that Civil Engineers have to work with. This site presented some intriguing geotechnical,
environmental and site management issues. I hope that for the Stage 1 students, it will be a useful experience for the future and for the other staff and students that came, the visit will be a valuable case study to help consolidate existing knowledge."

CeG wishes to thank to Carillion for allowing and leading the visit.

CeG alumnus wins institution of engineering and technology global final

Phil Renforth

15.12.09
CEG alumnus Kip Cooper has recently won the Institution of Engineering and Technology‘s present around the world global final. Kip graduated in 2007 with a MEng in Civil Engineering after completing his dissertation with CEG spinout company Electrokinetic Ltd. He now works in New Zealand and as a Civil Engineer for Beca and has developed the drinking water infrastructure on Fiji as part of the Fijian Charitable Trust.

For more information see:
http://www.theiet.org/about/media-centre/press-releases/20091203.cfm
http://www.fijiancharitabletrust.org

satellite technology in bid to reduce quake impact

Sean Wilkinson

23.11.09
A team of scientists are heading to Sumatra in the wake of the recent earthquakes to investigate how new technology could be used to better prepare vulnerable communities in the future.

Led by Newcastle University’s Dr Sean Wilkinson, the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team will use satellite photographs and remotely measured surface heights to assess the vulnerability of natural slopes to earthquake induced landslides.

“The aim is to compare this data to that which we collect on the ground,” explains Dr Wilkinson, who is based in the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.“If it works, then it will help us to assess the vulnerability of slopes anywhere in the world.”

The team also plans to look at how the landslides have affected infrastructure networks such as roads and power supplies and what changes could be made to reduce the devastation in the event of another earthquake.

“Infrastructure networks are absolutely key to post disaster recovery,” says Dr Wilkinson. “Keeping these working is vital and our aim is to further our understanding of what happened so that we can better inform engineers and disaster planners in the future.”

The mission has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

ceg students amongst university's best athletes

Tom Bramald

16.11.09
Three rowers from the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences have had their success and commitment on the water rewarded by the university's Centre for Physical Recreation and Sport. Emily Field, Stage 4 Civil Engineering, enters the Elite Athlete Squad. A winner at Women's Henley in 2009, as well as BUCS medals in 2008 and 2007, Emily will benefit from the training, conditioning and academic support that comes with Elite squad membership. Mason Durant (MSc Applied Hydrogeology) and Andrew Corrigan (Stage 4 Civil & Structural Engineering) receive Sports Scholarships. Newcastle University is ranked in the Top 10 UK universities for sports and this year will seek an unprecedented third Stan Calvert cup in a row.

CeG students shine at 7th enterprise challenge awards

Stephanie Glendinning

13.5.09
Thursday night 7 May saw the culmination of Newcastle University’s annual business planning competition Enterprise Challenge in association with Accenture, with a black-tie awards ceremony at the Civic Centre.

In it's 7th year the competition, organised by the Careers Service, had a staggering 227 entries from students and graduates into the ideas and business plan rounds.

This years’ winners included two students from the school of Civil Engineering and Geosciences. Robert Grisdale and Jack Payne, who study MEng Civil and Structural Engineering and MEng Civil Engineering respectively, won with their idea of setting up an automated street based bike hire service.

On winning the award they commented: ‘We are honoured to be awarded the TEDCO Business Award - it has given us the drive we needed to take our idea forward to the next step...Keep your eyes peeled for WhipBikes!'

Sponsor Carole White from TEDCO commented:‘TEDCO is delighted to continue to sponsor the Enterprise Challenge Awards 2009, the quality of the entries get better year on year which is a tribute to both the staff and students. We have worked in a strong partnership with Newcastle University for over 10 years and we passionately believe they are exemplars in their approach to spreading the enterprise message and developing entrepreneurship.

For a full list of winners and more information on the Enterprise Challenge visit: www.ncl.ac.uk/careers/enterprisechallenge

spaghetti and glue - the structural material for the future?

