The MacRobert  Award: 52 Years of UK Engineering Innovation

With Professor Gordon Masterton, OBE DL FREng FRSE
Chair of Future Infrastructure, University of Edinburgh

Engineering Scotland’s June Innovation Lecture 2022 on Monday 6th June online via zoom was delivered by Professor Gordon Masterton,  Chair of Future Infrastructure, University of Edinburgh.  The MacRobert Award is the premier award for engineering innovation in the UK. In 2019 it marked its 50th Anniversary Year of celebrating innovative engineering which benefit society and have been commercially successful. It is administered by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Gordon has served as a judge for two terms (2013-16 and 2019-22). He has visited over thirty applicants, and been involved in the selection process for 8 years. Gordon will review the origins of the Award, the role of the MacRobert Trust, the Worshipful Company of Engineers, and the Royal Academy of Engineering, and provide an overview of a selection of past winners from 1969 to the present day. Professor Masterton will provide insights into the qualities and characteristics of what makes a MacRobert Award winner and how British engineering has evolved through the period.

Until 2015, Professor Masterton was Vice-President of Jacobs Engineering. He is a past president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, past president of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, former chairman of the Construction Industry Council, former Vice Chairman of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, and founder and current Chairman of the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame. Professor Masterton was the UK Government’s project representative on the £15bn Crossrail development in London – Europe’s largest construction project to date. Recently, he was appointed a member of the Independent Assurance Panel for the HS2 high-speed rail link.

This Lecture was very kindly hosted online by the University of Glasgow.

The Annual General Meeting of Engineering Scotland was held on Monday 22nd November at 6pm via Zoom. 

The main purpose of the meeting is to receive the Annual Report including the Annual Accounts which have to be approved. Both will have already been approved by the Executive Board.
 
Other business to be conducted included appointing an Independent Examiner or Auditor to examine the accounts and elect Office Bearers and Executive Board Members as necessary.

Any queries should be directed to our Vice President Gill Gray, at gill@gillgray.com

Engineers and Doctors: Innovators Par Excellence

With Professor Peter Mathieson, FRSE,
Principal and Vice Chancellor of the
University of Edinburgh

We are delighted to warmly invite you to join us for Engineering Scotland’s October Innovation Lecture 2021 on Monday 25th October from 6pm, which is very kindly hosted by the University of Glasgow. We very much look forward to having you with us online.

Professor Mathieson, an erstwhile kidney doctor who has turned his hand in recent years to University leadership on two continents, will reflect on the similarities and differences between physicians and engineers. As the University of Edinburgh is at the forefront of engineering technology, we’ll literally travel from inner space to outer space – as with COP26 looming, we look forward to hearing about some of the energy and space innovations on which Edinburgh University has most recently been working. On a professional level, Peter will illustrate some fascinating aspects of the critically important problem-solving ethos which characterise both Physicians and Engineers and outline some of the ways in which – under his leadership – the University of Edinburgh is contributing to engineering innovations locally and further afield. He will also, no doubt, allude to some innovative ideas for the future.

Autonomy and Me: Symbiotic Systems for Sustainable Environments and Prosperity.

In this online lecture (kindly facilitated by Heriot Watt University) Professor David Flynn will provide us with an overview of current research within the Offshore Robotics for Certification of Assets (ORCA) hub. ORCA’s primary goal is to use robotic systems and Artificial Intelligence to revolutionise Asset Integrity Management for the offshore energy sector through the provision of game-changing, remote solutions which are readily integratable with existing and future assets and sensors, and that can operate and interact safely in autonomous or semi-autonomous modes in complex and cluttered environments. He will then describe how recent advances in Cyber Physical Systems is exploring how we can create trustworthy autonomous assistants, supporting human safety, prosperity and potential.

Professor David Flynn is the Director of the Smart Systems Group, ​Vice-Chair of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) Scotland and also Associate Director National Centre for Energy System Integration in addition to his role at the School of Engineering & Physical Sciences Heriot-Watt University.

