Department of Engineering Science Lectures

Richard Willden MEng PhD, Professor of Engineering Science, EPSRC Fellow, gives a mini-lecture as part of the 2019 annual Lubbock lecture event.

Chris Martin BE, MA DPhil, Professorial Research Fellow, Fellow of Mansfield College, gives a mini-lecture on the 2019 Lubbock event.

Where is engineering going? Revolutions in knowledge, new challenges such as those raised by the digital revolution and the environmental crisis call for innovation in engineering education and professional practice. This is not the first time that engineering has had to adapt. Given jointly by Sophie Mougard and Antoine Picon, the lecture will begin by placing the current turning point within the broader history of the evolution of engineering. Following this generic introduction, the presenters will focus on the École nationale des ponts et chaussées, the oldest civil engineering school in the world, and on its initiatives to address present-day issues. How do we train future engineers in a world in which their role, responsibilities and status are rapidly evolving? No definitive answers can be given to such questions, but the case of the École des Ponts et Chaussées may have some pointers which are valid for engineering education everywhere.

By understanding how bubbles make sound, we can listen to the ocean, and track the >1 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon that transfers between atmosphere and ocean annually when ocean waves break and trap atmospheric gas under the sea. The 44th Maurice Lubbock Memorial Lecture. Naturally-occurring underwater bubbles are extremely powerful sources of underwater sound. They act as sources for the sound of a waterfall or a breaking ocean wave, when those features inject atmospheric gas underwater to form bubbles, which then ring like tiny bells. By understanding how bubbles make sound, we can listen to the ocean, and track the >1 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon that transfers between atmosphere and ocean annually when ocean waves break and trap atmospheric gas under the sea. Bubbles can also scatter and refract the underwater sound fields produced by other acoustic sources. This effect is exploited by whales and dolphins when they use sound for hunting, and provides us with new options when hunting for explosives or covert surveillance equipment. The lecture closes by discussing the role that acoustic bubbles have in mitigating the ‘antibiotic apocalypse’, which by 2050 is predicted to be causing more deaths than cancer, and will have cost the world economy more than the current size of the global economy.

A mini lecture recorded as part of the Maurice Lubbock Memorial Event

A mini lecture recorded as part of the 44th Maurice Lubbock Memorial Event

Professor Ekaterina Shamonina delivers the 2017 Jenkin Lecture. From invisibility cloaks to perfect lenses, metamaterials (artificially engineered composites) enable manipulation of electromagnetic waves in novel ways, not possible with conventional materials. This talk explores exciting multi disciplinary developments in this burgeoning research field with applications ranging from superdirective antennas to optical circuits.

Sam Attias, Winner of the OEA 4th Year Project Presentation Prize gives a talk on his 4th year research project on the application of nanomaterials as a potential non-invasive diagnostic and monitoring method for type-1 diabetes.

After three years as Head of Department, Lionel Tarassenko gives an update on progress towards the 2020 Vision for the Department.

Communications technology has enabled massive social change over the past decades. However, the many benefits that we enjoy are accompanied by challenges - cyber security, inadequate coverage, the ease of spreading fake news, Naomi Climer will talks about where communications technology is heading including 5G and the internet of things (IoT) - what will be the ‘killer apps’ of the IoT? What could we do when everything is connected to the internet? How will we use all this extra bandwidth and speed? How could communications technology improve life for everyone on the planet? Naomi will cover the technical challenges still to be overcome and discuss some of the social challenges and spectacular opportunities that 5G and the internet of things will create. The 43rd Maurice Lubbock Memorial Lecture.

In this lecture, Dominic O'Brien introduces the field, the challenges, and the promise for the future of this area of research. The demand for wireless communications is growing exponentially, and the radio spectrum required to meet this demand is increasingly crowded, leading to predictions of a ‘spectrum crunch’. Using light for wireless transmission is an attractive alternative. Optical wireless can offer access to almost unlimited spectrum, albeit with many implementation challenges.

In this talk, Justin Coon explores the issue of complexity in the IoT from a fundamental perspective and provide some insight into what this means for practical deployments in the future. The evolution of wireless communication technology over the past two decades has led to severe engineering challenges concerning interference and network densi cation. As we begin to embrace the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, these challenges are sure to grow. Indeed, it is predicted that connection densities will surpass one million per square kilometre in the near future, largely owing to the deployment of IoT networks and services. Yet, relatively little has been done to quantify the growing complexity of these networks, and the subsequent implications that this growth will have on network performance.

Professor Constantin Coussios (Magdalen), Professor of Biomedical Engineering, gives the 2016 annual Jenkin Lecture, on 17th September 2016. From applications of fluid mechanics and control engineering to organ preservation, and from ultrasonic waves and bubbles to oncological drug delivery and spinal surgery, engineering can play a key role in developing tomorrow’s therapies. This session will explore how multi-disciplinary engineering approaches are changing clinical practice.

Professor Lionel Tarassenko CBE FREng FMedSci (St John’s), Head of the Department of Engineering Science, gives a lecture for the department of Engineering Science Alumni Weekend on September 17th 2016. Digital technologies are making a huge impact on our daily lives, from communications and entertainment to transport and aerospace. These new technologies also offer an unparalleled opportunity for healthcare. Find out how novel sensors, smartphones and machine learning will impact not only hospital patient monitoring but also the remote management of individuals with chronic diseases in their homes.

Dr Anna Orlowska, Science, Technology and Facilities Council gives a talk on the Space Engineering at Harwell.

Professor Matthew McGilvray gives a talk on heat transfer issues involved in space flight re-entry.

Paul Bailey, University of Oxford, gives a talk about cooling one of the instruments on the James Webb Telescope.

The 42nd Maurice Lubbock Memorial Lecture: ‘Paving the Path for Human Space Exploration:The Challenges and Opportunities’ presented by Lauri N. Hansen, Director of Engineering, NASA Johnson Space Centre.

Professor Paul Taylor, University of Oxford gives a short talk as part of the 41st Maurice Lubbock lecture series in the Department of Engineering Science.

Professor Matthew McGilvray, University of Oxford and Professor Richard Morgan, University of Queensland give a talk at the Department of Engineering Science as part of the 41st Maurice Lubbock Memorial Lecture programme.