Doctoral students from the BCI, including 38 students from the EPSRC CDT in Composites Science, Engineering and Manufacturing (CoSEM CDT), showcased their innovative composites research through an impressive display of posters and presentations.

Following introductions from the BCI and CoSEM Directors, delegates were treated to a rapid-fire journey through the current cutting-edge of composites research. Over the course of the morning delegates watched 25 presentations on a range of diverse topics spanning all three themes of the institute. A real depth of knowledge and passion for their subjects was evident, particularly when fielding questions from the audience. Copies of all the presentation slides be found on the Symposium webpage; recordings will be added to the BCI YouTube Channel later in the year.

During the morning registration, and again over lunch, delegates were able to view the students’ posters at their leisure, striking up conversations with the authors and networking with fellow delegates. The hubbub of conversation was a pleasure to witness and will no doubt have fostered new and exciting collaborations. Posters from the day were collated into an electronic Poster Booklet, which delegates could download via a QR code provided in their delegate packs (sustainability was after all a key theme of the day!).

Also provided in the packs were voting slips for the all-important poster competitions! Congratulations to all the winners:

• Delegate vote: Charles de Kergariou. (Runners up: Stefania Akromah and Tom Brereton)
• Student vote: Stefania Akromah. (Runners up: Charlie Brewster and Charles De Kergariou)

Documenting the morning’s events was local artist, Helen Frost. Her Graphic visualisation of the Symposium captures many of the event’s highlights and gives a real flavour of what it was like to be there on the day.

 

Following the Symposium close, BCI students attended an industry-led discussion panel, comprising experts from Airbus UpNext, GKN Aerospace, Leonardo Helicopters Sigmatex UK and Vertical Aerospace. Third year student Nuhaadh Mahid remarked that: “The industry-led panel provided the rare opportunity to clarify industry-related questions about their current projects, projections and reasoning behind various design choices. They also provided general advice regarding the skillsets useful for engineers in the industry.”

 

To cap off the day staff and students from the BCI gathered in the impressive surrounds of the Reception Room in the Wills Memorial Building for the Symposium dinner. It was a fitting celebration to mark the culmination of another year of hard work and research innovation.

 

BCI Co-Director, Prof. Ole Thomsen, said: “The display of high-quality research of our BCI doctoral students covering a range of topics and spanning fundamental blue skies research to industrial applications conducted with industrial partners was truly impressive. This was duly noted and recognised by the external attendees including project partners. It was indeed a good day for BCI!”

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