The R W Thomson 2010 Lecture "Engineering the Future: learning from past innovators"

Earlier this year the affiliated societies of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) in Scotland, The Scottish Association for Metals (SAM), The Mining Institute of Scotland (MIS) and the Scottish Plastics and Rubber Association (SPRA) decided to launch an annual lecture series, named in honour of the famous Scottish engineer and innovator Robert W Thomson. The SPRA volunteered to be the main organiser for the first in the series.

On a cold and wet evening in October almost 100 people turn out at the Lindsay Stewart Lecture Theatre on the Craiglockhart Campus of Edinburgh Napier University to listen to the inaugural R W Thomson lecture given by Professor William M Banks and entitled "Engineering the Future - Learning from past innovators".

Professor Banks FIMMM FIMechE FREng FRAE, recently retired as Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, is now Emeritus Professor of Advanced Materials and is currently President of SCOTETA, the Engineering and Technology Association (Scotland).

Professor Banks began by looking at five Scottish engineers and inventors, RW Thomson, John Anderson, Robert Stirling, John Boyd Dunlop and James Alfred Ewing whose achievements spanned over 200 years from the mid 1700's to the early 20th century. (The reader is recommended to take time out to look them up).

He highlighted the qualities and skills that were common to them namely:

• versatile
• energetic and hard working
• academic and practical
• entrepreneurial
• social networking with international travel
• societal conscience
  • concern for the poor and underprivileged
  • desire to increase living standard

He then went on to address the skills need for future engineers and how these can be addressed by reviewing two recent major reports by The Royal Academy of Engineering, "Educating Engineers for the 21st Century" and "Engineering Graduates for Industry 2010".

In the first report, interviews with over 21 major companies and 13 SME's ranked the skills they require in tomorrow's engineers, see Figure 1. It was found that industrial experience during a degree is a strong indicator of early success in industry and that 88% want students to have more industrial experience.

Over the past 50 years the trend in engineering education has seen a reduction in practical experience as shown in Figure 2, where Professor Banks has shown the need to develop engineering courses which offer an increase in practical application for the 21st century.

The summary from the second report echoed a similar message that:

• The government is clear that engineering is a priority for future UK prosperity
• Industry is clear about their needs
• Experience-led engineering degrees meet industry needs
• Funding is needed to support new or enhanced development
• Enhanced university/industry partnerships will support experience-led engineering

So both reports send a clear message for our educational institutes - graduating engineering students need more practical experience of real industrial environments.

Professor Banks next turned his attention to two related areas where future opportunities will require the skills of the engineer; Energy - low carbon technology and climate change. The current climate situation and issues of global warming are known to be man-made being traced back to the industrial revolution, driven by the entrepreneurial inventors and engineers. The need to reduce the reliance on carbon based fossil fuels of today's society is well understood but there is no doubt that the solutions will rely on the inventiveness of the engineers and scientists of the new technology industries. With different low carbon technologies, wind, wave power, nuclear etc. bidding to replace the countries' reliance on carbon based fuels, there has never been a greater need for engineering advice on policy making. Professor Banks pointed out that "Global Warming may, ironically, provide the greatest opportunity for growth since the industrial revolution".

He went on to look at the future role of materials using an example close to his interests i.e. the use of polymer/ natural fibre composites. Such composites require relatively low cost investment to deliver low weight, high strength products based on renewable sources and which are recyclable. The automotive industry is at the forefront of developing these products.

Professor Banks finished with the following reflections and conclusions:

• As we enter the low carbon economy in times of increasing austerity there has never been a greater need to provide engineering solutions to the grand challenges of climate change, resource limitation and human deprivation.
• Ensuring that there is an adequate supply of graduate engineers with the creativity and innovative skills that industry needs based on an education that is embedded in world class research is fundamental to those engineering solutions.
• The role of engineers and engineering is changing considerably. While we can reflectively look back and learn from past innovators we must appreciate that significant challenges face us in the future.
• Engineers have been the architects of past achievements; they will be the innovators for future success

To view the video of Prof Bank's lecture, click here
(for video plus slides select 'high speed version', for audio plus slides select 'low speed version')

Colin Hindle, SPRA Past President and Scotland's representative on the IOM3 Council, proposed a vote of thanks for Prof Banks and presented him with a traditional inscribed quaich from the SPRA.

Report by Les Rose, SPRA Past President Nov 2010

Robert William Thomson (1822 - 1873)

Born in Stonehaven in 1822, Robert William Thomson left school aged 14 and spent two years in America before returning to Stonehaven where he taught himself the basics of science and mathematics while redesigning his mother's mangle, building a ribbon saw and producing a working model for his elliptic steam engine, which he later perfected. After an engineering apprenticeship in Aberdeen and Dundee he worked for a civil engineering company in Glasgow and then Edinburgh.

Here he invented a new method of detonating explosives using electricity, thereby saving many lives in the mining industry world-wide. He was only 23 years old when he patented the pneumatic tyre, a design remarkably similar to the modern radial tyre. However this met with limited success because of poor quality of roads and the variable quality of vulcanised rubber, the rubber industry still being in its infancy. He turned to solid rubber tyres for his next inventions - an invalid chair, his road steamers, capable of hauling up to 40 tons, and steam omnibuses.
Later inventions included the self-filling fountain pen, a portable steam crane, and a hydraulic dry dock. His many patents included a method of separating rock, stone and coal, improvement to steam gauges and elastic beds and seats.