2011 IMechE Best Project Award

This year's IMechE Best Project Award has been presented to fourth year Mechanical Engineering student Ross Peel, for his work on reducing the aerodynamic resistance of trains.

The IMechE Best Project Award is presented annually by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to a final year engineering student in recognition of outstanding academic achievement. The organisation offers the award to a student at every university offering IMechE accredited courses, on the recommendation of their Head of Department.

Ross' project was run in collaboration with one of the university's industrial partners, Interfleet Technology, and proposed a new fairings design to modify a flow structure and therefore to improve the aerodynamic performance of existing trains in both the UK and worldwide. The design also took into account cost-effective maintenance, industry standards and safety and operational factors and was highly assessed by both academic examiners and industrial collaborators.

Stephen Pell from Interfleet Technology said: "The work Ross completed is extremely topical at the moment, with ever growing pressure on railway vehicle designers to improve the efficiency of their vehicles. Ross' success highlights the value of the partnership between Interfleet Technology and the University of Sheffield for the student, the university department and the railway industry."