#engineeringclimate

Engineering Scotland, ICE Scotland and IET Scotland
presented a 2-day online
Engineering Climate Conference
on 15th and 16th June
which highlighted how engineering can improve the environment

Note that recordings of the events are now available at the URLs below:–

https://www.ice.org.uk/eventarchive/engineering-climate-conference-online-day-1

and

https://www.ice.org.uk/eventarchive/engineering-climate-conference-online-day-2

Programme

ECC_Programme

Day 1 – 15 June – Transport

Session 1 – Climate Emergency
Breaking down borders and initiatives for personal responsibility in the challenge of carbon reduction
Host: Hannah Smith

09:30 - 10:00    Opening Remarks
                 Emma Crichton CEng MICE    EWB
10:00 - 10:40    Keynote Speaker
                 Rachel Skinner             President of ICE
10:40 - 10:55    Question and Answers 
                 Hannah Smith               Director ICE Scotland
10:55 - 11:05    Break

Session 2 – High-Tech Transport Innovation
From moving goods around the country to moving people into space, this session explores innovations in high tech transport forms and the opportunities these bring for the future of more sustainable transport
Host: Dr Carol Marsh OBE

11:05 - 11:35    Magnetically Levitating Pods
                 HYPED                     Hyperloop Edinburgh
11:35 - 12:20    Future of the UK Space Industry
                 Scott Hammond             Shetland Space Hub
                 Kristina Tamane           SSLC
12:20 - 12:40    Question and Answers
                 Dr Carol Marsh OBE        IET Scotland
12:40 - 13:10    Break

Session 3 – Transport Network Carbon Reduction Initiatives
With a focus on the major highway and rail networks, this session explores innovations across our transport sector and what they mean for in the context of net-zero.
Host: Gavin Smith

13:10 - 13:40    Transport Scotland Presentation
                 Graham Edmond              Transport Scotland
13:40 - 14:10    HS2 Presentation
                 Neil Wait                  High Speed 2 Railway
14:10 - 14:25    Question and Answers
                 Gavin Smith                ICE Scotland
14:25 - 14:35    Break

Session 4 – Tackling the Infrastructure Carbon Challenge through Integrated Design and Innovation
Exploring the carbon cost link in the design and construction of transportation infrastructure project, together with a look at blue-green infrastructure initiatives underway, this session will involve representatives from consultant, contractor and client organizations in a discussion which challenges current practices and addresses what can be done to ensure sustainable climate resilience in future projects.
Host: Roger Steeper

14:35 - 16:30    Kirsten Leggatt            Triskelion/Sweco
                 Poul Wend Hansen           Balfour Beatty
                 Ben Harris                 Triskelion /Arcadis
                 Stephen Knox               Edinburgh Council
                 Craig Baxter               The Highland Council
                 Questions and Answers
                 Roger Steeper              SCAPE Scotland 

Informal Networking Session
A Microsoft Teams link will be provided to conference attendees for a chance to discuss each session with other attendees, coming together to explore the themes and main talking points of the day, in contribution to the Engineering Policy Group Scotland Report of the conference

Day 2 – 16 June – Energy

Session 5 – Climate Change – Energy Systems and Advances in Energy Engineering
Hear from leading experts in climate science for an insight into the research and development of innovative approaches to energy provision.
Host: Andy Mace

09:30 - 10:00    Opening Remarks
                 Andy Mace                  ARUP
10:00 - 10:40    Overview of Climate Impacts
                 Professor Gareth Harrison  Uni. of Edinburgh
10:40 - 10:55    Questions and Answers
10:55 - 11:05    Break

Host: Hannah Smith

11:05 - 11:45    Transition of Industrial Clusters to Net-Zerp
                 Prof Mercedes Maroto Valer UK IDRIC
11:45 - 12:00    Questions and Answers
                 Hannah Smith               Director ICE Scotland
12:00 - 12:30    Break

Session 6 – Hydrogen
Pure Energy talk about the future of hydrogen power in the UK.
Host: Iain White

