Engineers to the rescue
"Mike Beresford’s letter rightly expresses his concerns on how engineers should be tackling a world of need (Your Voice, Professional Engineering No 8, 2018).
May I bring readers’ attention to a charity called Practical Action, which I have supported for over 40 years. Founded in the 1970s by E F Schumacher, author of Small is Beautiful, this charity used to be called Intermediate Technology Development Group, in my view a clearer title for a worldwide engineering-based organisation that puts “people’s real needs at the heart of development” – what Beresford is asking.
Secondly, I commend a thought-provoking book called The Engineer’s Conscience by Professor M W Thring, published in 1980 by our own institution. Although the passage of time will have outdated many of his solutions, to my mind Thring’s underlying philosophy remains a ‘must read’ for engineering students learning their role in society.
I fully concur with Beresford over bringing a broader mind to today’s engineering challenges, and hope that this will be reflected in the content of the new, more inspirational style of Professional Engineering."
Richard Osborne, Alcester, Warwickshire
Vehicle downsizing is the way ahead
"Instead of developing expensive materials to reduce the weight of cars, why not make them smaller and more aerodynamic (“Light speed,” Professional Engineering No 8, 2018)? This was the trend in the 1960s.
Today’s behemoths are not only heavy, they show little appreciation of the effect wind resistance has on fuel consumption – or battery range."
Tim Norris, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire
Limit the weight of cars
"Congratulations on a much-improved magazine that is interesting, readable and treats its readers more like technically literate grown-ups.
I was interested to read about the extraordinary efforts being made to reduce vehicle weights in order to improve efficiency (“Light speed,” Professional Engineering No 8, 2018). This is happening at the same time as the public seem to favour ever larger vehicles, SUVs etc, encouraged by manufacturers who find them more profitable than small cars. If governments are serious about reducing emissions, why not mandate maximum weight limits for cars?
To carry four or five people, a Ford Fiesta has a kerb weight of about 1,000kg, a Focus 1,200kg and a BMW X5 2,600kg. Spending big money on ever more exotic ways of shaving a few kilos off the latter seems pretty futile in the long run. Here in the Cotswolds, most of the big SUVs generally run around with but one person in them."
Jeremy Retford, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
Time to scrap tuition fees
"I fully concur with Professor Bob Adams: engineering education needs to change (Your Voice, Professional Engineering No 8, 2018).
Bright but not well-off potential engineers are deterred from attending university due to the cost and debt. When they run cost/benefit numbers comprising the financial burden when compared with any extra salary paid to graduates, they find that studying for a degree is not worthwhile.
What I propose is that the numbers of frothy degree courses be slashed and tuition charges dropped. Student admission should only be by stringent interview to assess the seriousness of the application, the applicant’s suitability for university and their aptitude for such subjects as medicine, engineering, science or law.
A popular response to calls for the abolition of tuition fees is that graduates earn more than non-graduates. If that’s correct, then the extra income tax paid by those supposedly highly paid graduates will cover most of the tuition costs. Any remaining costs could be regarded by government as an investment in the future of the UK on the world stage."
John Halstead, Cranage, Cheshire
Plug the capacity gap
"Alex Eliseev’s article “Power play” is a reminder of the urgent need to replace our ageing nuclear plants as well as build new plants (Professional Engineering No 8, 2018). Britain has 10GW of nuclear capacity but this will reduce by significant amounts over the next 10 years unless government takes action.
The National Grid estimates that Britain will require 140GW of installed capacity by 2035. This capacity will depend on which generating plants are installed. If Britain is to match the nuclear industry’s commitment to generating 25% of the world’s electricity by 2050 we will require 30GW of installed nuclear capacity by 2035 and over 40GW by 2050.How can this be achieved?
A radical approach is required based on clear evidence, rational decisions and proven technology. The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland has published a report, Engineering for Energy: A Proposal for Governance of the Energy System (www.iesis.org/efore), that explains how an effective policy can be established.
The report explains how a professional engineering-led National Energy Authority (NEA) using advanced assessment technologies and taking a central role in planning can provide a fit-for-purpose electricity system. If the NEA were to become the system operator and commissioned, built and owned all new generating plants the wholesale price of electricity could be reduced by significant amounts.
Nuclear plants would benefit more within this system, as capital costs would be repaid by using public-sector borrowing rates. These will have less impact on the Treasury as repayments come from the price of electricity.
The Engineering for Energy report should be considered by the IMechE’s new Engineering Policy Unit to try and influence government policy and advise them that establishing an NEA is the way forward."
Charles Scott, Edinburgh
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.