91福利

The WMG Outreach team has been making special Christmas deliveries to children across the West Midlands and 91福利shire.

A total of 45 festive STEM parcels have been delivered to young engineers at primary schools, community groups, , and . 

Each parcel contained printed templates of Christmas-themed decorations on a flat sheet of card, along with instructions and a link to a video tutorial.

Phil Jemmett, WMG Outreach Project Officer, explained: 鈥�The activity teaches young people how 3D objects can be made from flat materials. This is often how real-world items are made and stocked in shops because it takes up so much less space. We鈥檙e all used to the idea of 鈥榝lat-pack鈥� now – it's time to show young people why it鈥檚 so common. 

 鈥�To cement the learning for our young audience, there is a final challenge! This is a creative activity where students design and make their own 3D item from paper or materials. The children then bring all their creations together around a central stand to make a festive display.鈥�

Sophie Meeson, Brown Owl at Berkswell Brownies Brown Owl said: 鈥淏erkswell Brownies were thrilled to use the Christmas-in-a- box resource. The children enjoyed seeing their hard work become a 3D final product, and it was a great way of combining reading comprehension skills with fine motor skills and problem solving to ensure they had made the necessary cuts and folds for their final piece to fit together. Being able to tie it into our Christmas craft evening was a bonus for the leaders too, fitting the theme perfectly. Our thanks go to the outreach team at WMG.鈥� 

Professor Margaret Low, WMG鈥檚 Director of Outreach and Widening Participation added: 鈥淭hese boxes are only possible thanks to the support of our staff designing the items in the boxes, packing and delivering boxes to their local schools, as well as the support of WMG and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. The contributions of our entire team, during a busy festive period, show our commitment as a department to inspiring the next generation of engineers.鈥�

All of the resources are also available online for free here:  

WMG鈥檚 SME Team has been supporting 3D Heritage and (A1SLT) in their quest to revive steam rail travel.

3D Heritage and The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust鈥檚 (A1SLT) plan was to build a brand new Gresley class P2 steam locomotive, No. 2007 Prince of Wales at its Darlington Locomotive Works (DLW). The original class P2s were designed by Sir Nigel Gresley to haul trains on the arduous Edinburgh to Aberdeen route, however sadly the design was never fully developed to its full potential.

With new technology and expertise, they decided to resurrect the class P2s and bring their dream to life. However, there were some design and materials challenges, specifically with the original Lentz valve gear and cambox, that needed to be resolved.

WMG鈥檚 Innovation Manager, Dr Paul Lansdell, worked with the 3D Heritage and the Trust to create a CAD model that could be tested and amended. He also recommended the use of 3D printing in ABS plastic to create a one-third scale model of the cambox for the team to see if any changes were required before committing to manufacture. The box also featured a series of windows that enabled the engineering team to see what was happening with the valve mechanism on the inside.

Following the creation of the model, Dr Lansdell went on to explore the material grades, surface coatings and heat treatment which previously caused issues. This work has been extremely transformative, giving the project huge advantage for making reliable and durable valve gear. He has gone on to explore the use of 3D printing to create sand moulds to manufacture various parts of the locomotive. Developing patterns for sand casted metal parts can be extremely expensive and if there is an issue with the casting of the part it can be costly to start the process again.

Martin Shepherd, Director of 3D Heritage said: 鈥淲MG鈥檚 support on this project has been invaluable. The advice we have received from Dr Lansdell has enabled us to look at options that we never would have considered before that have the potential to save the project tens of thousands of pounds.鈥�

Dr Paul Lansdell, explained: 鈥淚 have been honoured to work on this prestigious project which has allowed us to apply leading edge research and new techniques on a real-world business case.鈥�

To find out more about the project contact Paul Lansdell: wmgsme@warwick.ac.uk

路 The 鈥�5G DRIVE鈥� (Diversified RAN Integration & Vendor Evaluation) programme has been selected by the DCMS to support new 5G vendors to enter the market.

