Once a year, during a IEC General Meeting, stakeholders from around the world come together to decide on current issues, as well as future directions and strategies for the IEC. In 2024, the IEC General Meeting is hosted by British Standards Institution (BSI) in Edinburgh from 21 to 25 October which marks the first time in 35 years this event will be happening in the UK. 

As the Head of the UK delegation of IEC Technical Committee 119 – “Printed Electronics” which is responsible for the standardization in the field of printed electronics for terminology, materials, processes, equipment, products and health/safety/environment, Leszek will lead the delegation with the aim to advise and guide the standardisation work in the strategic for the UK area of sustainable printed electronics. 

Leszek said, "I am delighted to be appointed as Head of UK delegation of IEC Technical Committee 119 – ‘Printed Electronics’. This will allow me to represent the UK interests on the international stage, as well as shape and lead the work of the committee.” 

This appointment not only confirms that Leszek is nationally and internationally recognized as a highly competent, first-rate engineering expert, which strongly evidences a higher-level of achievement, but also reinforces the international reputation of the University of Swagֱ�� as a leader in social responsibility. 

Standards guide and normalize almost all areas of our lives. International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards provide instructions, guidelines, rules or definitions that are then used to design, manufacture, install, test and certify, maintain and repair electrical and electronic devices and systems. The IEC’s mission is to achieve worldwide use of IEC International Standards and Conformity Assessment Systems to ensure the safety, efficiency, reliability and interoperability of electrical, electronic and information technologies, to enhance international trade, facilitate broad electricity access and enable a more sustainable world. 
 

Organised by , the workshop provided an engaging platform for sharing the latest advancements in SF₆ leak mitigation, lifecycle management of SF₆ alternatives, retrofill replacement interventions, and new applications for high-voltage systems. The event featured insightful presentations from industry leaders, including Hitachi Energy, GE Vernova and Siemens Energy, and concluded with closing remarks from NGET.

Attendees were offered technical tours of the National Graphene Institute and High Voltage Laboratory, showcasing state-of-the-art research facilities. The event included representatives from network utilities across Great Britain, Ireland and France, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange.

The workshop demonstrated the commitment of key industry players to advance SF₆ alternatives and pave the way for more sustainable power systems in the future.

The £5.5 million project, funded by Horizon Europe and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), will involve a four-year collaboration between Swagֱ�� and academic and industry experts from ETH Zurich, the University of Vienna, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, NKT Cable Group, Shell Research Ltd, S&B Insurance Advisors, and Arttic Innovation. This initiative aims to develop the enabling technology that supports a sustainable European electricity grid. 

Named DCDYNAMIC (Accelerating DC Dynamic Export Cable Technology for a Sustainable European Electricity Grid), the project will consist of three distinct parts. Firstly, understanding how electrical, mechanical, and thermal stresses impact these cables; secondly how to create real-world conditions for reliable testing; and thirdly, construction of a 320 kV high-voltage DC cable prototype, tested at scale using the simulated conditions created through the project. 

DCDYNAMIC will be led by , Reader in High Voltage Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, which houses the UK’s largest academic electrical test and research facility, the . He will be joined by , Professor of Materials Science and Chief Scientist at the , the UK’s national institute for material innovation; and , Reader in Nanomaterials based at the  

DCDYNAMIC is one of the earliest Horizon Europe projects since the UK re-joined, with a UK university serving as the lead coordinator. 

Project lead, Dr Tony Chen, said: “Being granted European Commission funding as the project coordinator on this scale demonstrates the competitiveness of UK institutions.”  

Home to over 2000 wind farms, and with the largest offshore wind capacity in the world, wind power already plays a leading part in the UK’s energy landscape. This offshore resource provides a range of advantages over its onshore equivalent; farms can be built at a greater scale (the UK currently has the biggest offshore wind farm in the world, Hornsea 1 near the Yorkshire coast), winds are higher and more consistent, and any visual impact concerns are significantly reduced.   

• Feature-Enhanced Representation with Transformers for Multi-View Stereo 
• High-Frequency Channel Attention and Contrastive Learning for Image Super-Resolution 
• A Divide-and-Conquer Machine Learning Approach for Modelling Turbulent Flows 
•  
• DRLFluent: A distributed co-simulation framework coupling deep reinforcement learning with Ansys-Fluent on high-performance computing systems 
• Manifold-enhanced CycleGAN for facial expression synthesis 

To discuss this research or potential partnerships, contact Professor Yin at hujun.yin@manchester.ac.uk.
 

Prof Krikor Ozanyan has been presented with the prestigious IEEE Sensors Council Lifetime Contribution Award 2023, with the following citation: “For sustained contributions to the IEEE Sensors Council publications and conferences in multiple leadership positions, especially outstanding service as Editor-in-Chief and Vice-President Publications during the IEEE Sensors Journal’s time of dramatic growth”. 

Currently, Krikor is serving a 3 years’ term as the IEEE Sensors Council’s inaugural Vice-President Educational Activities (2024-2026), leading the Council’s portfolio of programmes on Distinguished Lectures, Seasonal Schools, Tutorials & Podcasts, as well as Certification & Curriculum Development.

The IEEE Power & Energy Society Governing Board has appointed Professor Jovica V Milanović, Professor of Electrical Power Engineering and Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, to the Governing Board, Executive Committee & Financial Committee as PES Vice President Publications. The term of the appointment is from 1 January 2024 for up to five years in total, renewed annually.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the world’s largest technical professional organization with over 400,000 members in more than 160 countries dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. It offers a number of ways to get involved with technical and local communities. These communities are active participants in research and authorship, conferences, and important conversations about today's most relevant technical topics locally and globally. The IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES)   is the second largest society within the IEEE with over 42,000 members worldwide . It   provides the world’s largest forum for sharing the latest in technological developments in the electric power industry, for developing standards that guide the development and construction of equipment and systems, and for educating members of the industry and the general public. 

In addition to contributing to strategic and operational leadership of PES, as VP Publications, Prof Milanovic will provide oversight on services and products which disseminate information on technical, scientific, professional, and newsworthy topics of interest to PES members, the engineering and scientific community, and the general public. He will chair the PES Publication Board and provide strategic editorial policy & practice direction for its 13 Transactions and Journals, many of which are among the most influential in the general area of electrical power engineering.

Professor Milanović, recipient of the Swagֱ�� Doctoral College Excellence Award -  Supervisor of the Year Award in the Faculty of Science and Engineering 2019/20,  is a Chartered Engineer in the UK, Foreign member of the Serbian Academy of Engineering Sciences, Fellow of the IET, Fellow of the IEEE, Distinguished IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Lecturer, Past-Chair of the IEEE Herman Halperin Transmission and Distribution Award Committee and  Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Power Systems. He was a member of the IEEE PES Governing Board as Regional Representative for Europe, Middle East and Africa for six years,  member of PES Long Range Planning Committee, member of the  IEEE PES Industry Technical Support Leadership Committee, member and vice-chair of IEEE PES Fellows Evaluation Committee and a  member of  the IEEE Fellows committee.

The IEEE is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology. IEEE DEIS is the society whose field of interest includes the study and application of dielectrics from the molecular level, through nano-structured materials, to insulation systems in industrial, commercial, and power system equipment, to emerging applications such as those at high power levels and in biological and other small-scale systems.  The DEIS supports the entire scope of this field from advancing the basic science, to enhancing the ability of practicing engineers to use emerging dielectric materials, to the development of standards for the prudent application of existing and new insulation systems. 

Qiang Liu is a Professor of High Voltage Engineering and the Head of the High Voltage Research Group in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Qiang is the Convenor of CIGRE D1.01 Advisory Group on “Dielectric liquids and liquid impregnated insulation systems” and an associate editor of the IET High Voltage Journal. His research focuses on dielectric liquids and their applications in high voltage equipment and future electric transportation. 
 

