Impulse To Innovation

In this months episode Helen hosted a live show from the Apprentice Automation Challenge, held at the MTC, Coventry.   The Apprentice Automation Challenge provides a brilliant opportunity for talented apprentices to compete in an innovative design and manufacturing challenge to improve an everyday home or garden device. Organised by the Institution's Manufacturing Industries Division’s Young Membe...

With just five months to the official end of our 175th anniversary it seemed appropriate to take some time to speak with, not just one president, but three!   While the role of President is considered an honorary position as titular head of the Institution, it is the highest accolade any member can achieve. Each of the Institution's Past-Presidents has not only spent many years actively volunteeri...

Ask most people what comes to mind when they think of mechanical engineering, and many will respond with railways and trains. Our foundations as an institution are indeed firmly built on the traditions of railway engineering, with engineers who saw themselves no longer as civil engineers; building static infrastructure, but as innovators of moving machines, able to cross vast distances at speed, t...

At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, engineers devoted their efforts almost entirely to making devices that functioned reliably and profitably, but with little attention to safety. Yet frequent disasters, mainly as a result of the growing use of high-pressure steam, led engineers to question increasing numbers of deaths and to assess problems with the technologies they were developing.  Indee...

What if we could generate the power of our sun here on earth? Sounds like science fiction, but actually the application of complex maths and physics principles in understanding how we might generate fusion energy like that powering our sun, have been well understood since the 1950s and was made a reality in the 1990s, right here in the UK.   The heart of the Oxfordshire countryside resides tokamak...

“The upcoming generation is full of talent, and we need to nurture it and make sure there are opportunities available to them by ensuring that our education system – from nursery through to lifelong learning – develops STEM.”   These were wise words from MP Amanda Solloway, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury who gave the keynote address at the launch Elevating Education on the 24th March at IMechE H...

While the IMechE is recognised as a charitable organisation, you may not be aware that it does own a number of businesses. These 'wholly owned subsidiaries' have been acquired by the institution over many years and specialise in learning and development; providing training and expert knowledge to engineers all over the world.  One of these businesses is IMechE Argyll Ruane, a world-renowned Non-de...

Welcome to the first episode of Impulse to Innovation 2022! This year the I2I podcast will be focusing on the Institution’s key themes of climate change, infection control, transport and education and how mechanical engineers help to solve the global challenges facing society today, and in the future. Helen will also be out and about with some more live streaming shows at the Institution’s challen...

Our iconic Birdcage Walk building is 122 years old, and like many old structures it is in need of extensive refurbishment and modernisation for the Institution to continue to be able to use it and to make it fit for the next 122 years. In this episode Helen discusses what lies ahead for our London-based home, and why it is so important to our 120,000 members. One Birdcage Walk was opened in May 18...

In this month’s episode, we are investigating the growth of 3D construction printing and what benefits it may offer to a world with growing populations and ever-reducing resources. Despite the collapse of construction activity during 2020 as a result of covid, the industry is already on a path to rebuild its lost revenue in 2021.  It is estimated that the value of global construction output will i...

In this months episode, we are exploring the world of engineering in sport and how sports technology is not just improving the performance of elite athletes but is having an effect on ordinary fitness fans and even medicine and healthcare. Sports engineering is the technical application of physics, mathematics, biomechanics, computer science and even aeronautical engineering to solve sporting prob...

In this months episode, we focus on the brewing and distilling industry, which is part of the hygienic process industries sector, which also covers industries such as food, pharma and biotech.   Brewing and distillation have been part of our way of life for over a millennia; with the earliest records of both processes being found in Mesopotamia. Useful Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewing...

In this months episode, we continue the theme of the IMechE engineering challenges focusing on the unmanned aerial system or UAS Challenge. The event is held in mid-July at the British Model Flying Association’s national centre, Buckminster.  This event sees teams of university students design, build, test and fly an unmanned aircraft system scoring points across these different segments to win th...

Helen was joined by the IMechE's audio-visual engineer, Syed Ansar in the second of our podcasts this month which was recorded live on the 23rd July track-side at Silverstone Park. This was I2I's first live show with members listening in around the world.   Helen and Syed spoke with special guests. Sam Collins - FS Commentator and F1 Broadcaster Will Snyder - Sales Engineer at IPG Automotive UK Lt...

This month we are posting not one, but two episodes! to celebrate the Instituion's Challenges. We have finally reached the summer and we don’t know about you, but this year seems to have gone pretty fast so far. Despite being in a kind of limbo, between pre-2020 normality and a new 2021 blend of virtual and physical working, the team here at I2I are pleased to see some of the IMechE events returni...

In this month's episode we discuss the IMechE's drive towards greater equality, diversity and inclusion in the engineering profession and why during Pride Month here in the UK, it is important for us to come together as a community and recognise the variety of differences that makes up our engineering world.   “When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become a wiser, more...

This month’s episode is all about telecommunications. The world of wireless comms has come a long way since Bell and Tainter first conceived the photophone in 1880.  Today, we are literally surrounded by radio waves and it is believed that from that first intentional radio signal we sent into space in 1974 from Arecibo, our radio echoes can be heard across the galaxy some 100 light years away. Bac...

In this month’s episode we explore how we keep society safe, what effect remote working has had on the way we manage and monitor our infrastructure and what engineers are doing to protect safety critical technologies from cyber-attacks.   We are constantly facing both present and emerging threats to our technical, organizational, societal and economic way of life. These threats can be natural, suc...

In this month’s episode we are focusing on Railways and rail technology and how one of the world’s oldest forms of mass transit is changing the way we think about climate change.  We also discuss automation and how the heavy rail industry may one day adopt well-tested technologies used on our metro trains.    George Stephenson looms large in the minds of most mechanical engineers when you ask them...

In this month’s episode we turn our attention skyward, to the captivating world of space and specifically satellite technology. Humankind’s fascination with the cosmos has never really waivered, but last year saw a resurgence in interest, after a 9 year absence, of a fully-reusable space vehicle and its first human crew; when Behnken and Hurley took off in the Dragon capsule atop the falcon 9 rock...

In this I2I Holiday Special Podcast, Helen looks back on 2020 with IMechE CEO Colin Brown and President Terry Spall and discusses how the pandemic has affected the IMechE and its members, and how they have had to adapt to these unprecedented times. Terry talks about how his presidential year has meant less travelling, but more opportunity for engagement with members and how inspired he has been se...

Episode 4 – The Future of Electric Vehicles and Batteries   In this month’s episode we will be focusing on Electric Vehicles and batteries; the challenges and opportunities electrification brings and what the future holds for EV technology.    Helen talks with Williams Advanced Engineering Technical Director Paul McNamara about the up-coming IMechE International EV Batteries 2020 virtual Conferenc...

This month’s episode is brought to you by the IMechE’s Young Members Board. The YMB represents the interests of over 69,000 young members from a broad range of industries and specialisms. The YMB works to ensure that the young member’s voice is heard and considered in all areas of the institution. Your host is Ying Wan Loh, an IMechE chartered engineer and IET Young Engineer of the Year 2019. She...

In this month’s episode we focus on Healthcare, and how engineers and the medical technology they design and use, is changing the way we keep society living long and healthy lives.   Helen puts global healthcare demand and the medtech industry into context, discussing the size and scale of the markets and the impact technology is having on our growing and ageing populations.  She also highlights s...

In this month’s episode we focus on energy and sustainability and how the on-going global pandemic is changing the way people think about energy use, resources and materials.     Helen puts energy sustainability into context; reviewing the world’s energy consumption in 2019 and which countries are making the most effort to go 100% renewable in the next 5 years. In a look at world-wide initiatives...