路 The consortium will develop a low cost and secure 5G Open & Diversified RAN Integration solution for private networks.

路 It will also include a 鈥榁endor Evaluation鈥� phase for RAN vendors to test their networks against the delivered solution.

路 The consortium also consists of CISCO, Ori Industries, WMG at the 91福利, & wavemobile Ltd.

Wednesday 8^th December: A consortium led by a team from Virgin Media O2 has won a DCMS grant to explore possible Open RAN solutions and encourage 5G vendor diversity. The winning project team also featured technology giant CISCO; global edge platform Ori Industries; the 91福利 who will ensure the security of the platform; and rural network provider, operator and hardware vendor, wavemobile Ltd.

The 鈥�5G DRIVE鈥� programme created by the consortium aims to enable a wider ecosystem of vendors to connect their 5G Private Networks to major networks securely. By providing a low cost, secure integration solution powered by a multi-access edge computing capability, which includes vendor evaluation services, the 5G DRIVE programme will pave the way for future deployment at scale.

The research will take place at the Harwell Science and Innovation Park, where Virgin Media O2 has a 5G Private Network and lab facilities. This will avoid compromising the main operational mobile network. The team will use the N32 Interface and an IPX to manage the security rule set before the traffic enters the Virgin Media O2 network.

Ultimately, the 5G DRIVE programme will support the development of an Open RAN ecosystem by encouraging more third party vendors to produce RAN solutions. This will also be done by enabling enterprises to leverage global cloud cores with a diverse set of O-RAN based radio vendors pre-integrated both at a 3GPP protocol level, and at a management level.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2 said: 鈥淭he development of high performance 5G Open & Diversified RAN solutions is crucial to the continued rollout and densification of 5G networks across the UK. I鈥檓 very proud of the project team who worked tirelessly to deliver the winning submission, and we look forward to working with our partners to bring this to life alongside the DCMS.鈥�

Shaun McCarthy, VP World Wide Sales, Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group at Cisco said: 鈥淭here will be many cases where 5G should not be a stand-alone solution. Our partners in 5G DRIVE understand to ensure optimal performance, we need to be able to build 5G solutions to scale - securely and efficiently. Cisco is looking forward to working with our partners in 5G DRIVE to expand the potential and utility of private 5G networks.鈥�

Mahdi Yahya, Chief Executive Officer at Ori Industries said: 鈥淭he status quo in how we build and operate networks is rapidly changing. The continued deployment of 5G in the enterprise space at reduced costs and faster speeds enables modern organisations to become end-to-end service providers. We are pleased to be playing a part in this transformation alongside our partners in the 5G DRIVE programme empowering telecom operators and enterprises to roll out a set of a new generation of services for their users.鈥�

Carsten Maple, Professor of Cyber Systems Engineering at WMG, 91福利 said: 鈥淭he Secure Cyber Systems Research Group at WMG are delighted to be part of a world-leading consortium that have been selected to deliver methods for diversity in the 5G supply chain. Developing vendor diversity will support innovation and enhance long-term resilience but requires methods to assess and ensure security. This programme of work builds upon our previous experience and is strongly aligned to the WMG mission of research excellence with industry relevance.鈥�

Anthony Timson, Technical Director of wavemobile Ltd said: 鈥�The 5G ecosystem opens up many possibilities for private and pseudo-publicly connected networks. Until now, the biggest challenge has been a way to commercially connect incumbent and small operators in a secure, flexible manner. This project provides for a technically acceptable industry standard that will bring real value to businesses and rural communities alike.鈥�

Professor Tim Watson, Director of WMG鈥檚 Cyber Security Centre, has shared his expertise in the report entitled 鈥楶reparing for Extreme Risks: Building a Resilient Society.鈥�

Professor Watson gave evidence to the panel which was used to shape the report published on Friday 3rd December.