Described by the ERC as among the EU’s most prestigious and competitive grants, today’s funding has been awarded to the following senior research leaders:

• , Professor of Emerging Optoelectronics, based in the and , to investigate scalable nanomanufacturing paradigms for emerging electronics (SNAP). The program aims to develop sustainable large-area electronics, a potential game-changer in emerging semiconductor markets, that will help reduce society's reliance on current polluting technologies while enabling radically new applications.
• , Chair in Evolutionary Biology, in the School of Biological Sciences, to investigate how genomic complexity shapes long-term bacterial evolution and adaptation.
• , in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Director of the Photon Science Institute to develop a table-top nuclear facility to produce cold actinide molecules that will enable novel searches for new physics beyond the standard model of particle physics.
• Professor Sir Andre Geim, who isolated graphene in 2004 with Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov, to explore 2D materials and their van der Waals assemblies.
• , to lead work into chemically fuelled molecular ratchets. Ratcheting underpins the mechanisms of molecular machinery, gives chemical processes direction, and helps explain how chemistry becomes biology.
• , in the Department of Chemistry and  Swagֱ�� Institute of Biotechnology, to develop enzymatic methods for peptide synthesis (EZYPEP). Peptides are fundamental in life and are widely used as therapeutic agents, vaccines, biomaterials and in many other applications. Currently peptides are produced by chemical synthesis, which is inefficient, expensive, difficult to scale-up and creates a huge amount of harmful waste that is damaging to the environment. EZYPEP will address this problem by developing enzymatic methods for the more sustainable, cleaner and scalable synthesis of peptides, including essential medicines to combat infectious diseases, cancer and diabetes.
•  , based in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, to explore Top and Higgs Couplings and extended Higgs Sectors with rare multi-Top multi-Higgs Events with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This project aims at deeper insight into the most fundamental properties of nature beyond our current understanding.

Swagֱ�� received seven of the 42 grants awarded to UK institutions.

The grant recipients will join a community of just 255 awarded ERC advanced grants, from a total of 1,829 submissions.

As a result of today’s announcement, the ERC will be investing nearly €652 million across the 255 projects.

Head of Department for Physics and Astronomy, which received three of the seven grants, said: “Today’s triple award reflects our department’s continued leadership in pioneering research. We’re home to Jodrell Bank, host of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory – set to be the largest radio telescope in the world; the National Graphene Institute – a world-leading centre for 2D material research with the largest clean rooms in European academia; we lead experiments at CERN and Fermilab; and – crucially – we host a world-leading community of vibrant and collaborative researchers like Professors Flanagan, Geim and Peters who lead the way. Today’s announcement recognises their role as outstanding research leaders who will drive the next generation to deliver transformative breakthroughs.”

, Vice-Dean for Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Swagֱ��, added: “Our University’s history of scientific and engineering research is internationally recognised but it does not constrain us. Instead, it’s the work of our researchers – like the seven leaders celebrated today – and what they decide to do next, that will define us.  We are proud to have a culture where responsible risk-taking is nurtured and transformative outcomes delivered, and we look forward to these colleagues using this environment to deliver world-leading and world-changing research.”

, Vice-Dean for Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, said: "These awards are welcome recognition of the world-leading and transformative frontier science that Swagֱ�� researchers are delivering. The compelling and innovative research supported by these ERC awards builds on the excellent local environment at Swagֱ�� and are cornerstones of the University’s strategy for excellence and leadership in research and innovation. The positive and real-world global impact from these research awards could deliver are genuinely tangible.

"As we enter our third century, the awards made in a highly competitive environment, are evidence that we do so with a continued pioneering approach to discovery and the pursuit of knowledge that our research community was built on."

Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth at the ERC, said: “This investment nurtures the next generation of brilliant minds. I look forward to seeing the resulting breakthroughs and fresh advancements in the years ahead.”

The ERC grants are part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.

He was given a guided tour of the £9 million lab by , Professor of High Voltage Engineering and Head of the High Voltage Research Group, including a demonstration of its renowned 2MV impulse generator which allows researchers to stress test equipment used on the grid by creating real-life lightning voltages. 

Sir Mark also met with , academic co-director and contributor to the Policy@Swagֱ�� publication which sets out research-led solutions to some of the greatest policy challenges facing the UK from energy security to food production.

A former electronics engineer, Sir Mark has represented Preston in Parliament since 2000 and currently serves as a member of the House of Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee.

Professor Qiang Liu, said: “We always welcome the opportunity to showcase our work with small businesses, industry and national governments to address real world conundrums which draws on the lessons learnt from our research in the High Voltage Lab.

“Swagֱ�� is equally proud of our role in training the engineers of tomorrow who will take on the task of identifying and implementing the improvements needed to revitalise our energy system.

“As a former engineer, Sir Mark takes a keen interest in our mission to deliver an equitable and prosperous net zero energy future.”

Sir Mark Hendrick MP said: “It was excellent to see at first-hand how the High Voltage Lab enables researchers to find new methods to innovate at pace.

“Swagֱ�� also makes a remarkable contribution in training 300 electrical engineers and supporting 150 PhD researchers in electrical power each year.

“My meeting with Maria was particularly informative with On Resilience covering several topics relevant to my work on the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee.

“Through Policy@Swagֱ��, I look forward to keeping in close touch with the latest research at the University in the months ahead.”    

Standards are involved in virtually every aspect of our lives. AMT/9 is responsible for the UK input to the work of IEC TC 119 (“Standardization in the field of printed electronics for terminology, materials , processes, equipment, products and health/safety/environment”) and IEC TC 124 Wearable Electronic Devices and Technologies (“Standardization in the field of wearable electronic devices and technologies which include patchable materials and devices, implantable materials and devices, edible materials and devices, and electronic textile materials and devices”). 

As a Chair of AMT/9, Leszek will lead the work of the committee with the aim to advise and guide the standardisation work in the area of sustainable printed electronics and wearable electronic devices and technologies. 

Leszek said, "I am delighted to be re-elected as a Chair of AMT/9 for another three years. This will allow me to continue leading the work of the committee and represent the UK as the Head of the UK Delegation during IEC TC 119 and 124 plenary meetings. 

Dr Majewski is the first Chair of AMT/9 from the University of Swagֱ��. This appointment not only confirms that he is nationally and internationally recognized as a highly competent, first-rate engineering expert, which strongly evidences a higher-level of achievement, but also reinforces the international reputation of Swagֱ�� as a leader in social responsibility. 

The Chancellor visited the High Voltage Lab – the largest university high voltage laboratory in the UK - where he was given a guided tour by Ian Cotton, Professor of High Voltage Technology, to showcase the University’s work in the areas of operation, planning and analysis of energy networks.

The tour started with a demonstration of the Lab’s 2MV impulse generator, which allows researchers to stress test equipment used on the grid by creating real-life lightning voltages. He then moved on to discuss the work of the lab, addressing three critical issues:

• Fast-tracking network upgrades by developing and testing new, innovative technologies ready for deployment onto the live electricity networks.
• Ensuring the power system is ready to transfer increased amounts of generation from new, renewable sources like wave power.
• Making the grid secure and ensuring the UK has access to reliable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable energy.

The Chancellor also had the chance to chat to a number of PhD students, whose work is also actively contributing to the reform of the system and find out how the University is contributing to the skills pipeline integral for the future of the power network.

In a closed-door meeting, energy experts at the University got the chance to ask the Chancellor questions and share their feedback about the government’s plans for the power network, including putting forward their own ideas for the future.

, Professor of High Voltage Technology at Swagֱ��, said: “It was a pleasure to host the Chancellor at the High Voltage Lab to showcase the work we are doing to solve the real-world challenges associated with ensuring the grid is ready to transfer the increased amounts of electrical energy we need to deliver net-zero.

“We really enjoyed sharing our unique skills, knowledge and equipment that we use to solve these problems and show how we are training a new generation of engineers to transform our energy system.