12:30 - 13:15    Hydrogen for Heating
                 Elizabeth Johnson MBE      Pure Energy Centre
13:15 - 13:30    Questions and Answers
                 Iain White                 Engineering Scotland
13:30 - 13:40    Break

Session 7 – Energy Industry Insights for Carbon Reduction
Can Fossil free living become a reality? Hear about the latest developments from representatives from the energy industry including Scottish Power Renewables and Vattenfall.
Host: Paul Steen

13:40 - 14:20    ScottishPower Renewables Presentation
                 Kate Turner                ScottishPower
14:20 - 15:00    Vattenfall Presentation
                 Paul Steen                 Vattenfall
15:00 - 15:20    Questions and Answers
15:20 - 15:30    Break

Session 8 – Engineers without Borders
Engineers without Borders discuss their strategy and how you can continue to play a crucial role in achieving the change we need to see in the sector.

15:30 - 16:00    Closing Remarks
                 Emma Crichton CEng MICE    EWB

Informal Networking Session
A Microsoft Teams link will be provided to conference attendees for a chance to discuss each session with other attendees, coming together to explore the themes and main talking points of the day, in contribution to the Engineering Policy Group Scotland Report of the conference

Presenters

Andy Mace – Director, Arup

Andy joined Arup over twenty years ago with a passion for turning sustainability principles into reality. He now leads Arup’s environment and sustainability team in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England. Andy is currently leading Arup’s work with Zero Waste Scotland, developing tools and approaches for local area energy planning in Scotland, advising a housing retrofit research centre comprising nine period homes in Gateshead, providing sustainability strategy support to a major UK social housing provider, and managing Arup’s support to UK Government for the sustainable event management for COP26 in Glasgow and the G7 Summit in Cornwall.

Ben Harris, UK Climate Change & Sustainability Director, Triskelion and Arcadis
(Arcadis is part of Triskelion, SCAPE Scotland’s Infrastructure Consultancy partner)

Ben joined Arcadis from Europe’s largest climate innovation programme, EIT Climate-KIC, with responsibility for the programme’s strategy and funding allocation from the European Commission of over €80m per annum, funding projects and programmes across 28 countries. Prior to this he spent nearly 15 years in consultancy, leading teams advising on the integration of sustainability in the public and private sector.

Craig Baxter – Chartered Town Planner, The Highland Council
Craig Baxter is a Chartered Town Planner based in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland. He has worked for The Highland Council since 2014, specialising in planning policy and working with a remit for both urban and rural areas across the Highland Region. His recent work has centred on developing the Transport Strategy for the Inner Moray  Firth area, the most populated part of Highland. Throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic Craig has partnered up with Engineering colleagues at the Council to deliver a suite of low-carbon transport projects as part of the Council’s Covid-19 response, primarily through the Spaces for People and Bus Rapid Deployment Fund initiatives.

Elizabeth Johnson MBE – Business Development Manager, Pure Energy Centre
Elizabeth is the driving force behind Pure Energy’s commercial success and financial growth. She is the key figure in building customer relationships internationally and achieving sustainable success for the company in delivering low carbon energy solutions for customers.
Elizabeth helped develop the first renewable energy hydrogen training course, helping thousands of trainees globally understand better how to reduce their impact on the environment.  She has helped on the development and deployment of renewable hydrogen technologies in communities across the globe. Elizabeth was awarded an MBE in 2015 by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace for her achievements and support to the renewable industry and her charity fundraising work. Elizabeth also manages all PECs EU funded projects, all of which focus on supporting communities to reduce their negative environmental impact.

Emma Crichton CEng MICE – Engineers Without Borders

Emma is a chartered civil engineer with six years experience in the Water industry in Scotland. Emma has worked on a variety of projects and has consistently believed in the importance of collaboration, impactful partnerships and the role engineering has to play in bettering our society. As Head of Engineering at Engineers Without Borders UK she is responsible for driving forward their mission; leading their work to embed globally responsible engineering into curriculum and throughout day to day practice.

