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Read the report: Health Zone Report – June 2019 [PDF] The Health Zone was a themed zone supported by Wellcome. It featured six engineers: Tonia Tzemanaki designs wearable robotic devices for healthcare procedures. Sam Gaughan uses computers models to learn about enzymes, so they can be used to make medicines. Emily McNee designs and develops skin cancer treatment products. Ejay Nsugbe, the winner of this Zone, works on prosthetics for disabled children. Edgars Kelmers is working to improve implants in hips and knees and make them last longer. Charnett Chau is working to ensure drug manufacturing and the use of plastic is environmentally friendly.

Read the full report The Artificial Body Zone was supported by Wellcome, with six engineers taking part. Sufia is looking at the metals used for vaccination needles, and figuring out ways to make them less painful when inserted into the body Sophie is a medical research engineer using 3D printing to make metal bones Ian is a PhD researcher who designs surgical implants to help people with joint-related injuries Chung Han is undertaking a PhD, currently testing different upper-limb prosthesis designs using a virtual simulation Cat works as a clinical scientist in a hospital developing new pieces of medical equipment to improve patient care Boris, the winner of the zone, is a PhD student using machine learning techniques to teach a robot how to process visual sign language

Read the full report The Health Zone was a themed Zone supported by Wellcome. Valerie is a PhD student in biomechanics studying the onset and development of colorectal cancer, Steve is a mechanical engineer who has developed technology for artificial limbs and Sean, the winner of this Zone, is a PhD student working on a device to help people with spinal cord injuries to control their bladders. Kath is working on a coating for implants that will kill bacteria when put into a patient’s body, Carmel is researching new ways to detect brain activity without damaging the brain and Alex is working to better understand how crystals can be used within medicine. This was the busiest Zone in November’s I’m an Engineer event with the highest number of students logging in and number of questions in Ask. All the engineers took an active role across the two weeks of the … Continue reading →

Read the full report The Diagnosis Zone was a themed zone funded by Wellcome, featuring six engineers using and developing technologies to better analyse bodies and diagnose disease. Vaanu works in biomedical engineering analysing images of organs to identify diseases, Tomas designs high precision equipment for biological research and Sylvain designs medical devices for doctors to use to diagnose and cure health problems. Sarah is a PhD student trying to 3D print microchips that can analyse cells, James (the winner of this zone) designs wearable robotics to help us see how brain disease can affect people and Dawn is a PhD student who squashes cells to find out more about cancer. The zone’s ASK section was particularly busy with lots of interesting questions from students who had a good understanding of the theme, and the engineers provided in-depth answers about their research and other topics.

Read the full report The Water Zone was funded by the Wellcome Trust, following the themes of its major initiative for 2016, The Crunch. Vinnie creates virtual simulations of equipment on construction vessels to test if they will survive real world conditions, Tam is a marine engineer who works at sea and on the docks managing the maintenance of ships, Mo is a civil engineer who builds water treatment facilities to process safe drinking water, Matt is a research engineer who studies chemical reactions to destroy pollutants in drinking water and Joe is a PhD student studying ways to protect people from flooding. Students in the zone showed a general interest in engineering with many career based questions. This zone was the quietest out of all the June zones with just seven schools taking part, resulting in a below average number of questions approved.

Read the full report This was a themed zone funded by the Wellcome Trust, with five engineers working in a variety of areas relating to Health. Simon works to support the manufacturing of a flu vaccine, Rebecca is a PhD student who provides doctors with smartphones and tablets to help them monitor patients, Laura develops sports clothing and equipment to improve athletes’ performance, Krish is researching how to freeze cells, tissues and organs in order to keep them longer and transplant them successfully and Julia is a PhD student working on developing a pill to take videos inside the human gut to uncover diseases such as cancer. This zone had the highest number of students logged in out of all the zones in June’s event, which resulted in the highest number of questions approved.

READ THE FULL REPORT The Surgery Zone was a themed zone funded by the Wellcome Trust. Within the zone, Matt is a Systems Administrator in a cardiothoracic hospital, Dominic is head of the Surgical and Prosthetic Design team at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Monica who designs medical devices for the heart, Maedeh is a Postdoctoral Research Associate who designs devices for patients with hand abnormalities and Matthew designs tools for brain surgery. The zone had a higher than average amount of questions and votes compared to the other March zones, and live chats were busy and energetic. Much of the topics discussed were career focussed, with some more theme- specific questions being asked as the event went on and students had the chance to talk to the engineers through the live chats, which were often busy and fast paced.

READ THE FULL REPORT This zone was a themed zone funded by the Wellcome Trust, with five engineers working in a variety of areas relating to food. Ross works in Bournvillle investigating and developing chocolate, Abi is researching how to grow meat in a lab, Dean is Group Senior Packaging Engineer for Burtons Biscuit Company, Tom designs new snack foods for PepsiCo and Blanca is a sustainability consultant making agriculture easier and accessible for people at home. Students showed lots of interest in the engineers’ individual jobs, with lots of questions directed at Abi about growing meat and Ross about chocolate, for example. All of the engineers were highly active throughout the event reflected in an even spread of activity within the ASK section and the live chats. Engineers often carried on attending chats and answering questions even after they had been evicted. The zone had the fewest schools taking … Continue reading →