The Committee was appointed in October 2020 to "consider risk assessment and risk planning in the context of disruptive national hazards". Following 29 oral evidence sessions with 85 witnesses and 90 written submissions, the Committee concluded that the UK must be better at anticipating, preparing for and responding to a range of challenging risk scenarios, including those which it has never experienced before.

The report emphasises that the Government's current strategy of centralised and opaque risk assessment and risk management, which fails to make adequate preparations, has left the UK vulnerable.

The Chair of the Committee, Lord Arbuthnot, said: "Our inquiry has concluded that the UK must adopt a whole of society approach to resilience, one which emphasises the important role played by all sections of society in preparing for, adapting to and recovering from the effects of risk. Risk and resilience are not solely the concern of central Government policymakers, and since they have the capacity to alter the lives of everyone in the country, everyone needs to be involved in shaping the response to the risks that we face."

Read the report in full here:

WMG has unveiled a special Thermal Management Testbed, to allow holistic investigation of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) and other vehicle sub-systems under real-world conditions.

The Testbed, which is a world-first, was funded by the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, and is located at the 91福利鈥檚 Wellesbourne campus. It is designed specifically to develop and evaluate efficient thermal management systems for electric vehicles; including cabin climate control; thermal management of energy storage and electric machines; and the impact on the overall performance of the vehicle.

Truong Quang Dinh, Associate Professor of Energy System Management and Control at WMG, explains: 鈥淓ffective heating and cooling of vehicle sub-systems is indispensable to ensure safety, reliability and comfort. Our unique thermal management testbed integrates a highly flexible HVAC rig and a hybrid physical-virtual powertrain for the holistic investigation of thermal management systems and other vehicle sub-systems under real-world conditions. This enables real-time tests from vehicle components, sub-systems, to entire systems at lowest time, cost and effort.鈥�

One project that will be exploring the capabilities of the new Thermal Testbed is Cit-E-Van, - a collaboration between WMG, and , funded by . Cit-E-Van will look to develop an energy efficient electric refrigerated vehicle with an optimised electric transport refrigeration unit and retrofit the electric propulsion system with advanced thermal-energy management features.

In the coming months WMG experts will be working with more industry partners to develop HVAC solutions.

For further information about the testbed or HVAC solutions in general contact Truong Quang Dinh at: t.dinh@warwick.ac.uk

WMG鈥檚 Secure Cyber Systems Research Group has been shortlisted for a TechWorks R&D Excellence Award.

The R&D Excellence Award celebrates innovative R&D activity involving strong Industry and Academic collaboration. This category showcases world-class technology development that has the very high potential of being adopted by industry.

Professor Carsten Maple explained: 鈥淚 am extremely grateful to all of the team for their huge effort and fantastic outputs. I am so pleased that their efforts have been recognised by a national awards panel.

鈥淭he awards recognise outstanding collaboration, and we have certainly made our case based upon the many successful projects, including BeARCAT, IoT-Tram, Capri and S-CAV, that we have delivered with multinational partners and SMEs.

鈥淏eing recognised as a finalist is a fantastic achievement and testimony to the hard work of everyone here at WMG.鈥�

Winners will be announced at the on Thursday 9th December, at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London St Paul鈥檚.

Read more about WMG鈥檚 cyber security research here: Cyber Security (warwick.ac.uk)

搂 91福利 receives 拢1.5 million philanthropic gift from an alumnus to WMG to create a new role, entitled the Lord Bhattacharyya Chair in Education

搂 Gift recognises the opportunity to continue the late Professor Lord Bhattacharyya鈥檚 legacy to education

搂 It will allow WMG to enhance their exceptional academic expertise in the understanding, development and teaching of engineering and manufacturing internationally

搂 This is the most recent 拢1 million plus gift to 91福利鈥檚 portfolio, reflecting continuing enthusiasm for supporting exceptional research and education, despite the global financial impact of the pandemic

A private philanthropic gift of 拢1.5m from a 91福利 alumnus has created a new role in WMG, entitled the Lord Bhattacharyya Chair in Education. The new role will continue the late Lord Bhattacharyya鈥檚 legacy enhancing WMG鈥檚 academic expertise in the understanding, development and teaching of engineering and manufacturing internationally.