“The visit provided an invaluable opportunity to engage in insightful discussions regarding the Government's latest initiatives aimed at reforming the UK’s power network.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, added: “We are committed to transforming the Great British electricity network. The changes announced at Autumn Statement make it quicker and easier to build new infrastructure and could bring in upwards of £90 billion of global investment.

“Cutting edge facilities at our world-beating universities, such as the fantastic High Voltage Lab, will be at the forefront of this effort, leading the charge on the UK’s transition to Net Zero.”

The High Voltage Lab at Swagֱ�� is the largest electrical infrastructure test and research facility in UK academia. From the £9m lab, researchers collaborate with small businesses, large industry organisations and governments worldwide, sharing skills, knowledge and equipment to solve critical, real-world problems.

The lab uses the very latest equipment, capable of testing components that will be used on 400 kV power systems, enabling researchers to find new ways to innovate at pace.

The University is home to the largest power and energy system group in the UK, training 300 electrical engineers a year and supporting 150 PhD researchers in electrical power ensuring a new generation of engineers skilled to transform our energy system.

,  Senior Lecturer in Electric and Electronic Engineering, said: “The High Voltage Lab and our expertise plays a major part in the technology, innovation and skills supply chain needed for our net zero future.  From finding innovative ways to maintain the thousands of pylons across the grid, to de-risking superconductors for future power transmission, we work on a range of projects at all technology readiness levels to make sure we maximise the potential of both the equipment and our research expertise, to accelerate the development of our future electrical network.”

Find out more about the and .

MEEPS 2023 was themed ‘Navigating the Energy Transition: Challenges and Solutions’ – to provide an avenue to discuss opportunities and possible solutions to energy challenges, in attaining a more sustainable energy future. The event programme consisted of three keynote speeches from delegates, two Women-in-Power talks and MEEPS research competition – 6 Oral and 14 Poster presentations. 

We would sincerely like to appreciate the kind support of our diverse sponsors (Scottish Power Energy Networks, TNEI, Weidmann and the University of Swagֱ�� Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering) and our supporters (IEEE Women-in-Power (WiP) UK&I, IET, IEEE PES and IEEE UK&I) which made this event a success. Special thanks go to the passionate and hard-working student branch committee members and also student volunteers from the University of Swagֱ��. 

According to the feedback we collected after the event, 98% of the attendees expressed that they strongly agreed they are glad to have attended MEEPS 2023. The IEEE PES SBC at UoM would like to thank all participants for attending the event and special thanks again to all the sponsors and guests. For more information about MEEPS 2023 and IEEE PES SBC UoM, please visit the .

(PDF document) 
 

The purpose of the consortium will be to provide Sellafield Ltd with technical support as it delivers its long-term objectives of safely inspecting and decommissioning their facilities using remote technologies.

Sellafield Ltd have made considerable progress with the deployment of robots to address challenges on its site. However, there are many challenges that remain, many of which cannot be solved using currently available commercial technologies.

The academic consortium will be led by Professor Barry Lennox and Dr Simon Watson at Swagֱ�� and supported by groups at The University of Bristol, led by Professor Tom Scott, and The University of Oxford, led by Professor Nick Hawes. Sellafield Ltd’s engagement with the academic consortium will be led by its Robotics and Manufacturing Lead, Dr Melissa Willis.

Melissa Willis, Robotics and Manufacturing Research Lead at Sellafield Ltd, added: “We are excited by the opportunities that this consortium provides us with and are confident that their technical expertise will help us to deliver the benefits that robotics technology offers us on the Sellafield site.”

The consortium has considerable experience of working with Sellafield Ltd, having all been involved in the RAIN (Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for Nuclear) hub, and more recently Swagֱ�� has provided the academic leadership for the Robotics and AI Collaboration (RAICo) in Cumbria.

Experience of the consortium includes the design, development and deployment of mobile robots in a range of air, land and aquatic environments in the UK and overseas.

Working collaboratively with Sellafield Ltd, researchers at Swagֱ�� developed AVEXIS, which can be deployed into aquatic facilities with access ports as small as 150 mm and collect visual and radiometric data. The commercial version of AVEXIS was the first robot to be deployed into Sellafield’s Magnox Swarf Storage Silos and its use at Fukushima Daiichi has been explored.

The University of Oxford’s Robotics Institute (ORI) have developed a range of mapping and mission planning technologies that can be used by robots, such as Boston Dynamics’ Spot to autonomously monitor facilities and identify unexpected changes.

Using quadrotor and fixed wing vehicles, the University of Bristol have developed technology able to map radioactivity levels over large areas of land. The technology has been deployed successfully in the UK and overseas, with the image showing a radiation dose map generated over the Red Forest area of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, with the orange/red areas showing regions of elevated gamma dose rates.

Five finalists were selected from all nominees based on their biographies, and more than 1000 EUCAS 2023 attendees, from all over the world, voted for board members from the five finalists. Hongye had been nominated by three ESAS board members. 

Hongye, born in 1993, is the youngest of the new ESAS board members. He is currently working on the £54M collaborative H2GEAR programme to push hydrogen technology and accelerate aerospace decarbonisation to zero emissions, along with Prof Alexander C. Smith, Dr Matteo F. Iacchetti, Dr Judith Apsley and others. 

As an ESAS board member, Hongye will bolster the prominence of Superconducting Electric Drives for Net Zero Transport by advocating for its significance in social, scientific, educational, industrial, and political circles. Moreover, he is dedicated to cultivating robust communication within the domain of Applied Superconductivity through the facilitation of a wide array of activities, such as conferences, workshops, and schools, utilising the ESAS platform as a catalyst for collaboration and knowledge exchange. 

ESAS was founded on September 4, 1998, in Frankfurt, Germany. Its goals are: 

• to strengthen the position of Applied Superconductivity, especially in Europe; 
• to represent Applied Superconductivity in social, scientific, educational, industrial and political forums; 
• to promote communication in the area of Applied Superconductivity. 

Hongye said, "I would like to acknowledge the support from the Department of EEE Fellowship Bursary and the School Research Pump Priming Scheme for my conference trips." 

Dr Hongye Zhang is the first ESAS board member from the University of Swagֱ��. This news does not only serve as high recognition of Dr Hongye ZHANG’s research excellence and international visibility, but will also greatly enhance the international reputation of Swagֱ�� in Applied Superconductivity. 

ESAS Board members are elected for a six year term, and serve alongside representatives of the Applied Superconductivity Educational Foundation (ASEF) Board, a representative of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Council on Superconductivity (IEEE-CSC), up to two members from Asia, two members from CONsortium of European Companies Determined To Use Superconductivity (CONECTUS) and the chairs of the previous and forthcoming European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS) conferences.

As part of the developing institutional relationship with the (NPL) Swagֱ�� has appointed as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, part of the School of Engineering.  

Olga Kazakova joined the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in 2002, becoming an NPL Fellow in 2019. Her research interests include functional (electronic, optical, magnetic and thermal) (sub)nanoscale studies of quantum materials and the development of novel sensing approaches.

Olga is an author of 190 peer-refereed publications and has delivered over 180 presentations at scientific conferences.

She is a recipient of numerous national and international awards, including the Intel European Research and Innovation Award (2008), NPL Rayleigh Award and Serco Global Pulse Award (2011).

Olga is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and a Scientific Area Leader for Quantum Materials in Sensors at NPL. She is actively involved in the Materials for Quantum Network (), being a Chair of the Spin & Topology Material Interest Group and an Executive Committee representative. She is also a member of several industrial advisory boards, including the Henry Royce Institute (), and the .

Professor Richard Curry, Vice Dean for Research and Innovation for the Faculty of Science and Engineering, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to appoint Olga as our first Visiting Professor from the UK’s National Physical Laboratory. Not only is Olga a world class scientist working at the leading edge of this exciting area, but her appointment will also further strengthen Swagֱ��’s relationship with the National Physical Laboratory, helping to pave the way for further collaboration between the two institutions.”

