On the 11th of November 2016, three members of the strategic advisory board (SAB) for the CDT in NGCM arrived at Boldrewood Campus. These were: Daniel Smith from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which provides funding for the CDT; Prof. Colin Please of Oxford University, who is also a director of a different EPSRC funded CDT; and Dirk Gorissen of Oxbotica, who has a vast experience in R&D and is a co-founder of the UK society of Research Software Engineers.
They were joined by members of all 3 cohorts of the CDT, as well as the key staff members: Prof. Hans Fangohr, Dr. Susanne Ufermann Fanghor, Dr. Ian Hawke, and Dr. Peter Horak. The following 5 talks were given on research currently being undertaken by members of the cohorts:
- Automated Airframe Layout Design by Paul Chambers
- Electromagnetic Effects in Lattice QCD by James Harrison
- Developing Programming Skills with Minecraft & Python by Alvaro Perez-Diaz
- Challenges in Modelling Intelligent Transport Systems by Craig Rafter
- Dual Resolution Modelling of Lipid Bilayer and Translocation Events by Kieran Selvon
Each of the talks was well received, and stirred many questions from the members of the board, with good discussions on applicability and research directions following each.
Each of the talks was well received, and stirred many questions from the members of the board, with good discussions on applicability and research directions following each.
After the talks had finished, everyone present engaged in an informal lunch whilst meeting and talking with one another. There were conference styled posters displaying the progress of research projects from cohorts 1 and 2, as well as profiles of cohort 3 describing themselves and the projects they will undertake in 2017. It could be easily seen that members of all cohorts were engaging with the SAB members, discussing various topics from their backgrounds, their research, and their views on the CDT itself. An exhibition table was also set up to display some of the work being done at the CDT which included: the Minecraft with PythonTool Mod, a field-programmable gate array, and a model UAV wing from aerospace modelling and design.
Written by Matthew Mostert