|
01 October 2009
Double award win for University’s high achievers
Two talented stars from the University of Sheffield outshone their peers by scooping first places at the highly contested Science, Engineering & Technology Student of the Year Awards.
Undergraduate student Christopher Green achieved the British Computer Society Award for the Best Information Technology Student at the annual ceremony last week in London's InterContinental Hotel, while graduate Michael Robinson was awarded the Morgan Crucible Award for the Best Materials Student.
Both Christopher and Michael fought off tough competition from record numbers of entrants from every major university in the United Kingdom and Ireland and were two of only 45 students shortlisted in fifteen different categories, all aimed at showcasing the exceptional achievements of students, graduates and universities.
Christopher, 22, who is studying for a MEng in Software Engineering bagged the accolade for a pioneering system he has developed called the eMotion Shuffle as part of his final year project work. The revolutionary system allows users to organise their digital music collections so that music that suits a similar mood is clustered together by using digital signal processing tools and machine learning techniques.
Michael, 22, who graduated from the University in July and has now started on the Engineering Professional Excellence Graduate Programme at Rolls-Royce, received his prize for his High-Speed Machining of Aerospace Titanium Alloys. Machining is a critical step in the production of high quality aerospace components, where the degree of damage inputted into the materials surface can cause a reduction in properties and increase susceptibility to failure. A greater understanding of the deformation involved during the machining process formed the basis of Michael’s project.
The event, which was hosted by the comedian and broadcaster, Fred MacAulay, was attended by hundreds of technology students, academics and senior industry executives, as well as senior figures from government, scientific and technical institutions and the media.
Judges from a host of partners, including The British Computer Society, The British Pharmacological Society and The Institute of Food Research, paid tribute to the exceptional quality of this year's work.
Chris said: “It is a dream come true to win this award for myself and the University. With this award, my aim of turning the eMotion Shuffle into a marketable product for consumer and commercial use is truly one step closer.”
Michael said: “It was a real honor to receive such a prestigious award, particularly having been competing against students from other top universities in the country.
“My final year project produced some really original research and will form the beginning of much further work into the area. I think the achievement shows the strength of the Engineering Materials department at the University of Sheffield, both in terms of teaching and research.”
Professor Mike Hounslow, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering commented: “Engineering is one of the great strengths of the city and the University of Sheffield. I am delighted that Chris, Michael and their lecturers have been recognised for their excellent work. They follow in a long tradition of students from the Faculty of Engineering winning in these, the Oscars for Science and Engineering students."
Malcolm Turner, President of The Leadership Forum, which organised the awards ceremony, said: “The University of Sheffield has consistently reached the shortlists of the SET Awards, and this year has managed to win two of the fifteen categories. This is a very remarkable achievement when you consider that all of Britain’s leading science and technology universities entered the 2009 Awards.”
|