Professor Gareth Harrison – Deputy Head of School, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh

Professor Gareth Harrison is the Bert Whittington Chair of Electrical Power Engineering and Deputy Head of the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. He holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Doctorate from the same institution. He leads research activity across a wide area including integration of renewable energy within multi-vector energy systems, renewable resource assessment, climate change impacts on energy systems; and carbon footprints of energy systems.
He is Associate Director of the National Centre for Energy Systems Integration (CESI), was previously Principal Investigator of the Adaptation and Resilience in Energy Systems project and is currently a Co-investigator on a range of EPSRC and InnovateUK projects covering energy storage, hydrogen, conventional generation and offshore renewable energy. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the IET, a Senior Member of the IEEE and an Affiliate of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Graham Edmond – Transport Scotland
Graham is a Chartered Civil Engineer, a graduate of Heriot Watt University and now retired with nearly 35 years working in road design, construction and maintenance.  Graduating in 1986 he first worked for Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick Consulting Engineers before moving to the Scottish Office in 1993 where he worked in a number of positions including project manager for the planning stages of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and procurement of the £700m M74 Completion in Glasgow.  Returning to maintenance in 2008, he was responsible for the day to day maintenance of the 3,500 km of trunk roads in Scotland. Moving to Transport Scotland’s Major Projects in 2015 Graham acted as Head of Construction responsible for the program of the construction new trunk road projects in Scotland. Between 2016 and 2018 he steered a project transforming the workplace of the Agency’s principal offices. Most recently he led the team responsible for climate change adaptation and sustainable engineering. Graham was Chair of ICE Scotland for 2019/20.

Kirsten Leggatt, Carbon & Sustainability Consultant, Triskelion and Sweco
(Sweco is part of Triskelion, SCAPE Scotland’s Infrastructure Consultancy partner)

Kirsten specialises in carbon management in the built environment. She is experienced in the application of carbon management tools and methodologies for the built environment and has helped achieve whole life carbon reduction on a variety of internationally significant infrastructure projects. Engaging directly with design teams to support the integration of opportunities for carbon reduction where possible, including optioneering, identification of appropriate carbon targets and supply chain engagement, she ensures that opportunities for carbon and cost reduction are understood and pursued wherever possible. She presented evidence to the UK Climate Assembly on the net-zero solutions to the UK Government’s 2050 target.

Kristina Tamane – Scottish Space Leadership Council

Kristina works as a Space and Satellites Business Development Executive at the University of Edinburgh, commercialising university research and ensuring Intellectual Property from Universities gets into industry. She is also the Innovation Adviser for the SPRINT programme and a member of the Scottish Space Leadership Council. Kristina brings with her over 10 years of commercial experience from a range of career paths and sectors and a true passion and drive for the space sector in the UK

Professor Mercedes Maroto Valer – UK IDRIC, Heriot-Watt University
Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer (FRSE, FIChemE, FRSC, FRSA, FEI) is leading the development of the UK IDRIC. She is Associate Principal (Global Sustainability) at Heriot-Watt University overseeing the environmental sustainability effort across our global campuses to further development of leading research into low carbon technologies, through radical innovation, and working with partners to achieve global carbon reduction targets. She is Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS), a world leading centre delivering innovation for the wider deployment of low-carbon energy systems. She has held academic appointments at Pennsylvania State University,  Universities of Kentucky and Nottingham and now at Heriot-Watt University. Her internationally recognized track record covers energy systems, CCUS, integration of hydrogen technologies and low carbon fuels. She has over 530 publications, editor of 4 books, holds leading positions in professional societies and editorial boards and has received numerous international prizes and awards.

Neil Wait – HS2 Head of Environmental Sciences
Neil Wait is responsible for drafting, enforcing and ensuring all environmental requirements are met across all phases of the project. These include setting ambitious targets and requirements across carbon, climate change, noise & vibration, air quality and waste.

