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New Outlooks In Science & Engineering
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| 25 November 2007 |
Changing the world |
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Recently I have been working a lot on Racing Green, the project to develop environmentally friendly racing cars. We now have over 50 students working on the project, and are making 2 more vehicles, after making our prototype over the summer. Its going great, and we are hoping that by making studying engineering more exciting for the undergraduates, and teaching them about sustainability and our responsibility for the environment, we will encourage more of them to continue engineering after they graduate. We really need these guys to go and change the world when they graduate as we don't have much time. Also we hope that projects of this type will make science and engineering more exciting for school children, and so we are trying to encourage this style of teaching at an undergraduate level. |
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| 03 May 2007 |
Oh My Word |
Well, what have I been up to over the last few weeks. Far too much. Probably the busiest time of my life, ever, without exception. I am off on holiday tomorrow for 5 weeks so have been having to hand over the myriad of projects I am involved in to other people to look after while I am away. Also have loads of conferences this summer, and have had to prepare most of the papers and posters in advance before I go. To top all that, the zero emission fuel cell hybrid racing cart project that I manage (www.imperial.ac.uk/racinggreen/) has taken off big time in my University, and am having to host events, represent the University (last week we managed to get Malcolm Wicks MP, Minister for Science & Innovation to sit in our demonstrator cart which was pretty cool - see the photo) and next year we aim to have 60 undergraduate students working on this. Thankfully I manage it with a friend of mine and he does most of the technical stuff with building the cart, so I just do the PR and people stuff. And to top all that, I have had to move house, with nowhere to go to. So when I get back from holiday I will be looking for somewhere to live. Aargh.
However, I should say, it has been great. And although it has been a bit too busy, I will certainly enjoy my holiday all the more for that, and I wouldn't have given up any of my projects at work, because I enjoy them too much.
Anyway rant over, off to pack up my stuff (last minute cos I am a bloke) and then catch my plane. |
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| 11 April 2007 |
Easter |
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Easter is over, had a really good time. Was away on Scout Camp for 4 days up in Wood Green, N London and spent 3 nights under canvas. Is quite amusing as they all call me 'the scientist' and reckon I have an equation for everything, including playing rounders, archery, and chess, at which I am unbeaten so far (although the 'Youngest' cub came close - oh the surprise).I reckon if I add up all the camping I have done throughout my life I think I must have spent at least a year sleeping in canvas in total. Pretty cool I reckon.
Back to work now and sleeping in a normal bed, although may be moving house soon. And in 3 and a half weeks (and counting) I will be flying off to Australia (1 week) and New Zealand (3 weeks) and then Japan (1 week) to visit my Dad (lives in Perth), holiday and a conference respectively. My wife, Amy, flew out to Vanuatu (which is a chain of islands near Fiji) to do her medical elective 2 weeks ago, and I will be meeting her in Perth, which I am obviously looking forward to a lot.
Obviously slightly concerned about the number of air miles I will be clocking up and the carbon dioxide emissions I will be generating, but can't see a way around it, therefore will have to do something to counteract this, will keep you posted. |
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| 13 March 2007 |
No 10 Downing Street |
How exciting, last night went to No10 Downing Street for a reception for Young Scientist and Engineers. Quite a few of us NOISEmakers were invited by Tony Blair (PM) along with loads of other people. I got to shake his hand, and say hello, it was great. Really enjoyed it. And have also just set up my own facebook, on which you can find a photo of myself, Nic and Phil standing outside the famous door. Cool. Have included it here too. Will upload the photos from inside when they are available. |
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| 13 February 2007 |
Corrections and Pyromania |
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Almost done the corrections now. Just 1 chapter left. So close. And then it is done. The paper that I had to write for the 10th Jan has been accepted, so that's great. Am well happy. And did my first NOISE event last week. We visited a school in Rochester, Kent and gave a demonstration to GCSE aged kids. Was great fun. I set fire to money (non-destructively) which was great fun and look really cool, and then demonstrated the flame test by pouring various salts into a flaming bowl of alcohol, also looked quite cool, although I think I need to make a few modifications before I do it again. Safety first and all that, although it really brought the pyromaniac out in me. |
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| 15 January 2007 |
Dr Offer |
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Woohoo, I passed. Had my viva on Friday last week, and it was successful. So now I can call myself Dr. This is a big thing for a scientist and means that I can now continue in my current job (things might have been a bit awkward if I had failed). So now I just need to put through some minor corrections before it gets printed one final time, and then write lots and lots of papers from it.