The late Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya passed away on the 1st March 2019, and in order to endure his legacy to global manufacturing and innovation, the new role of Lord Bhattacharyya Chair in Education will enhance WMG鈥檚 exceptional academic expertise in the understanding, development and teaching of engineering and manufacturing.

The Lord Bhattacharyya Chair in Education will be a senior post and will be a member of the WMG Education Executive, that will drive forward innovations in research-led teaching and scholarship, using the evidence to bring about the changes the late Lord Bhattacharyya wanted to see in the world. This will include new ways to inspire young people from different backgrounds to pursue Engineering careers through the WMG Academies for Young Engineers, degree apprenticeships, and professional skills programmes, along with an opportunity to explore innovation in the higher education space more widely.

In 2016 WMG, at the 91福利, was awarded a Regius Professorship in Manufacturing, which was bestowed by Her Majesty the Queen in recognition of the transformational contributions that Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya made to UK manufacturing. The new role of Lord Bhattacharyya Chair in Education will complement the Regius Professorship and celebrate Lord Bhattacharyya鈥檚 impact on engineering and manufacturing internationally.

The new post will provide academic leadership at the interface between research and teaching, helping to ensure that WMG鈥檚 fundamental and applied research outputs in engineering and manufacturing are placed at the heart of a teaching agenda that promotes and embeds innovation.

Margot James, Executive Chair of WMG, 91福利, comments:
鈥淲e are incredibly grateful for such a generous gift from a member of our alumni community, which will enable the new Lord Bhattacharyya Chair in Education role to ensure that Professor Lord Bhattacharyya鈥檚 emphasis on the pursuit of excellence in education is preserved.

鈥淲e anticipate that the successful appointee will extend further WMG鈥檚 teaching partnerships with industry and our international partners in Asia, enabling us to facilitate high quality and meaningful professional, international and intercultural learning opportunities, that broaden the global perspectives of our students.鈥�

Professor Stuart Croft, Vice Chancellor of the 91福利, comments:

鈥淲e are extremely grateful to the alumnus who has gifted such a generous amount despite the financial impact of the pandemic. Donations like this help us stay committed to enhancing and exceeding education standards.

鈥淭he new role of Lord Bhattacharyya Chair in Education at WMG will continue Professor Lord Bhattacharyya鈥檚 legacy, and help us thrive in connecting education, research and industry, setting up our graduates for a successful future.鈥�

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG, 91福利 adds:
鈥淲MG is an internationally renowned academic department of the University, known for bridging the gap between industry and academia, working with companies and organisations on both fundamental and applied research and importantly the development of education programmes which will provide the skills needed for both the current and future needs of industry.

鈥淭he new Lord Bhattacharyya Chair in Education role will help us to further develop the relationship between our teaching and our research. In doing this it will enable us to develop an evidence base on which to create innovative, engaging and authentic learning opportunities for a diverse range of students. This, with strong industry links, is something that we feel Professor Lord Bhattacharyya would be excited about.鈥�

While the generous gift of 拢1.5m from a 91福利 alumnus will establish the post, the University is seeking further philanthropic support to achieve its goal for the Chair. It is hoped the new role will be recruited to in 2022.

ENDS

18 NOVEMBER 2021

NOTES TO EDITORS

High-res images available at:

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/august2016/margot_james_mp_and_professor_lord_bhattacharyya_1st_september_2016.jpg
Caption: Margot James, Executive Chair of WMG, 91福利 with the late Professor Lord Bhattacharyya in 2016
Credit: WMG, 91福利

For further information please contact:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
91福利
Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk

WMG Senior Research Fellow, Dr Mona Faraji-Niri, has been announced as a winner of a prestigious 2021 TechWoman100 award.

