Engineering virtual resources

an image of engineering electrical equipment

Welcome to the Faculty of Engineering virtual resources page.

These lectures, workshops, blogs, podcasts and articles can be used by teachers for lessons or by students in Year’s 11, 12 and 13 and those who are undertaking an Access to HE qualification, to gain an insight into Engineering at University, increase super-curricular knowledge about exciting areas of research and enhance UCAS applications.

Lecture series

These mini lectures will be exploring electrical machines for vehicles. We will explore the first prototypes in the 1880’s, the evolution to current technologies and looking into the limitations and possibilities in the future.

Questions:

  1. What are the advantages of Electrical machines over the petrol alternatives?
  2. What are the current limitations that need to be addressed before electric vehicles can be integrated into our society? Can you think of any Suzie hasn’t discussed?
  3. If you were designing an electric car, what realistic feature would you include to improve functionality? For example, a route planner (navigation system) that includes charging stations to factor in charging stops on long journeys.

Extra resources for more information on electrical machines and the maths theory behind them:

These mini lectures will show you the various components of telecommunications, including lasers, amplifiers and wired vs. wireless technology and include circuit building.

Questions:

  1. What is a semiconductor?
  2. How does a diode works?
  3. How do you get different colours of light?
  4. What forms of communication can you think of?
  5. How do you think people communicated from long distances before phones?
  6. Do you know the difference between a wireless signal and a wired connection?
  7. Do you know what an amplifier is?
  8. Can you think of any examples of amplifiers?
  9. How do you think we would use an amplifier?

Extra resources:

Concerns about climate change and the desire to find low-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels have led researchers to investigate the use of hydrogen as a sustainable, non-polluting fuel. This mini lecture gives a brief overview of why hydrogen is of interest, and the research being done at the University of Bristol to develop porous materials for the practical storage of hydrogen energy.

Watch the lecture here

Questions:

  1. What are 3 advantages of using hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels?
  2. What are some key technical challenges in the use of hydrogen on board vehicles?

Extra resources:

Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, is finding surprising applications in science and engineering. Going far beyond folding paper planes, engineers now use origami to create self-assembling robots, designer materials and large deployable structures in space. In this talk Mark Schenk, a lecturer in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, explores how origami is transforming science and engineering, and reveals some of the elegant underlying mathematical principles of origami.

Watch the lecture here

Extra resources:

Folding-the-future-resources (PDF, 359kB) is intended to accompany the watching of the above video. It contains questions to consider before, during, and after watching the video, as well as additional resources on the use of origami in engineering.

Online workshops

These workshops can be done by students at home or as a whole class in school.

Swarms are made up of simple individuals (such as birds, insects, robots and people) who collectively display complex, interesting behaviours. An example of this is how birds flock or ants move through their colonies. These principles can be applied to engineering and robotics to solve real-world problems. This series will provide an introduction to Swarm Engineering and Robotics, and will showcase some of the projects the Swarm team are working on (for you to invest in). The series will contain three parts, made up of a very short pre-work, one 8-min video and a homework exercise.

Lesson plan for Teachers linked here.

Part 1: An introduction to swarm robotics

Part 2: Design your swarm robot

Part 3: Invest in Research

This is a 30-60min activity which you can complete by yourself or with a group.

The aim of the activity is to design a Martian House, taking account of the Mars environment and the practicalities of living on another planet. It consists of some background reading/research and then the creation of a design of a house. It is based on a project to build a Martian House by the Bristol-based artists Ella and Nicki and has been developed by Professor of Space Systems Engineering at the University of Bristol, Lucy Berthoud.

Link to workshop here.

A range of modelling exercises, from designing a diner to interstellar flight, that will test knowledge of maths in an applied context designing by our Engineering Mathematics. The modelling exercises on this page are intended to be worked on by groups of 2-5 students and we have separate pages for teachers and students.

Link to workshops here.

Student experiences

These are resources particularly focussed on student life and insights as an Engineer at Bristol.

Three of our final year undergraduate students made this short film to show what a typical day in the life of an Aerospace Engineering student looks like at the University of Bristol. Follow our student from undergraduate halls of residence, to lecture theatres, technical labs, and around the campus and city of Bristol.

Not sure what engineering really is? Wondering whether you can be an engineer? Unsure about how to gain experience? These articles and content will guide you on your path as you dip your toes into the broad world of engineering. Maybe you’re reading this because you have an initial interest or maybe you just want to know more? This offers you genuine insight from young engineers further down the line.

Bridging the Gap video

Bridging the Gap blog

Podcasts

This is Engenius, a podcast brought to you by Engineers without Borders Bristol. At Engenius, we explore the future, by talking with the pioneering engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators of today.

Check out our episodes to meet people whose jobs change the world, in fields as diverse as robotics, energy, aerospace, healthcare, agriculture and the built environment. We explore their backgrounds, their motivations, and the impact their work will have on our lives, and on our planet. Engenius is produced by a team of engineering students at the University of Bristol. To ask a question, submit an idea, or just say hi, email engeniuspodcast@gmail.com

Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud here.

Aerospace student Derek Joy finds out from fellow University of Bristol students what inspired them to choose their subjects and where they’re hoping their degrees will take them. Are you currently studying a STEM subject, or curious about what studying an Engineering degree actually involves?

Listen to the podcast series on iTunes here.

Listen to the podcast series on Spotify here.