Neil has a background in Environmental Health and, prior to joining HS2, fulfilled a local authority role within the Environmental Health sector, covering air quality, industrial regulations, public health and licencing.
Neil aims to inspire effective collaboration, driving innovation aimed at reducing potential impacts across the programme, and wider construction industry.

Paul Steen – Regional Director for Scotland and North of England, Vattenfall Heat UK
Paul Steen has led Vattenfall’s District Heat business in Scotland and North Of England since March 2021. He has worked in the district heating sector for eleven years and has twenty one years’ experience in planning, design and supervision of a diverse range of construction projects in the energy, marine, infrastructure, and built environment.
Paul is a Chartered Civil Engineer and has an engineering degree from Cambridge University. He joined Vattenfall to take a senior role to be closer to the delivery of projects in the heat decarbonisation sector. Much of his career has been in technical consultancy, problem solving and project management of multi-disciplinary teams and he has spent much of the past ten years working in the renewable energy sector.

Poul Wend Hansen – Environment Manager, Balfour Beatty
Poul is an environmental and sustainability specialist with over 22 years of experience working in the real estate, infrastructure and construction sectors, leading sustainability and delivering environmental management.
His experience has been gained across the whole infrastructure and property value chain and across all management levels of global business. In Scotland, Poul is leading the business to identify opportunities to work with our customers, government departments, industry groups and other organisations on solutions to the challenges of climate change, biodiversity and social value that improve outcomes for our customers and reduce the impacts of our activities.

Rachel Skinner – President of the Institution of Civil Engineers

Rachel Skinner is UK Head of Transport at WSP and President of the Institution of Civil Engineers (beginning November 2020). She is also a Commissioner for the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland. In 2016, Skinner was named as one of The Telegraph’s inaugural Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering and in 2017 she was named as “Most Distinguished Winner” and “Best Woman in Civil Engineering” at the European Women in Construction and Engineering Awards.

Roger Steeper – Category Lead, SCAPE Scotland

Roger is the Category Lead for our civil engineering frameworks. He brings over 20 years of design and site experience to his role having worked on highways, railways, pipelines, bridges and building structures in both the private and public sector.
The completion of an MBA from Warwick Business School added customer focus to Roger’s engineering knowledge, leading to 10 years’ management experience in technical marketing, communications and business development within the construction sector.
Roger is Chairman of a FA Charter Standard Junior Football Club with twenty teams covering all age groups from Under 5 to Under 17 providing over 250 children with healthy enjoyment in a structured and safe environment.

Scott Hammond – Shetland Space Centre

Scott Hammond is a highly qualified former RAF Fast Jet and Commercial Airline Pilot.  As a Qualified Weapons Instructor, he was responsible for teaching RAF Aircrew of all ranks.  He assisted Thales by running courses for RAF Aircrew at RAF Lossiemouth whilst also being a Reserve Services Officer.  Scott has also worked in the Oil Industry, having been headhunted as part of an initiative by the Oil Industry to recruit RAF Aircrew as Consultants to train operators on the Command and Control Systems for Offshore Drilling Packages. Scott is the Operations Director for Shetland Space Centre and is tasked with negotiating partnership arrangements, government contracts and building the space station in Shetland.  Scott has a keen understanding of the technical detail that is required to ensure the site becomes fully operational.

Stephen Knox – Transport Manager for the City of Edinburgh Council

Stephen Knox leads the Structures and Flood Prevention teams. These teams maintain the city’s bridges, retaining walls, flood prevention schemes, coastal defences and reservoirs, and provide advice to the Council’s Planning department in relation to flood risk. Stephen is also the Council’s representative on a blue-green infrastructure initiative between the Council, Scottish Water and SEPA, taking a multi-agency approach to sustainable drainage within Edinburgh.