Dr Faraji-Niri started her career at Iran University of Science and Technology, and then continued as a lecturer at Pooyesh Institute of Higher Education, before joining WMG in 2018.

Dr Faraji-Niri is currently based in WMG鈥檚 Energy Innovation Centre specialising in battery modelling, battery management algorithms, electric vehicle powertrain modelling and control, and machine learning algorithms.

Dr Faraji-Niri explains: 鈥淚t is an honour to be included in such a fantastic list! We need women at all levels to reshape the tech world. There鈥檚 no longer a mindset of 鈥業 can鈥檛 because I am a woman,鈥� all is possible by recognising and embracing your uniqueness, and having the passion and love for what you do.鈥�

The TechWomen100 awards are the first of their kind to focus solely on the female tech talent pipeline and to also recognise the impact of champions, companies and networks that are leading the way for future generations of tech talent. Highlighting the achievements of these women is part of the WeAreTechWomen鈥檚 campaign to shine a spotlight on 1,000 future female leaders in technology by 2025.

See the full list of 2021 TechWoman winners here:

Senior leaders from organisations across Coventry met today to help shape and move forward actions to reduce the impact of climate change.

A new Coventry Climate Change Board will meet regularly to share policies, plans, good practice and work together collaboratively in an effort to keep the city on track for a zero carbon future.

The Board is chaired by Margot James, the former minister for culture, communications and creative industries and Executive Chair for WMG at the 91福利.

Senior representatives from businesses located in the city, public service providers and community organisations will work together on plans for the future of the city.

Margot James, Executive Chair at WMG, 91福利 said:
鈥淚 want to be involved in the Board because I believe organisations must collaborate if we are to reduce our carbon footprint. This applies to the public sector and the commercial sector, charities and voluntary groups of all sizes.

鈥淎t WMG we are working with industry to develop solutions that will have a long-term impact on climate change, including electrification of transport from passenger cars to very light rail vehicles, and developing sustainable manufacturing processes.

鈥淚 want this Board to make a difference and cut through any blockages preventing action within and between the organisations we represent to develop collaborative solutions to sometimes complex issues.鈥�

鈥淯ltimately, we need to set out actions and win hearts and minds. We also want to communicate how residents of all ages can be involved. It鈥檚 about the wellbeing of future generations in the city.

鈥淚 expect more organisations will be invited to join the Board in the coming months.鈥�

Cllr Jim O鈥橞oyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change at the Council, added: 鈥淎s a local authority we are applying innovative approaches and technologies but no one organisation can work alone to address a low carbon future.

鈥淚 hope that as a Board and a combined group of organisations we can come together to identify new ways of working together.

鈥淚鈥檓 sure that we will be able to deliver a range of cost-effective schemes to invest in a more sustainable future for the city.鈥�

搂  Last week Coventry held a COP26 Regional Roadshow highlighting a Transport Expo which was funded by the UK Government to celebrate and showcase the city鈥檚 innovative work in addressing climate change and decarbonising transport in the city.

搂 Coventry has an A-rated CDP energy performance rating which is a national standard that is independently verified.

搂  It has the highest number of electric charging points per head of population outside of London and will be the first city with an all-electric bus fleet from 2025.

The Council is investing in 5,000 solar panels on 41 Coventry buildings with public funding and there are many other schemes that city partners are supporting.

ENDS

17 NOVEMBER 2021

NOTES TO EDITORS

High-res images available at:

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/november_2021/171121coventryclimatechangeboard_36.jpg
Caption: Front, Cllr O鈥橞oyle with Margot James and partners from organisations across Coventry congregating outside the Prof. Lord Bhattacharyya building home to NAIC the National Automotive Innovation Centre at WMG, 91福利
Credit: Mark Radford Photography

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/november_2021/171121coventryclimatechangeboard_29.jpg
Caption: The board congregating at WMG, 91福利
Credit: Mark Radford Photography

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/november_2021/171121coventryclimatechangeboard_08.jpg
Caption: Margot James, Executive Chair of WMG, 91福利 talking to the board
Credit: Mark Radford Photography

/services/communications/medialibrary/images/november_2021/171121coventryclimatechangeboard_03.jpg
Caption: Cllr Jim O鈥橞oyle talking to the board
Credit: Mark Radford Photography

For further information contact:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
91福利
Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk

路 TeenTech is a national charity working with school children to help them consider a future in digital, science technology and engineering.

