View all news

Engineering students receive prestigious awards from Boeing

Back row left to right: Professor Andy Nix, Dr Mike Barton, Andy Owen, Shane Bennison, Professor Nick Lieven (Dean), Professor Mark Beach, Dr Fabrizio Scarpa. Front row left to right: Ben Buxton, Bridget White, Josh Shimmin, Sky Sartorius, James Wilcox, Samantha Huntley

Back row left to right: Professor Andy Nix, Dr Mike Barton, Andy Owen, Shane Bennison, Professor Nick Lieven (Dean), Professor Mark Beach, Dr Fabrizio Scarpa. Front row left to right: Ben Buxton, Bridget White, Josh Shimmin, Sky Sartorius, James Wilcox, Samantha Huntley Ann Pethers

Press release issued: 14 February 2011

Six students from the University of Bristol’s Faculty of Engineering have been awarded prizes from The Boeing Company for their outstanding academic performance in the field of integrated aerospace systems.

From intelligent vehicles to fluid mechanics, helicopter design and ultrasound radio echoes, six students from the University of Bristol’s Faculty of Engineering have been awarded prizes from The Boeing Company for their outstanding academic performance in the field of integrated aerospace systems. 

Bridget White and Joshua Shimmin both received scholarships for their final year of study whilst James Wilcox, Samantha Huntley, Sky Sartorius and Ben Buxton all received awards for their final projects.

The aim of the awards is to recognise the best students who have demonstrated a flair and passion for engineering and who have consistently been at the top of their class.  The project work undertaken by these students has shown the necessary imagination and creativity to solve some very difficult problems and makes them worthy of such an accolade. 

Shane Bennison, Director of Engineering for Boeing Defence UK and the Executive Focal for the University of Bristol, speaking at the award ceremony held at the University on February 3, said: “These students have excelled and are worthy winners of these awards.  They have demonstrated the significant prerequisites for becoming the engineering leaders of the future.”

One of the winners James Wilcox was awarded the best MEng project in Electrical and Electronic Engineering for his project entitled ‘Fully autonomous Scalextric vehicle using MEMS inertial sensors’.

Dr Mike Barton, project supervisor and Senior Lecturer in Microelectronics in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, said: “James designed and built instrumentation to be mounted inside a Scalextric car to allow it autonomously to negotiate a track at optimum speed while transmitting telemetry data via Bluetooth - and he achieved a working demonstration on time.”

Professor Nick Lieven, Dean of Engineering, added: “Once again our students have shown that they are highly capable individuals who have demonstrated a talent for engineering.  They are without doubt amongst the best engineering graduates in the world and it is to their credit that they have been recognised for their achievements during their studies.”

The awards were funded by The Boeing Company along with a contribution to support the student robot test arena and the University of Bristol Aeolus wind powered car project.   The support to these students, facilities and projects are hugely important to help inspire the interest of future students and ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of advanced engineering.

Further information

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defence, space and security systems. A top U.S. exporter, the company supports airlines and U.S. and allied government customers in more than 90 countries. Boeing products and tailored services include commercial and military aircraft, satellites, weapons, electronic and defence systems, launch systems, advanced information and communication systems, and performance-based logistics and training.

Boeing’s long-standing relationship with British industry, the armed forces and the air transport industry dates back over 70 years. Today the UK remains a critically important market, supplier base and a source for some of the world’s most inventive technology partners. Boeing’s annual spend in the aerospace industry supports thousands of jobs around the UK, in the process generating intellectual property, enhancing skills and facilitating exports.

The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol is internationally recognised as one of the top UK engineering faculties, known for agenda setting engineering research. The Faculty believe engineering is an exciting, intellectually challenging and economically important field that offers unique opportunities for students and researchers to contribute to humanity’s success.

The Faculty are committed to excellence and to research, creation, development, and application of the technologies critical to the architecture and engineering of complex high-performance systems. The Faculty prepares engineers for success and leadership in the conception, design, implementation, and operation of engineering systems.

Please contact Joanne Fryer for further information.
Edit this page