The IEEE PES Student Branch Chapter (SBC) at Swagֱ�� has hosted its biggest annual event – MEEPS 2022, the Swagֱ�� Energy and Electrical Power Systems Symposium. 

More than 60 people – 47 of whom were IEEE members – from 13 universities attended the in-person event on Friday, 11 November at the Core Technology Facility in Swagֱ��. Delegates arrived from universities as far away as Sweden and India, and most were students and independent researchers, sponsor representatives and guests from industry and academia. 

MEEPS 2022 was themed ‘Towards a Sustainable Energy Future’, and provided an avenue to discuss opportunities and possible solutions to different energy challenges. The event programme consisted of keynote speeches, Women-in-Power talks and a MEEPS research competition – seven oral and 13 poster presentations. 

Professor Mike Barnes, Head of the Power and Energy Division at Swagֱ��, gave the opening address and shared insights on the UK’s Integrated Grid 2050 plans, and keynote speeches were delivered by Dr Diptargha Chakravorty, a Principal Consultant with TNEI Services; David Botterill, General Manager at Weidmann Whiteley Ltd; and Dr Pablo Briff, Research and Development Manager at GE Renewable Energy. 

IEEE Women-in-Power guest speakers included Siva Kaviya, Trichy Siva Raman, from TNEI Services, and Dr Angeliki Loukatou from National Grid ESO, while Dr Robin Preece, SBC Academic Advisor, provided general closing remarks, and SBC Chair Omoniyi Akinpelumi helped to announce the awards for best oral, research for industry (ROI), and IEEE region eight local poster contests. 

These awards went to Alice Jansson of the University of Lund in Sweden (best oral presentation), Kathleen Davies of the University of Strathclyde in Scotland (best poster and ROI awards), and Zaichun Zhang of Swagֱ�� (region eight local poster). 

For more information about MEEPS 2022, visit the .

, Reader (Associate Professor) in the , has been chosen to join the third round of the . 

FLIER – Future Leaders in Innovation, Enterprise and Research – is a unique programme developing leaders of the future who can create collaborations across academia, industry, the NHS and government to drive innovation. 

So far, 35 FLIERs have progressed through the two-year immersive, cross-sector learning experience, and Dr Casson is among 19 participants selected to join the third round of the programme. Participants have been drawn from organisations across the UK life sciences landscape, and this latest round will run from June 2022 to June 2024. 

Dr Casson's research focuses on non-invasive bioelectronic interfaces: the design and application of wearable sensors, and skin-conformal flexible sensors, for human body monitoring and data analysis from highly artefact prone naturalistic situations. 

He is renowned for his work on wearable devices, spanning from hardware for flexible electronics to signal processing and analysing the 100,000-plus wearable accelerometer records in the UK Biobank; and for wearables for non-invasive brain interfacing. Applications of his work include in long COVID, autism, chronic pain, and rehabilitation. 

Three students from Swagֱ��'s have been named among the finalists of the . 

To be held on Friday, 29 April at a prestigious awards ceremony in London, the event – now in its 13th year – brings together prominent employers and talented undergraduates for 12 diverse awards. 

A total of 120 student finalists have been selected from almost 4,000 applicants, with all entrants required to complete an application, an online assessment with situational, numerical and inductive reasoning tests, and a range of interview stages. 

From Swagֱ��, Jacques Burgess (aerospace engineering) has been shortlisted for the Excellence through Adversity Undergraduate of the Year 2022; Jesy Luyengi (mathematics and related) is a finalist for the Black Heritage Undergraduate of the Year 2022; and Aneesa Riaz (electrical engineering) is up for the Undergraduate of the Year Celebrating Neurodiverse Talent 2022. 

Each of the 12 awards are partnered by a prominent graduate recruiter, which provides prizes for the winner – including a paid internship, trips abroad, and other exclusive opportunities. 

Among the partners are employers and professional bodies including the likes of AECOM, CIMA, Clifford Chance, Clyde and Co, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, HSBC, Rolls-Royce, Sky and Skyscanner. 

• designing control systems with a focus on bio-inspired solutions to mechatronics, eg the use of biomimetic sensors, actuators and robot platforms; 
• developing new software engineering and AI methodologies for verification in autonomous systems, with the aim to design trustworthy autonomous systems; 
• researching human-robot interaction, with a pioneering focus on the use of brain-inspired approaches to robot control, learning and interaction; and 
• research in ethics and human-centred robotics issues, for the understanding of the impact of the use of robots and autonomous systems with individuals and society. 

Angelo Cangelosi, Professor of Machine Learning and Robotics at Swagֱ��, said the University offers a world-leading position in the field of autonomous systems – a technology that is set to revolutionise our lives and workplaces. 

"Swagֱ��'s robotics community has achieved a critical mass of expertise – however, our approach in the designing of robots and autonomous systems for real world applications is distinctive through our novel use of AI-based knowledge," added Professor Cangelosi. 

"Our robot pioneers therefore find themselves on the interface between robotics, autonomy and AI – and their knowledge is drawn from across the University's disciplines, including humanities and biological and medical sciences. 

"Our University now has the potential to build on these solid foundations and further establish itself as a world leader in this important and rapidly growing field with the establishment of the new interdisciplinary Swagֱ�� Centre for Robotics and AI." 

The new centre has hosted an inaugural workshop – attracting more than 90 delegates – to bring a strategic focus to the robot and AI community at Swagֱ��, and looks to share expertise and innovation. 

Ofgem announced on 1 March 2022 the funding award for the  feasibility study and Dr Tony Chen will investigate the technical feasibility of a SF₆-free GIL solution in providing high-capacity transmission connections over long-distance.

Current generation of GIL are filled with sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential that is 23,500 times more harmful than CO₂. The project will explore SF₆ alternatives with significantly lower carbon footprint.

The feasibility stage will be undertaken by Dr Chen at Swagֱ�� which hosts the largest academic High Voltage Laboratory in the country, with facilities that can test power equipment up to 600 kV DC, 800 kV AC, and 2 MV impulse.

Dr Chen, Lecturer in High Voltage Engineering within the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, said: “Now is the time for innovation and to develop a grid of the future that manages soaring demand for electricity, while lowering the potential environmental impact and ensuring the UK has access to affordable and resilient electricity supply.

“At Swagֱ��, we are committed to delivering a just and prosperous net zero energy, and are honoured to work alongside National Grid Energy Transmission and the other project partners who share the same technical and civic ambitions.” 

of the has been named winner of the 2021 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Instrumentation and Measurement Society (IMS) Best Application award.

Each year the IEEE IMS gives out just one award for Best Application in Instrumentation and Measurement, and this year Professor Yang is recognised for the impact of his work on online monitoring of fluidised beds using electrical capacitance tomography (ECT).

The annual award is in recognition of an individual whose idea applies measurement concepts of instrumentation technology in a novel way to benefit society. This year the society honoured Professor Yang for the impact of his work on online monitoring of fluidised beds using ECT in three aspects.

These are: pharmaceutical manufacturing, in particular drying, granulation and coating processes; methanol-to-olefin (MTO) conversion, essentially the conversion of coal (instead of oil) to plastics; and clean coal combustion, by making use of circulating fluidised beds to generate electricity.

Formal presentation of the award will be made at the IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Conference awards ceremony, which will be held in May 2022 in Ottawa, Canada.

The Board of Directors has appointed , Professor of Electrical Power Engineering and Deputy Head of the , to the position of IEEE Fellow Committee Member.

IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organisation, with over 400,000 members in more than 160 countries dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. The term of Professor Milanović's appointment is 1 January 2022 through to 31 December 2023.

52 members of the IEEE Fellows Committee are IEEE Fellows, representing the ten IEEE regions, and 46 IEEE societies/technical councils and various affiliations. The IEEE Fellows Committee is responsible for making recommendations to the IEEE Board of Directors for nominees to be elevated to the grade of Fellow.

