Young research engineer from Singapore reaches final of World Young Persons’ Lecture Competition

A research engineer from Singapore reached the final of the World Young Person’s Lecture Competition, held on 20^th June. Selin Teo Hwee Gee, currently studying at the Nanyang Technological University, competed alongside four other candidates. The event was run by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) at their London headquarters to bring together material scientists and engineers from around the world. Following the success of the first competition run in 2005, this year’s event was again sponsored by Rolls-Royce plc.

Gee competed alongside the national finalists from South Africa, the USA, Ireland and the UK. The competition is open to members under 35 and provides an excellent opportunity for communication and presentation skills to be developed in a competitive environment. The contestants relished the opportunity to visit London, some for the first time, and were keen to convey their excitement at being able to meet scientists and engineers from different cultures. ‘It is interesting to see the different approaches, and what’s available to them at their universities’, said Eoin Cunningham, the Irish entrant.

Gee was runner up in the competition for her presentation on photonic bandgap crystals as the answer to the increased pressure communication networks are facing.

Her enthusiastic presentation clearly conveyed her interest in this topic. Having listened to the other entrants’ presentations, as well as fielding questions from the judges, Gee gained a lot from the experience, which she described as a ‘a win-win situation’.

The winner, Andrew Tarpey from Jaguar Cars Ltd, UK, gave a confident speech on the use of structural adhesive to improve fuel economy by reducing the weight of vehicles. The judges praised his strong standard of presentation, coupled with good visuals. Reflecting on his success, he commented, ‘I did not expect this. Now, it’s time to retire!’. Tarpey received a cheque for a thousand pounds and a commemorative globe. Taking second place was Sarah Galatioto from the USA who gave an enthused speech on the application of nanotechnology to surgical masks, examining how to reduce the level of bacteria which pass through traditional masks. Eoin Cunningham from Ireland took third place for his presentation on replacing cancellous bone with algae found in Italy and Ireland.

The panel of judges was chaired by Dr Richard Dolby, President of the Institute, with Dr David Carey from the YMC and Dr Mike Hicks of Rolls-Royce plc also putting questions to the finalists. Dolby spoke of the ‘assured way’ the contestants delivered their presentations with ‘superb confidence’.

As Dolby commented, the World Lecture Competition is a ‘great opportunity for participants to improve their presentation skills, something which will serve them well in their careers, whichever discipline they choose’. The challenge for the coming years is to enable more countries to participate, while, as Dr Bernie Rickinson, Chief Executive of the IOM3 comments, the event must continue to ‘engage, enthuse and entertain’ both participants and the audience.

Notes for editors

1. The World Young Persons’ Lecture Competition is an initiative of the Institute’s Younger Members’ Committee, and is a development of the Institute’s UK Young Persons’ Lecture Competition. A quarter of the Institute’s 22,000 members reside outside the UK, and the global competition is a means of involving non-UK younger members in such an event.
2. Full details of the WLC competitors and abstracts of their presentations are available at www.iom3.org/ymc/wlc.htm
3. For further enquiries relating to the World Lecture Competition, contact Dr Brett Suddell, e-mail: b.c.suddell@iom3.org
4. Rolls-Royce plc operates in long-term businesses, and relies heavily on innovation to ensure that future generations of products contain the leading edge technologies required to make them market leaders in terms of performance, reliability and life-cycle cost. The company invests in technology and capability that can be exploited in this way. It acquires technologies through its co-ordinated ‘Vision’ programme that is designed to address real business requirements and, wherever possible, find application across more than one business sector.