Annual Report - Royal Academy of Engineering

The 9th Annual Regional Public
Lecture and Fellows’ Dinner took
place on 16 March 2009 at the
University of Leeds. The lecture
was given by Professor Brian
Launder FREng FRS of the School
of Mechanical Aerospace and Civil
Engineering at the University of
Manchester. His talk, Engineering
Climate Stabilisation- Some Geo-Scale
Routes, looked at methods by which
CO2 emissions can be reduced or
stored using a variety of solutions.
design department, including a
demonstration of its virtual reality
equipment, the assembly lines for
Victoria Line tubestock, and the
Orbita control centre, a system that
analyses performance data from all
over the world to predict equipment
failures and improve maintenance.
Fellows’ visits
On 15 July 2008, Fellows were
invited to the world-class particle
physics research laboratory situated
1,100m underground in the Boulby
potash mine in North Yorkshire.
Fellows were given a tour of the
facility, including a look at the
ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector and
other astrophysics experiments
taking place at the Boulby
Underground Laboratory.Professor
Bill O’Riordan FREng hosted the
fourth Fellows’ Visit to his flight
simulator on 15 July 2008. As with
previous visits, Professor O’Riordan
invited Fellows to his Berkshire home
to see the latest developments on
his fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter
simulators, followed by a brief talk
on the technology and engineering
behind their construction.
Academy Fellows and their guests
boarded the world’s first oceanfairing
iron-hulled ship, ss Great
Britain, for a special event on
18 September 2008. Guests went on
a tour of the ship, followed by drinks
on the Weather Deck and authentic
Victorian banquet in the First Class
Dining Saloon.
On 15 October 2008, Academy
Fellows visited the Derby
production site of Bombardier
Transportation UK. Fellows were
able to see Bombardier’s industrial
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