IEEE Fellow is a distinction reserved for select IEEE members whose extraordinary accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest are deemed fitting of this prestigious grade elevation.

Also, in July this year the Governing Board of the IEEE Power and Energy Society appointed Professor Milanović Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, effective from 1 January 2022 and renewable annually for up to six years in total.

The IEEE Transactions on Power Systems is widely regarded as the most prestigious journal in the world (impact factor 6.663) in the area of electrical power engineering, with scope covering the education, analysis, operation, planning, and economics of electric generation, transmission, and distribution systems for general industrial, commercial, public, and domestic consumption, including interaction with multi-energy carriers.

Professor Milanović, recipient of the Swagֱ�� Doctoral College Excellence Award – Supervisor of the Year Award in the Faculty of Science and Engineering 2019/20, is a Chartered Engineer in the UK, Foreign member of the Serbian Academy of Engineering Sciences, Fellow of the IET, Fellow of the IEEE, Distinguished IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Lecturer, Immediate past-Chair of the IEEE Herman Halperin Transmission and Distribution Award Committee, Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Systems and Power Engineering Letters, and a member of the IEEE PES Industry Technical Support Leadership Committee.

He was a member of the IEEE PES Governing Board as Regional Representative for Europe, Middle East and Africa for six years, and a member and vice-chair of the IEEE PES Fellows Evaluation Committee for three years.

The evening consisted of a three-course meal, and was attended by approximately 180 members of the institute. The victorious students received a certificate and gift voucher.

Both the attendance of the students and the prizes given were sponsored by the InstMC and – sponsors of the Embedded Systems Project.

The meal was attended by Dr Liam Marsh, coordinator of the Embedded Systems Project, and Professor William Heath, Head of the .

Dr Marsh was invited to introduce the group and to summarise their achievements, before the students were invited up to the stage for the presentation. He said: "The annual presentation of awards to winning teams is always a fantastic way to recognise the achievements of the students. It is an event that was sadly missed last year with the impact of Covid.

"This was the first Embedded Systems Project to take place remotely. At no point in the 2020-21 academic year were all of these students in the same country, let alone the same room; this makes their achievements all the more remarkable. I'm extremely pleased that with the help of the InstMC, and project sponsors Sella Controls, we have been able to recognise the achievements of these students after the difficulties of the last 18 months."

Academics, researchers and associated staff in the group exhibited their work, which featured interactive digital content and culminated with more than 40 participants building and testing DIY metal detectors in their homes.

The EM Sensing Group, part of the , was initially selected to participate in the 2020 exhibition, but this was sadly postponed due to COVID-19. It instead took place as an online event in the summer of 2021.

Entitled , the exhibition was built on a range of digital content relating to the work going on in the group, led by Professor Tony Peyton, which relates to the development of new technologies for the detection of landmines. The formation of the exhibition in this way opened up the content to wider and more diverse audiences.

The exhibition featured several aspects, much of which remains online for audiences to continue to access and interact with following the conclusion of the event. One of the main pieces of content was an online demining game, produced in partnership with , which served to highlight some of the challenges experienced by deminers, and the potential that technology can bring to characterise buried objects without the need for excavation.

Professor Peyton also recorded a that highlighted key aspects of the research in a ten-minute video, and members of the EM Sensing Group were available to answer questions from the public.

The exhibition concluded with an online workshop, where 42 attendees were able to construct and test basic metal detectors. Attendees had pre-registered for the event online, and were sent kits by the group. The activity was designed by Dr Liam Marsh and Dr Michael O'Toole, with Dr O'Toole leading the workshop session, aided by researchers from the group.

Professor Peter Green and Dr Cheng (Gus) Zhang could not be separated by the judges and were jointly awarded first place.

Dr Laith Danoon and Dr Liam Marsh received Distinguished Achievement Awards in the same category, and Dr Ogi Marjanovic received a commendation from the panel. Each of these members of staff are lecturers in EEE, and four of the top five places went to academics from the Department. Eight out of the ten special awards in this category were also awarded between these members of academic staff.

EEE academics also received awards for Excellence in Research Supervision, with Dr Alexandru Stancu awarded runner up, and Dr Liam Marsh receiving second runner up.

The awards were hosted by the Chemistry PASS (Peer-assisted Study Sessions) team, and featured several categories for which students were able to nominate lecturers and other staff who they felt were deserving of recognition.

They followed further recognition for teaching in EEE in May, when Dr Robin Preece and Dr Liam Marsh .

Held across two days in July, the event featured illuminating presentations by distinguished lecturers in the field of electric transportation, as well as research discussions by PhD students and postdocs from universities around the world.

The event attracted 229 registrations and 156 attendees, including people from South America, North America, Africa, Asia and Europe, with most attendees from India.

It presented an opportunity to engage in discussion and question-and-answer sessions with a variety of professionals from different academic backgrounds, and prizes were awarded for outstanding presentations. Positive feedback was received through Google Forms, social media, and email.

IAS is a newly-established student branch chapter in the at Swagֱ�� - it is just one year old - and the symposium was organised by a group of just six people, four of whom are PhD students.

Swagֱ�� will take a key role alongside the (NPL) other partners to stimulate and support the rapid growth of the UK’s machinery manufacturing sector as it transitions to highly integrated digital solutions with sophisticated automated and autonomous robotic systems. It will enable invention, realise innovation, and increase the adoption of new machinery and robotics through UK equipment manufacturers.

This funding has been provided through UK Research and Innovation’s flagship Strength in Places Fund (SIPF). This funding provides the stimulus for AMPI in its journey to become a pivotal UK intervention, centred around existing capabilities and research excellence across the North of England. The support provided through AMPI and its partner organisations will provide benefit to businesses across the region, positively impacting direct and indirect local employment, as well as UK industry export.

Professor Luke Georghiou, the University’s Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for business engagement and commercialisation, has said: “We greatly welcome the opportunity AMPI gives us to work with NPL and our other partners to apply our strengths in advanced materials and related technologies to support leading-edge innovation. Bringing together these capabilities will support manufacturers in driving up productivity and making Rochdale and the North of England more generally a globally competitive hub for the sector.”

In the longer term, AMPI is expected to grow the UK’s advanced machinery capability to a £2bn export capacity within 10 years establishing over 30,000 high value manufacturing sector jobs.

NPL will manage the programme and will be working in partnership with Rochdale-based precision machine tool maker Precision Technologies Group (Holroyd), Fives Landis, Wayland Additive, CR Solutions, Rochdale Development Agency, Advanced Machinery & Productivity Initiative Ltd, University of Huddersfield’s Centre for Precision Technologies (CPT), University of Leeds’ Institute of Design, Robotics and Optimisation, Swagֱ��’s Departments of Materials and Electrical and Electronic Engineering and University of Salford’s Centre for Autonomous Systems & Advanced Robotics (ASAR).

The North of England has an active and high concentration of industrial expertise in the design, development and manufacture of complex machinery. This machinery is used in a wide range of industries to manufacture products such as pharmaceuticals, food and drink, and automotive components. The North of England also has some of the world's leading academics in industrial research, including robotics, advanced materials, automation, metrology and artificial intelligence.

In the first industrial revolution it wasn’t the wool or cotton that made the North of England prosper but the machines and the way the wool and cotton was spun and woven in the mills. As we enter the fourth industrial revolution, AMPI and the associated consortium is focussed on developing world leading machinery innovation, automation and production capabilities needed to ensure the productivity, security, and prosperity of the manufacturing sector across Greater Swagֱ�� and West Yorkshire and for the UK economy as a whole.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said, “Manufacturing has always been key to creating jobs and spreading opportunity. Today’s £22.6 million investment, which could create up to 560 high skilled jobs across West Yorkshire and Greater Swagֱ��, shows that as we move into a world where industry adopts more automated and autonomous robotic systems, this is still the case. This investment is part of the Innovation Strategy we have published today, which outlines how we plan to harness the skills and ingenuity of every corner of the UK in order to cement our status as a global Science Superpower.”

