SEPTEMBER 2000 BROADSHEET - Annual Garden Party at Jesus College
The Cambridge University Engineering Department Open Days on Thursday and Friday 6th and 7th July were very good value. I went on the second day which was very crowded and, amongst many other things, saw a full scale simulation of Lord Foster's ill-fated Millennium Bridge. The lecturer demonstrating it, with the help of apparently inebriated teenagers, had everybody falling about with his quips, but simultaneously drove home the fundamental principles. One of these had been seriously overlooked by Foster's engineers - the inevitability of people being forced to keep in step with each other by the bridge's resonant frequency.
Your editor came away with a web site address to down load a 3D picture making programme, tried it out on a local building and e-mailed the result back for comment. Apart from the inadequate resolution of my digital camera I got full marks for method! Anyone interested in trying it go to http://svr-www.eng.cam.ac.uk/~cipolla/research.html and click on to Dr Roberto Cipolla and his PhotoBuilder. Just a by-product of his extensive research in image processing!
And he is just one of some 200 professors, readers, lecturers and research doctors teaching about 2000 undergraduate and post graduate students in all engineering disciplines. Quite a powerhouse well worth considering when you are faced with intractable technical problems. Motto: the impossible takes a little longer. If members do wish to find someone with the right expertise for their problem give me a call on 01223 502849.
The Annual Garden Party at Jesus College on 10th August presented yet another opportunity for hearing about the manifold technologies being studied at this same department of engineering. We were welcomed to the college by a recent Fellow and lecturer in engineering, Dr Tim Wilkinson, a stout antipodean, who gave us an amusing and fascinating insight into both the college and the work he is engaged in, which involved display technology and fibre-optics both of which were advancing at unprecedented speed.
Valerie Dring, Business Manager, NatWest, presenting a cheque to our Chairman as it appeared in the Cambridge Evening News on 21st August.
It was encouraging to see so many members and guests enjoying the beauties of this ancient foundation, savouring the ample buffet and wines and the stimulating conversation in such a delightful and relaxing setting. We were also pleased and very grateful to receive £500 from our sponsors NatWest Bank.
Valerie has a point!Dr Tim Wilkinson, Fellow of the College, giving us a few words of welcome to the College and about his research in the University Engineering Department, after which the buffet was eagerly sought after. 
Among the guests were Brian Birtles of Cambridge Network (left) and Roger Quince, Managing Director of Granta Park (right) . In the centre picture the Chairman discusses form with guests Kathy and John Holroyd. Our new year starts with a very topical theme; Patenting Life and the Future of Medicine. Already some people have spotted the announcement in the Cambridge Evening News and have shown interest in the ethical aspects. We have been very fortunate to find, at short notice, an international authority in this area. The announcement is given overleaf and we hope to welcome you to the new season on Thursday 28th September, 6pm. at St John's Innovation Centre.
The Club is very fortunate in benefiting from the sponsorship of the following organisations:-
There are also other companies who give us generous help with specific meetings and services.
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