You get to the top of a hill and then you can see the mountain behind it. |
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| 21 December 2006 |
It worked - Igor fetch the extra big jump leads |
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Eureka, the rig that I have been building for the last 6 months has worked. The cell is working well, and has now been operating for over 2 days, with no reduction in performance. What more could I ask for. So some quick testing before Christmas and then I can have a nice relaxing few days off before writing up the results. |
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| 19 December 2006 |
Imperial Racing Green |
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Also launched the new name of our fuel cell hybrid racing cart project last week. Imperial Racing Green. We now have a funky new website http://www.imperial.ac.uk/racinggreen |
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| 19 December 2006 |
Christmas is Coming |
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The carol concert on Sunday was a success. Although Christmas drinks with old friends on Friday and a Christmas party on Saturday has all taken its toll and I am more tired after the weekend than before. This week I am taking my cell up to temperature for the first time, and conducting some tests. This is quite scary as it could all go wrong, but if it works it will be the best Christmas present. The cell I am testing is a solid oxide fuel cell, this consists of an electrolyte with a cathode and an anode on either side. At the cathode oxygen is reduced, and at the anode hydrogen is oxidised, oxygen ions move through the electrolyte, forming water with the hydrogen at the anode. This generates electricity which flows around an external circuit. |
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| 11 December 2006 |
Monday |
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Aargh. Monday, don't you just love them. Very busy this week. I have a conference paper that needs to be submitted by the 10th of January, and I need results to put in it, which at the moment I don't have. So this week and next week I need to get them. There's nothing like a deadline to get you working hard...
Weekend was good, I am singing in the choir for the carol service at our church this Sunday coming, so had rehearsals on both Saturday and Sunday. Good fun. |
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| 06 December 2006 |
Why do scientists publish papers |
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This week has been rather busy, I have set myself a target of reading at least 1 journal paper a day. For those who don’t know peer-reviewed journal papers or articles are the bread and butter of a research scientist. It is how we report our results, and how our fellow scientists know what we are doing, and it is also used as a measure of how well we are doing for our employers. Therefore if we publish lots of good papers, we are good scientists, and if we publish a very few bad papers, we are bad scientists. Obviously there is a bit more to it than that, but it’s a realistic summary. In order to keep up with developments in our fields, we therefore have to continually be reading the papers that our fellow scientists are publishing. Therefore reading 1 paper a day means I will read on average 200 papers a year. They are generally about 6-10 pages long and take anywhere between 15 minutes and an hour to read. I always make a MindMap of the paper after I have read it, as it helps me pick out the really useful information and remember what I have read. So in the future if I need to go back to that paper again, I can just look at the MindMap and it triggers my memory and comes flooding back. For those who don’t know what a MindMap is, find out, they are really useful and enabled me to pass my A levels with flying colours. |
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| 06 December 2006 |
Introduction |
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Well this is my first entry of this blog. Had the induction day for becoming a NOISEmaker last week. Was really good fun, and everyone was really nice, my fellow NOISEmakers all appear to be pretty cool, so am looking forward to doing stuff together in the future.
A bit about me I suppose. I am a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London, and I do research into fuel cells. I really like my job, as it enables me to do lots of exciting things, travel around the world to conferences, meet lots of exciting people, work at the Houses of Parliament (for 3 months last year), and generally play around in the lab making things. And loads more, which you will find out about as this blog is written.
Fuel cells are to do with energy, and I care about all things to do with energy, and have a particular interest in renewable energy and biofuels.
Three weeks ago I submitted my PhD thesis, entitled ‘Quantitative Measurement of Species Adsorbed on Electrocatalysts during Fuel Cell Relevant Reactions’, note that I would not recommend this as light bedtime reading, as it is about 270 pages, 67,000 words long and pretty heavy going. And I’m so happy it is finished. My Viva (The Oral Exam at which I have to defend my thesis – normally 2-3 hours long, aargh) is on January 12th. So hopefully after then I will be a Dr. Which will be cool. More later.
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| NOISE (New Outlooks In Science & Engineering) is a UK-wide campaign funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Initiated in 2000, it aims to raise awareness of science and engineering among young people. www.epsrc.ac.uk |
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Greg's biography 