Dr Peter Thompson FREng, CEO, NPL “We are delighted to be leading a strong consortium of industrialists and academics who will be working together to develop the next generation of advanced machinery in a region rich in industrial capability and full of future potential. Measurement is vital to all advanced technology and it is particularly important for the accurate and reliable operation of advanced machinery and the quality of its outputs. Measurement is also a critical enabler for business growth, improving efficiency and productivity, providing confidence through verified products and quality control, as well as faster product development. We are ready to apply our world-leading metrology, the science of measurement, to industrial and applied innovation and to provide confidence in the data associated with this by evaluating uncertainty, providing traceability, and enabling reliable decision-making. NPL’s leadership of this programme is a demonstration of our commitment to deliver impact across the UK, supporting the UK Government’s levelling up agenda.”

Gareth Edwards, AMPI Programme Director, NPL “As the lead of this programme I am delighted to be working with such a strong and passionate consortium of experts. Collaboration and partnership will be at the heart of this initiative and we look forward to engaging with the advanced machinery community as we move forward. Through this programme the team will deliver ground-breaking innovation, provide a platform for UK industry to develop its ideas and be a beacon of diversity and opportunity for people coming into the field.

Dr Tony Bannan OBE, CEO of Precision Technologies Group (Holroyd) “Manufacturing is not only a key driver of economic growth, but also an essential part of the UK economy, contributing £192bn per annum. In short, it’s vital we stay ahead of the game. The UK is the world’s ninth largest manufacturer [Source: Make UK, 2019]. Through AMPI our aim is to help ensure UK manufacturing is equipped to lead the way in the creation of tomorrow’s intelligent, integrated manufacturing technologies – as well as the materials those machine tools will use. We believe that the creation of a new, highly accessible centre for innovation in specialised machinery and machine tool technologies and productivity will help put UK manufacturers of all sizes ahead of their counterparts in Europe and beyond, by focusing on the development of advanced manufacturing processes that don’t exist today.”

Councillor John Blundell cabinet member for economy and communications and board member at the Rochdale Development Agency, “As one of the first industrialised towns in Britain and with a reputation for innovation in manufacturing, Rochdale is the ideal location for AMPI,” The institute will generate wealth, improve skills and deliver prosperity for both Rochdale and the North of England.”

Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, UK Research and Innovation’s Chief Executive said: "UK Research and Innovation funding through the Strength in Places Fund brings researchers, industry and local leadership together in outstanding collaborative programmes that catalyse significant economic growth. The projects funded in this round are excellent illustrations of how local partnerships in research and innovation can contribute to building an inclusive knowledge economy for the UK."

is one of Swagֱ��’s - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest challenges facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

Held on 14 June 2021, the 26th annual Peer Support Awards celebrated a year of online peer support mentoring. Olivia Del Pino Herrera was presented with an Outstanding Contribution Award, and was described as the "MVP of EEE PASS" and even "a living god".

The final award of the evening was the Outstanding Scheme Award for the Unsung Scheme. The standard in this category was very high, with six nominated schemes in the running. The award is presented to the scheme that has shown resilience and endurance through challenges.

As the winners, the EEE PASS Scheme was said to have "never given up where others might, and always strived to achieve its goals when it has faced resistance. The winning scheme has demonstrated unwavering commitment to focussing their support on the needs of their students".

The presenter of the award, Director of Teaching, Learning and Student Development Louise Walmsley, added the scheme has "run innovative debriefs in areas such as careers and placements". She said: "One line in their application summed it up for me - PASS means one thing, family."

Congratulations to Olivia Del Pino Herrera, Joshua Bettles, Minh Vu, Szabolcs Arnodi and Toluwani Soboyejo, and all others involved in EEE PASS, on this excellent achievement.

On Friday, 7 May ten members of staff conducted the race on campus, under strict social distancing measures. They implemented buggy configurations that the students had been working on all semester, and raced the ten fastest buggies to have qualified from heats earlier in the week.

Nine groups successfully completed the track, with the winners, Group 32, setting an impressive time of two minutes, eight seconds. Group 13 came second, at two minutes, 15 seconds, and Group 38 placed third, at two minutes, 18 seconds.

The Department would like to congratulate the students of Group 32 - Aneesa Riaz, Dongjun Ma, Justin Tan, Rishab Gupta, Sofia Beniadis and Zehao Jin - as well as their supervisor, Dr Alexandru Stancu, on their success.

The Embedded Systems Project is undertaken by all students, who work in groups to design and build autonomous line-following buggies. These then undergo a series of assessed practical tests, with the fastest buggies qualifying to take part in the final race.

In normal years, race day sees over 200 staff and students in attendance, and a huge, unseen, custom-built track put in place for buggies to race on. This year's race took place remotely, with staff and students viewing via a .

The project traditionally requires students to work on campus to build and test their buggies, however circumstances this year meant this was not possible. The Department was able to arrange to ship around 100 buggies out to students for them to work on remotely, and the students were able to have Zoom labs with staff on campus to test the buggy configurations on specially constructed tracks.

This arrangement was made possible through the use of a common robotic platform, the Puzzlebot, designed by colleagues within the Department and led by Dr Stancu.

A total of eight new projects have been launched to develop and test cutting-edge new wave energy technologies - and two involve academics from the Faculty of Science and Engineering's School of Engineering.

Supported by a £7.5 million investment by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the projects will build on the UK's leading role in marine wave energy, helping to overcome challenges to devices that capture the energy generated by waves and convert it into renewable sources of electricity.

Led by of the , the project entitled 'Mooring analysis and design for offshore WEC survivability and fatigue (MoorWEC)' will model the impact of waves on various mooring options to generate key information and efficient modelling methods to aid the design of resilient future wave energy converters (WECs).

This is important because the mooring is the most vulnerable part of WECs, which can be damaged by extreme waves or the attrition caused by waves over time.

of the is involved in the project entitled 'System-level co-design and control of large capacity wave energy converters with multiple PTOs'. Led by Dr Guang Li of Queen Mary University of London and also involving Professor Mike Belmont of the University of Exeter, this project aims to take a 'whole device' approach, rather than concentrating on individual components, to address issues such as energy output and reliability.

This is because WECs consist of multiple energy conversion stages and components to capture wave energy and convert it to electricity, with each stage operating under its own constraints.

Energy is one of Swagֱ��’s research beacons - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest challenges facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

Airam Perez Guillen, a third-year student in the , has been awarded second place in the .

The annual award recognises students who have contributed to electronics and to incentivising other younger students to choose to study electronics in the future.

Airam has been recognised for his abilities as an engineer, which include his academic achievements, but also for his wider engagement within the field. This covers, for instance, industrial placements and providing a meaningful contribution to inspiring future generations to study engineering.

The latter is evidenced by significant engagement within the current cohort of students, via SSLC and PASS, but also through significant engagement with younger audiences through his role as a STEM Ambassador.

During his studies, Airam has undertaken a placement year with EDA Solutions, which has also contributed directly to this award.

Congratulations Airam!

Scientists from Swagֱ�� are to work alongside researchers from Lancaster University to investigate the best way to use robots to clean up radioactivity, following the awarding of a £1.49 million grant from the EPSRC.

The project, entitled 'Advancing location accuracy via collimated nuclear assay for decommissioning robotic applications' - or ALACANDRA - involves of the and of the , as well as Professor Malcolm Joyce and Professor James Taylor from Lancaster University.

It will explore how robots can be deployed into radioactive facilities, such as those on the Sellafield site, to better measure, map and locate sources of radiation.