HYPED – Hyperloop Edinburgh

HYPED is a society/research group which focuses on advancing the development of Hyperloop worldwide and in the UK. We are in a unique position to have long-lasting impact on the newly-emerging market with promising prospects for the United Kingdom, and we want to take full advantage of this setting by attracting public, academia and industry to the concept; we would like that HYPED and University of Edinburgh are referred to in the future as a birthplace and hub for Hyperloop development in the UK and worldwide.

We started as a small group of individuals interested in Hyperloop at the start of the academic year 15/16. The group then grew to 30 people and ended up earning the Technical Excellence Award for a modular subsystem design in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Design Competition in Texas. Since then, we have consistently placed as one of the top teams at the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competitions II, III and IV out of many hundreds to enter. This year, we are aiming to show our work at the new European Hyperloop Week competition in Valencia, jointly organised by us, Hyperloop UPV, Delft Hyperloop, and Swissloop.

We conduct a number of internal technical research projects as well as support unique Master’s thesis ideas. Our Research Team, winners of the Virgin Hyperloop One Global Challenge, is carrying out a large scale business case study for Hyperloop implementation in the UK. Moreover, our Outreach Team has focused on introducing younger students to the excitement of Engineering and STEM by bringing real-world Hyperloop examples in the form of our pods and the science behind them to complement the often theoretical school curriculum.

Conference partner

SCAPE Scotland is a public sector organization, dedicated to creating efficiency and social value via the built environment.

Since 2006, SCAPE has accelerated over 12,000 projects across the UK with their direct award frameworks, property services and innovative architectural designs.

Working with SCAPE is all about partnership, bringing together the brightest talent from the construction industry and the local economy.

SCAPE projects are collaborative, compliant and fully performance managed to ensure delivery efficiency, taxpayer value, targeted local economic enrichment and offer a direct response to the climate emergency.

SCAPE operates with a buying power of £13bn and is actively performance managing over 1,800 live projects. SCAPE is a member of the National Association of Construction Frameworks (NACF) and in 2020 was named in ‘The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organizations to work for’ in the UK.

Charity partner

Engineers Without Borders UK engages and galvanizes the engineering community to serve all people and our planet better than ever before. Part of a global movement of over 60 Engineers Without Borders organizations, we inspire, enable and influence the engineering community to take action to put global responsibility at the heart of engineering.

Collaborators

A Better Future Quicker: Scottish Power Renewables and the Race to Net Zero

Engineering Scotland’s The Road Ahead – Innovation Lecture 2021 on Monday 24th May was delivered by Lindsay McQuade, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables. This event was very well received, and was followed by a very lively and informative Q&A session.

Lindsay explained how investing in green generation has long been the focus of ScottishPower’s strategy, but as we move to decarbonise the electricity system, she described the opportunities and challenges which the Race to Net Zero presents.

This Lecture was kindly facilitated online by The University of Strathclyde.

Delivering clean, green electricity to homes and businesses is the key objective of ScottishPower Renewables, under the direction of CEO Lindsay McQuade, appointed in February 2018. Lindsay is responsible for ScottishPower Renewables’ fleet of over 2GW of renewable generation and future developments of wind, storage and solar plant across the UK and Ireland.

Prior to her appointment as CEO, Lindsay was the Policy & Innovation Director of ScottishPower Renewables, having held a number of strategic roles across ScottishPower over the last 20 years. Lindsay is a board director of Renewable UK, helping to shape and inform the policy and regulatory environment for deployment and integration of cost-effective, low carbon, renewable generation across the UK, as well as promoting the industrial benefits delivered by investment in renewable energy generation across the UK.
She’s also the Chair of SafetyOn, the health and safety organisation for the Onshore wind sector. She holds a BA(Hons) in Economics from the University of Strathclyde, qualified as an Associate Member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers, and has taken part in the 4th edition of the Energising Leadership Programme with ESADE Business School and the 7th edition of the Global Leadership Programme with IMD Business School.

Monday 23rd November 2020

Online Zoom AGM

The Annual General Meeting of Engineering Scotland was held on Monday 23rd November at 6pm via Zoom.

Papers for the AGM will be available on the website in due course.