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Flash of Inspiration wins 2007 Young Engineer for Britain Title

Hazard Warning Idea to Help Car Drivers

A novel new portable automatic hazard system for drivers has won the title of Young Engineer for Britain for fifteen years old inventor Patrick Burns from Newry, County Down. The device, which can be plugged into a car’s power outlet in the event of a breakdown, not­ only provides a working light to help the driver check out or repair the problem, but also warns him or her of oncoming traffic. It does this by sensing the beam of headlights or vibrations from oncoming traffic and sounding a buzzer.

Patrick was presented with his trophy and a cheque for £2,500, which he shared with his school, Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Newry, by World Land Speed Record holder, Wing Commander Andrew Green RAF at last September’s award ceremony in the splendid Painted Hall at the Old Royal Navy College in Greenwich. The Painted Hall is steeped in history, but most famously was the venue where the body of Admiral Lord Nelson was laid in state after his triumph and tragedy at the Battle of Trafalgar. In stunning contrast, Patrick’s triumph marks just the beginning of an exciting life ahead.

Device to Help the Blind learn Braille Wins The Duke of York’s Award

Three 18 years old students from Westminster School – Simon Nathan, Cato Sandford and Henry Thorogood – won The Duke of York’s Award for Creative Electronics with a device that helps people to learn how to read Braille. By pressing buttons with raised Braille characters, audio recordings are played which tell the user what alphabetic characters they have selected. Simon, Cato and Henry were awarded the magnificent crystal rose bowl trophy and a cheque for £800. They designed their project to help a family friend who is going blind.

Solving Everyday Needs

A whole host of innovative gizmos and gadgets ranging from an automatic toilet seat to novelty safety helmets for bicycle riders and from a safety heat sleeve for domestic irons to an indoor mobility scooter for the disabled confronted judges at last September’s national final of Young Engineer for Britain.

Thirty students in two age groups, 12-16 and 16-19, qualified for the national final after success in one of the eleven regional finals held around the UK in June and July. Their challenge was to invent, design and build marketable everyday products with the ultimate aim of scooping the £2,500 top prize and becoming 2007 Young Engineer for Britain, a title that opens doors to lucrative and exciting career opportunities in the engineering industry, helps launch new business enterprises or provides the stepping stone to gaining a place at university.

The 2007 national final marked the thirtieth anniversary of the start of the Young Engineer for Britain competition and over the years many winning students have gone on to notable successes. Most recently, Tanya Budd from Reading (featured on page ? of this issue) saw her sailors’ rescue device ‘Hypo-Hoist’ become a very popular commercially manufactured product earning her handsome royalties on sales, whilst last year’s winner Ruth Amos from Sheffield (featured in the last issue) has started her own company to develop and market her ‘Stair-Steady’ system to help the elderly negotiate stairs on their own two feet.

Guest of Honour at the event was Wing Commander Andy Green, world land speed record holder. The 763 mph record in Richard Noble’s Thrust SSC (Super Sonic Car) was set up ten years ago and is still unbeaten. Wing Commander Green thrilled guests at the awards dinner with his experiences in Thrust and as a Tornado pilot in the Royal Air Force. He emphasised the vital role of engineers in helping him achieve success

Enter Young Engineer for Britain 2008

Are you creative, innovative and enterprising? Then you have the potential to be an engineer and to help change the world for the better. If you would like to win big prizes, national acclaim and a once in a life time experience then enter the 2008 Young Engineer for Britain Competition. All you need is a great idea, a new innovation or a fantastic redesign, then take it and make t! Remember your idea can be based on any branch of engineering and can be a GCSE or A’ level project (or equivalent), non-coursework or something you have been working on at home. Your creativity is limited only by your imagination.

Full information is available online: www.youngeng.org

Closing date for 2008 entries is 31st May 2008