Sending robots - such as the Jackal robot carrying a collimated gamma detector (pictured) - in to map radiological areas has two problems:

• Radioactivity is often dispersed, with contamination arising from leaks, splashes, tide marks in vessels and migrating into porous materials, yielding a 3D distribution in space. Radiation detector systems and imagers have difficulty with this.
• Contaminated places are often cluttered with process equipment, detritus and construction materials, which can cause the radiation to scatter and also absorb it. This influences the 'picture' and can influence how much radioactivity is thought to be present.

ALACANDRA will investigate how measurements made using on-board detectors can be interpreted to better understand the location and activity of radiation sources within the environment.

Specifically, the project will attempt to identify the transfer properties that govern the response of collimated radiation imaging systems when they are used to characterise radioactive contamination on board mobile robotic platforms.

has been named the 2021 recipient of the from the IEEE UK and Ireland PES Chapter.

Senior Lecturer in the , Dr Parisio has been the principal or co-investigator on various research projects at Swagֱ�� with the support of EPSRC, Innovate UK, EC H2020, and other industrial partners.

These projects, in the areas of building energy management and distributed control for grid service provision, total around £4 million of the University's share.

The IEEE PES Outstanding Engineer Award was established in 1994 by the PES Executive Board. It recognises outstanding technical, professional and societal contributions on behalf of the power engineer profession.

Dr Parisio is IEEE senior member, Vice-Chair for Education of the IFAC Technical Committee 9.3. Control for Smart Cities, and Editor of the Elsevier journals Sustainable Energy, Grids and Networks (SEGAN) and Results in Control and Optimisation (RICO), and the IEEE Transactions on Automation and Science Engineering (TASE).

Her main research interests include energy management systems under uncertainty, model predictive control, and distributed optimisation for power systems. She was awarded the Energy and Buildings Best Paper Award in 2019.

Congratulations Dr Parisio!

The online events will take place throughout the week commencing Monday, 14 December as part of wider celebrations across Swagֱ��. They will provide an opportunity for both staff and students to mark winter graduation after physical ceremonies were postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

FSE graduation celebrations will be spread over the week, with events held for mathematics; mechanical, aerospace and civil engineering (MACE) - technical; MACE - management of projects; physics and astronomy; electrical and electronic engineering; international fashion retailing; materials science and engineering; chemical engineering and analytical science; earth and environmental sciences; computer science; and chemistry.

The move online means students will be able to celebrate regardless of where they are currently situated. It shows that while they may not be in the city at the moment, Swagֱ�� is behind its graduates as they take their next steps out into the world.

Each subject area will celebrate in its own unique way - either via YouTube or Zoom. Dates and times - and links to those on YouTube - are provided below:

School of Engineering

• - Wednesday, 16 December, 11.30am
• - Wednesday, 16 December, 9am
• - Thursday, 17 December, 11.30am
• - Friday, 18 December, 12pm
• - Friday, 18 December, 10am

School of Natural Sciences

• Chemistry - Thursday, 17 December, 11am (link available soon)
• Earth and environmental sciences - Monday, 14 December, 10am (link available soon)
• Materials: International fashion retailing - Wednesday, 16 December, 2pm (link available soon)
• Materials science and engineering - Tuesday, 15 December, 2pm (link available soon)
• Mathematics - Wednesday, 16 December, 10am (link available after the event) 
• Physics and astronomy - Tuesday, 15 December, 11am (link available after the event)

A huge congratulations to all of our FSE graduates, and the best of luck for the future!

, a Professor in Communications in the , has received not one but two international recognitions for his research.

Professor Ding has been awarded the prestigious from the German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, recognising his pioneering work on non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), a promising enabling technology for the design of beyond 5G mobile networks.

The award is conferred in recognition of the winner's entire academic record to date. Each year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation selects just 20 internationally renowned academics from abroad to receive this prestigious award, acknowledging their outstanding accomplishments in research.

Named for German astronomer and mathematician Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (1784–1846), the prize is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

In addition, Professor Ding has been named in the Web of Science's . The list identifies scientists who have produced high-impact research articles ranking in the top 1% by citations for their fields - a prestigious recognition for demonstrating significant research influence among peers.

He was recognised in two ESI categories simultaneously, engineering and computer science, and was one of just 203 researchers from the 6,389 highly cited researchers - drawn from various fields and nearly 60 nations - to do so.

Not only did the Student Branch collect the Exemplary Student Branch Award of 2020, but its PES Student Chapter also won two Darrel Chong Student Activity Awards, as well as the PES High Performing Student Branch Chapter Award (second regional position across Africa, Europe, Middle East).

The awards are based on activities delivered by the 2019-20 committee, and stand for appreciation of the hard work and enthusiastic drive of the committee members.

Comprising PhD students and academic advisers from the , the Student Branch and its PES Chapter Committee operates on a volunteer basis in a 'by students for students' manner, and organises a wide range of activities within the Department.

These include annual academic symposium MEEPS professional development workshops, Women in Engineering events, technical lectures, site visits and more.

If anyone is looking for opportunities to volunteer on the committee, they should consider applying at the next annual general meeting, in February 2021. Roles and positions will be circulated nearer the time. The Student Branch also welcomes interests in establishing new student branch chapters of other IEEE societies.

For details on how to do so, please contact the Student Branch's counsellor .

Held between Wednesday, 4 November and Friday, 6 November, the event attracted 244 registrations (118 are IEEE members), including researchers around the world, as well as sponsor representatives and guests from industry and academia.

Themed 'Envisioning the Power and Energy Systems in an Industry 4.0 Era', the event was aimed at solving energy challenges, providing low-carbon affordable energy to the community, and embracing the coming industry 4.0 era.

Day one started with an opening address from , a Senior Lecturer in Future Power Systems and also the academic adviser of the IEEE PES SBC at Swagֱ��. His speech gave an insight into the challenges of modern and future power systems, inspiring young researchers to find solutions to those challenges. 

The presentation session one, with the topic of 'Planning and Operation of Future Power Networks', began with a keynote speech delivered by Dr Gruffudd Edwards from TNEI, stressing the decision-makings in industrial practical cases when facing uncertainties. Afterwards, six research students shared their works through oral presentations, with well-participated questions-and-answers.

On day two, the first session was 'Women in Power', delivered by three invited female guest speakers. Dr Jelena Ponocko, a Lecturer at Swagֱ��, shared her career path and also gave an introduction on the IEEE PES Women in Power (WiP) and the UKRI section. Dr Angeliki Loukatou, from EDF Energy, briefed her experience in both academia and the industry, followed by her lessons from energy storage projects. 

Dr Ivana Kockar of the University of Strathclyde gave a deep insight into utilising power systems flexibility sources, and discussed features of future cyber-physical power systems in the industry 4.0 era. Following the 'Women in Power' session, six PhD students/Research Assistants shared their work, with the common goal of achieving sustainable development, and took part in a question-and-answer session.

The third-day presentation topic 'Advanced Technologies Applied to Power Systems' started with a keynote speech by Carl Barker from General Electric. He discussed the advancement of using HVDC to integrate offshore wind into the AC grid, with illustrations of the latest development from the industry. 

Five young researchers then shared their works, and participated in a question-and-answer session. David Thornton gave closing remarks for the event, and briefly introduced advanced technology in future power systems - especially the application of converters and power electronics. The awards of the best presentations and research for industry were announced by invited guests and the SBC chair, Siwei Liu, at the end of the event.

Although MEEPS 2020 had to shift online due to the coronavirus pandemic, the passionate and hard-working student branch members and the kind support of its guests and sponsors made the event a success. According to feedback collected after the event, 93% strongly agreed that they were glad to have attended, with many praising it for being "well-organised" with "a good variety of presentations".

The IEEE PES SBC at Swagֱ�� would like to thank all participants for attending the event, with special thanks for the industrial sponsors TNEI, General Electric and PPM Power.

To be held between 12 and 15 June 2022, the 17th International Conference on Probabilistic Modelling Applied to Power Systems (PMAPS) will be chaired by . It follows EEE's successful organisation of two previous leading conferences in the area of electrical power engineering.

