James Bunday

BSc (Honours) Sports Technology

I am working for Grays Hockey/Gray-Nicolls Cricket/Gilbert Rugby, which all comes under the heading Grays International. Being a big fan of all these sports and a player of cricket and hockey, I knew it was where I wanted to go for my placement and I am really enjoying my work as a result.

For me the process of finding a placement was simple. I had contacts from my previous summer work at the Grays warehouse, so I spoke to them about the possibility of a work placement in the main office and production areas. I was fortunate that I knew where I wanted to go and I managed to secure the chance to come to Grays for a year.

The best thing about working at Grays is the fact that I am working in a field that I am passionate about. A lot of my time so far has been spent in the Sales office getting to grips with products and the way the company works. In many industries this would be a bit tedious after a while, but when the products are something that you are passionate about it makes the jobs so much more enjoyable!

Also, being a player of hockey and cricket, my opinion is valued by the people that matter, for example, the product engineers. As a result of this, right from the word go, I have been included in discussions, been asked for ideas and been given hockey sticks and other products to go away and test in order to generate some meaningful feedback.

After Christmas I will be starting on my own project for the company. The exact nature of this project is yet to be confirmed, though it is going to be centred on the hockey playing kit range and looking at ways to increase its popularity, within Sussex initially, and then further afield.

A major bonus of working at Grays is that being a leading manufacturer in hockey and cricket, a lot of big players come into the office and so far I have met Ashley Jackson, European Hockey player of the Year, and Monty Panesar and Michael Yardy, both Sussex and England cricketers.

For me, my placement so far has convinced me that Grays is a company that I would love to work for in the future. I am still not sure where within the company I would most like to be. The sales area has really suited me because, as a player I have an understanding of the products that most at the company don’t have and also, through doing the engineering modules at Sheffield Hallam, I understand the technology which means I can talk and feel comfortable having conversions about our products as a result.

I know that this area is not where people on my course would expect to end up working, but the discussions about products, pitching products and other such parts of the University projects have been where I have performed best and it seems that this is the way to go in the future.

Dr Karen Vernon-Parry

Course leader for the Extended Degree in Engineering

Phone 0114 225 4852
E-mail k.vernon-parry@shu.ac.uk

I studied materials science at Oxford University, and also completed my DPhil there, which was on the microstructure and properties of superconducting thin films. After a post-doctoral position at Oxford, I moved to the University of Manchester and then to UMIST. In 2004 I came to Sheffield Hallam University, becoming a senior lecturer in 2006. I have been course leader for the Extended Degree in Engineering (prep year) since January 2009.

I am interested in the correlation between the structure and the physical properties of materials at the atomic scale. In the past 10 years this has concentrated on the development and evolution of process-induced defects in semiconductors, initially ion implantation damage in silicon and silicon-germanium alloys, and more recently defects such as grain boundaries in multicrystalline semiconducting diamond. Such studies are in support of electronic device development. I also collaborate with the electroceramics group at Manchester University to investigate the role of specific dopant species in varistor formulations.

I have recently become involved in a multi-disciplinary research program developing 'intelligent' materials, particularly for healthcare applications.

I am a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and am a Member of the Institute of Physics

Dr Andy Young

Principal lecturer

On leaving school I became a craft apprentice in a defence company manufacturing naval artillery, where I was trained as a precision miller-turner-fitter. In 1989 I was awarded a Whitworth Scholarship from the IMechE to encourage practical engineers to seek higher education, which led to my enrolment on a Manufacturing Systems Engineering degree at The University of Leeds.

In my first year I transferred onto mechanical engineering to get a more general education, and by the third year I developed an interest in computer modelling of how fluids behave. I was awarded prizes from the IMechE and Sun Microcomputers for project work, a Parkinson scholarship for continued study from the University, and sponsorship from International Paper to embark on a PhD research degree into thin film generation for the printing industry.

I was then employed as a Research Fellow in the Industrial Coating Research Group, where I focused on the transference of academic research to industrial problems, working with companies such as Kodak, 3M, and Ilford.

I moved to a leading industrial consultancy company called Fluent in 1998, and became focused on thermo-fluids and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). I worked in materials processing industries, helping manufacturers apply technology to understand how to make better glass, polymer, and metals products.

In 2005 I began teaching engineering fundamentals and their industrial applications to students. I joined engineering at Sheffield Hallam leading the teaching for thermo-fluids and CFD, and supervising PhD students.

In 2009 I recognised an opportunity to start-up a new venture in the University called Hallam Energy which works directly with industry to reduce their energy costs and carbon emissions by the application of technology.

David Legge

Senior lecturer, engineering and mathematics

I am a senior lecturer in the engineering design subject group. I am a time served engineer with professional experience in design, manufacturing, logistics and organisational development.

I teach on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules, with a bias towards design and manufacture. I am particularly keen on developing the formal and informal formative experiences of undergraduate engineers; especially within the aerospace degrees, which are a relatively new group of degrees at Sheffield Hallam. I feel well placed to do this as I am a qualified gliding instructor and own my own glider.

My education was in manufacturing systems engineering. I also have a postgraduate degree (Technical Licentiate) from Lulea University of Technology, Sweden. This was for research into off-line programming of coordinate measuring machines (CMM's) and standards for data transfer between CMM's and computer aided design (CAD) software.

My previous academic role was as a senior lecturer in the Department of Manufacturing Development at Lulea University of Technology (LTU). For the last few years I have been a freelance consultant in logistics and LEAN. I divide my time between Sweden, where I have lived for the past 20 years, and the UK.

I have some 20 research publications to my name. Areas in which I have carried out research or have particular skills include CAD/CAM, CNC machining, metal cutting, metrology, robotics, organisational development, LEAN, workspace design and pedagogy.

Chris Short

Principal lecturer

I trained as an apprentice engineer in the hand tools industry, during which time I completed a degree in mechanical and production engineering.

After graduating I worked in the design departments of a number of companies designing special purpose machine tools before beginning a postgraduate teaching qualification. I subsequently taught a range of engineering subjects in the further education sector for eight years before joining Sheffield Hallam in 1990.

My role is a Portfolio Director with responsibility for all the BSc technology degrees, and I teach on several design modules at all years of the courses.

I am a chartered mechanical engineer and a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

My areas of interest and research are design, design management, the implementation of new technology and engineering education. I have completed a range of research and consultancy work with companies implementing new technology or developing new products and have written around 30 publications.

The most recent development in my portfolio has been the addition of an aerospace technology degree and this has proved very exciting for me.

Dr Mark Thompson

Principal lecturer

I gained an upper second degree in BEng Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Humberside University in1994.

I then studied for a PhD at York University, applying artificial intelligence techniques to the control of antenna systems, resulting in the development of a software package and the publication of a number of international papers.

After gaining my doctorate in 1997, I worked as a research associate for a number of years, first at Hull University, developing fault monitoring and diagnosis systems. I then worked at the University of Sheffield developing an artificial intelligent control system for a chemical processing plant. In 2000 I became a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam.

I am currently head of undergraduate admissions for engineering and have designed courses for a number employers including Rolls-Royce, Bombardier and Kimberly-Clark in collaboration with Derby College, Rotherham College of Arts and Technology and North Lindsey College. This has helped to ensure that our courses are relevant to the needs of industry.