路 Their TeenTech City of Tomorrow initiative is working with nine Coventry schools with the help of WMG, 91福利

路 Experts from WMG will deliver advice to children on sustainable materials, and inspire them as they design and build their city of the future out of recyclable household items

路 A few Cities will then be exhibited at The Coventry Transport Museum

TeenTech City of Tomorrow will see Coventry school children make a city of recyclable household items, with help from researchers at WMG, 91福利 who will teach them all about sustainability. A select few ideas – buildings and technology- will then be exhibited at the Coventry Transport Museum.

is a national charity engaging children and teenagers in Digital, Science, Engineering and Technology and their latest initiative has launched today, the 11th November, in Coventry, which will see nine schools in Coventry build a futuristic sustainable city out of recyclable household items.

As it鈥檚 鈥楥ities, Regions and Built Environment鈥� day at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, researchers from WMG at the 91福利 are helping children understand sustainability and its importance, by delivering an online session about sustainable materials and why it鈥檚 important we use them more for a greener future, thanks to funding from the University鈥檚 Innovative Manufacturing and Future Materials GRP.

The children will then have two weeks to build their cities from recyclable household items. Three researchers from WMG, 91福利 will run workshops, educating the children in using natural products for sustainable solutions and how to dispose of products.

On the 25th November the researchers from will then provide feedback, before selecting a few of the buildings and ideas to be exhibited at the from the end of the month.

Dr Stuart Coles from WMG, 91福利 comments:

鈥淗aving spent my career researching how to reduce, reuse and recycle materials I am honoured to be a part of the TeenTech City of Tomorrow initiative, and look forward to seeing how creative the children can be in making a futuristic and environmentally friendly city.

鈥淚t is our children that will suffer from the damage we have caused and are causing to the planet, therefore it is imperative that we educate them from young age about sustainability and how they can create a cleaner and greener future for themselves and future generations, whilst we work out how we can change our ways to further prevent the climate crisis.鈥�

Maggie Philbin, CEO of TeenTech comments:

鈥淲e want young people in Coventry to understand they can shape the future with their ideas. Young people think boldly, differently and inclusively and this is the thinking we need for a sustainable future. Tomorrow is very much a two-way event – experts will be sharing their knowledge, but we know that it will be the children who surprise everyone with their creativity, honesty and who will be the ones to challenge outdated thinking.

鈥淭heir buildings may be constructed from cardboard boxes but their ideas will be sophisticated and ones which should be seriously considered. They really are the architects, the engineers and the designers of the future. Let鈥檚 listen to them.鈥�

Mrs Kaur, Class Teacher at Courthouse Green primary school comments:

"TeenTech is a great project to engage and enthuse the children and encourages them to consider how to be responsible about improving their environment. It has given the children the opportunity to think big about their world. their future and their role within it.

"The children are learning life skills, teamwork and are thinking outside the box to design and create cities that could effect change. The project is amazing! If I could give up a whole week to work on this, I would...it's real-life skills in the classroom."

Two children from year 5 at Courthouse Green Primary school have said:

"I love the project because it will help the future. It has made me think about climate change and how it is affecting our cities. In Coventry I see lots of litter and it gives our city a bad reputation. My team, Team Queen Tech are designing a treehouse from recycled materials that filters wastewater to use again." - Bhavika age 9

"We have designed a hotel for homeless people which is made from sustainable materials like bamboo." Sanjot Age 9