In December 2011 the 2nd IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Innovative Smart Grid Technologies - Europe conference attracted 511 delegates, while the 12th IEEE PES PowerTech conference, held in June 2017, attracted 689.

The International Conference on PMAPS will be the third major international conference financially and/or technically sponsored by the IEEE Power and Energy Society that will be organised by Swagֱ�� academics working in the area of power systems and chaired by Professor Milanovic.

Alongside Professor Milanovic (General Chair), the conference leadership team will include (Technical Programme Chair), (Publications Chair) and (Web and Communications Chair).

The award of this conference to Swagֱ�� can be seen as recognition by the international electrical power engineering community of the sustained high-quality research carried out by Swagֱ�� academics in the area of electrical power systems in particular, and electrical power engineering in general.

Dr Qiang Liu from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) delivered an invited keynote speech on ‘Streamer and Breakdown Mechanisms of Dielectric Liquids’. PhD student Berihu Mebrahtom won an IEEE Caixin Sun and Stan Grzybowski Best Student Paper Award for “Development of a dual-temperature test cell for laboratory ageing experiment of transformer insulation systems”. The paper presented the design, construction and verification of a dual-temperature test system for the ageing assessment of various transformer insulation materials. The award came with a prize of $500.

Berihu obtained the BEng degree for Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Swagֱ�� in 2011. After several years of industrial working experience, he has been pursuing a PhD degree under the supervision of Dr Qiang Liu and Prof Zhongdong Wang in EEE. Berihu received a full PhD scholarship funded by the Transformer Research Consortium- Phase 4, with the industrial sponsors of EPRI, M&I Materials, National Grid, Scottish Power, SGB-SMIT, Shell, TJ|H2b and Weidmann.

The Transformer Research Consortium was established in 2005 at Swagֱ�� to develop knowledge and understanding related to many aspects of transformers, allowing optimisation of the design and operation of these important assets. In establishing a consortium, insight is gained from experts with a diverse specialist experience of transformer design and operation. The consortium brings together expertise from transformer manufacturers and owners, solid and liquid insulation material manufacturers and oil testing companies.

Qiang Liu, Reader of Power System Plant and Director of High Voltage Laboratories, says: “The IEEE ICHVE 2020 Best Student Paper Award reflects the dedicated effort Berihu put into the development of the dual-temperature ageing test system. The outputs of the year-long ageing experiments would potentially lead to the revision of a few IEC international standards”

Taking up the role from 1 October 2020, Professor George - Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering in the and Associate Vice President (Blended and Flexible Learning) at Swagֱ�� - will be the second female President in the IET's history.

She aims to inspire new audiences with science, technology, engineering and maths; and will lead the IET's 150th anniversary celebrations. These will include the #DifferenceMakers campaign to find those who are using engineering and technology solutions to solve a variety of global challenges across the world, and to share these stories beyond the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) bubble, reaching new audiences globally.

The anniversary year will also recognise the IET's rich history and will feature unexpected partnerships in unexpected places to inspire the next generation of engineers. The IET is due to feature at the UK Pavilion at the World Expo 2020 (now in 2021), Dubai UAE, as well as launch a junior membership club.

In her inaugural President's Address, which takes place virtually on 8 October, Professor George will take viewers on a journey celebrating some of the most inspiring difference makers of the past, tell us about the people who informed her decision to become an engineer, and take a look at the influencers of the future:

The world needs new engineers…

Whether your skills are creative, academic or practical, today’s engineers are a very diverse group, with a range of backgrounds, cultures, interests and skill sets. 

And that's essential, because we're not going to solve global problems by doing things the same way we've always done them. We need to behave differently. By welcoming the most diverse minds into the industry, we can harness new perspectives, new ways of thinking, new insights, new ideas and new approaches to long-standing challenges.

For young people who love solving puzzles and want a fantastic career, engineering and technology is the way to go. Because whatever your passion – from protecting our planet and plastic recycling to solar energy and smart homes – engineering and technology are at its heart.

A research consortium led by Swagֱ�� developing robotic and AI solutions to meet user-led challenges in the nuclear industry, RAIN has worked in close collaboration with Dounreay to identify its Vega robot as ideal to perform essential radiation surveys in areas deemed unsafe for humans.

Dounreay is a significant nuclear research site undergoing decommissioning on the north coast of Scotland. The DSRL team had such confidence in RAIN technologies and processes that they facilitated on-site Vega trials in an active waste store rather than in mock-up conditions, as would be normal practice.

The is a small, tracked ROV designed to be a low-cost and modular solution to nuclear challenges. This exploration platform can incorporate a range of sensors, cameras and a manipulator arm, offering full physical, chemical and radiological characterisation of unmapped spaces.

Building on the success of initial trials, RAIN continues to develop Vega so it can support decommissioning challenges, including the survey of a legacy duct at Dounreay. RAIN also acknowledges invaluable support from Innovation 2 Commercialisation (I2C), which is highly experienced at facilitating the relationship between technology developer and challenge owner to commercialise innovative technology into nuclear environments.

, a University of Swagֱ�� spin-out company expert in developing robotic systems for use in nuclear environments, is also supporting technological development.

RAIN expects to continue survey work at Dounreay later in the year, and with I2C it will explore other ways it can help Dounreay and other challenge owners in their decommissioning efforts.

The online events took place throughout the week commencing Monday, 27 July as part of wider celebrations across Swagֱ��. They provided an opportunity for both staff and students to mark summer graduation after physical ceremonies were postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 12 FSE graduations were spread over the week, with events held for mathematics; mechanical, aerospace and civil engineering; physics and astronomy; electrical and electronic engineering; fashion business and technology; materials science and engineering; chemical engineering and analytical science; earth and environmental sciences; computer science; and chemistry.

The move online meant students were able to celebrate despite being situated all across the globe. It showed that while they may not be in the city at the moment, Swagֱ�� is behind its graduates as they take their next steps out into the world.

Each subject area celebrated in its own unique way - as shown in the recorded videos below:

School of Engineering

School of Natural Sciences

A huge congratulations to all of our FSE graduates, and the best of luck for the future!

The MDC Awards are given in recognition of the outstanding achievements of Swagֱ��'s postgraduate researchers, and celebrate the supervisors who have created the most supportive, stimulating and inspirational research environment for doctoral students.

Professor Milanovic, of the (EEE), was recognised alongside Professor Will Dixon of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, and Dr Sarah Hall of the Faculty of Humanities.

During his academic career Professor Milanovic has supervised over 270 PDRAs, Visitors, PhD, MSc and undergraduate students. His past 30 PhD students have come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have progressed in admirable careers around the world, from professors in academic institutions, directors and principal consultants in industry, to entrepreneurs who have started their own businesses. 

His undergraduate, MSc and PhD students have received awards at leading international conferences for their papers, many of which have subsequently been published in top journals, received awards as best postgraduate research students of the year in EEE, and four of his PhD graduates received Springer prizes for scientific excellence and research impact, and had their theses published as books. 

During the past year alone, two of his four PhD graduates received Springer awards for their theses, and each of three MSc graduates published an international conference or journal paper.

The main mission of WIP is to advance the world through the creativity and innovation of diverse leadership, and to foster the careers, connections and talent of women in the power industry to achieve their full potential and become leaders of the future.

Dr Ponocko's role will be to promote female power engineers in academia and industry, liaising between those who have established themselves in their respective area and are now serving as role models or mentors, and early or mid-career engineers who seek guidance and advice on their way to becoming leaders themselves.

WIP in the UK and Ireland will be organising workshops, webinars and similar events, with the support of local volunteers (both male and female), to facilitate knowledge exchange, networking and collaboration within and between academia and industry. 

The initiative serves ambitious, professional women in the power and energy industry looking for leadership positions and career advancement - the skills, networking and mentorship offered benefit women throughout the industry, whether they are engineers, attorneys, policy makers or accountants.

Find out more about the IEEE PES WIP initiative on its  or .