Engineering Research Writer of the Year 2013

The inaugural Engineering Research Writer of the Year (ERWOTY) competition was held in 2013. Six finalists presented at the AEngD annual conference in London, and two winners each won £250, plus a specially commissioned glass plaque.

The first Engineering Research Writer of the Year competition was announced in July 2013, and from the resulting submissions (filtered first by research centres, and then by an AEngD judging panel) a shortlist of six articles was selected to contest the awards in two categories:

• Potential impact – articles in this category will relate to EngD projects which may still be at an early stage, and will explain how the project could deliver real benefits
• Actual impact – articles in this category will describe tangible benefits actually delivered during and/or as a result of the researcher's project

Judges looked for originality, bright ideas and a clear, distinctive writing style. Each 800-word article showed a passion for engineering, summarised the researcher's contribution to knowledge and the potential/actual impact of their research, and encouraged readers to consider, question and debate key issues in engineering and society. Finalists were invited to deliver a short presentation (no longer than eight minutes) at the AEngD conference on 26 November; the shortlist (announced 21 October) was:

EngD alumni / actual impact:

• Winner: Javid Khan (Centre in Optics and Photonics Technologies, Heriot-Watt University) - Holographic volumetric 3D displays [PDF]
• Marek Kubik (Technologies for Sustainable Built Environments, University of Reading) - The winds of change [PDF]

EngD research engineers / potential impact:

• Winner: Laura Daniels (Technologies for Sustainable Built Environments, University of Reading) - Diesel generators and demand side management [PDF]
• Maria Felice (Centre for Non-Destructive Evaluation, University of Bristol) - Let's get cracking! [PDF]
• Christos Ellinas (EngD in Systems, University of Bristol) - An engineer imagines. Again. [PDF]
• Rob Hughes (Centre for Non-Destructive Evaluation, University of Warwick) - Pushing the limits of materials testing [PDF]

The winners, each receiving £250, were announced during the post-conference drinks reception after the presentations.

The finalists' presentations are also on the AEngD SlideShare page (Laura Daniels used Prezi), and the AEngD Youtube channel.