Chandra Vemury

30.9.08
The third year integrated design project got underway in induction week with students starting work in their new teams applying their engineering aptitude to build bridges made of spaghetti and glue.

Working in groups of five and six they were given just 3 hours to design and build a 530mm long bridge. The bridges were to span between the abutments of a testing rig. Every group had three hours to complete the construction of the bridge. During a short lunch break, the judges assessed the aesthetics of the bridges. Then the whole group of students watched as, one by one, the bridges were mounted in a rig, subjected to a rolling cargo car of 500g self weight and then loaded to failure.

The activity is an important start to the year as the integrated design project comes as close as possible to creating the environment in which students are likely to work after they graduate. They have to work in teams, and learn the importance of planning and practicability of design solutions. The exercise also demonstrated the difficulty of managing time, remembering basic structural knowledge and translating concepts into reality. As Dr Sean Wilkinson commented, when a bridge needed considerable force (and a little damage) to fit it into the test rig, “One of the important things about structures is tolerances!”

Referring to the day long activity, one of the students from the class said “The task has been very useful, but we need better time management within the group”, while another observed wryly: “Spaghetti and glue - the structural material for the future”. Another was clearly pleased with his team’s effort: “The first and best part of the year” he suggested. Hang on now, this is just induction week!

Measurement and Analysis Systems Ltd (MAS) is being launched

Peter Gosling

23.8.08
Building on the success of Electro-kinetic Ltd, Measurement and Analysis Systems Ltd. (MAS) is being launched to exploit further research within the Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Group. N-Star has awarded MAS £28K to undertake technical market research on the potential application of an engineering simulation technology to the aerospace, automotive and marine sectors. The technology encompasses materials testing and science through to simulation based on stochastics and the finite element method. MAS aims to break down existing barriers between materials science and engineering simulation.

MAS provides a unique capability to measure the engineering properties and performance of composite materials and to use that information to design components and structures or to modify the design or specification of the material. MAS's USP is in the explicit linking of the materials testing, materials performance prediction, and the use of the material information in an appropriate form to enable the simulation of the behaviour of components and structures taking into account inherent uncertainties in the material, leading to robust optimal design solutions.

The science required for this coupled holistic approach has been developed for structural textiles. Specialised test facilities, stochastic predictive materials models, and reliability-based computational mechanics all exist as our base technologies. A relatively small market is currently being exploited by MAS in the field of architectural fabric structures. It is intended to explore the potential application of this technology to engineering simulation in the design of composite materials and structures in the aerospace, automotive, and marine markets. MAS aims to offer three integrated services within deterministic and probabilistic frameworks centred on the measurement and prediction of the mechanical properties of composite materials, and the analysis of composite components and structures.

CeG emeritus professor awarded medal

Pavel Novak

17.6.08
Emeritus Professor Pavel Novak (Civil engineering and Geosciences) has been awarded the medal "De scientia et humanitate optime meritis" by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic - the highest honour to be awarded by the Academy.

ACME conference a success

Mohamed Rouainia

2.4.08
This year, the annual ACME (Association for Computational Mechanics in Engineering – UK) meeting was hosted by the School of Civil Engineering & Geosciences at Newcastle University (1-2 April 2008).

The proceedings of this year's meeting include over 50 contributions in computational mechanics by researchers from a wide range of institutions. It is also honoured to have two invited speakers, Professor Ken Morgan from Swansea University and Manuel Pastor from Cedex, Spain.

Further details on the conference can be found on-line at: http://www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/acme/

recent CeG graduate wins ICE competition

Peter Gosling

20.3.08
Lynsey Marley, a recent CeG graduate now working for Arup, was awarded first place in the Short Papers Competition run by The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) North East Graduates and Students Committee.

Lynsey's paper was entitled 'Cutting Pattern Determination for Fabric Structures'.

The annual competition is held to promote and reward excellence in the communication of civil engineering issues and ideas. The competition encourages graduate and student members to submit papers on any topic of interest to civil engineers.