The GU68 Engineers Trust Medal is awarded in memory of our founding secretary, Hugh O’Neill, to the student making the best presentation in support of an application to the Trust.
At the James Watt School of Engineering prize-giving reception on 2 July the Medal was presented by Mrs Kay O’Neill to Isabel Payne for the quality of her presentation in support of a project exploring the use of mycelium’s biofiltration properties for removing organic pollutants from sewage.
This is the first time that the School has brought all five of the Engineering Disciplines’ (Aeronautical; Biomedical; Civil; Electronic & Electrical; and Mechanical Engineering) Graduation receptions together in one location.
In July 2025, five applications were received from MEng students at the School of Engineering. Three awards were made, all related to biomedical engineering projects.
Lucas Buzzatto 5th Year MEng Mechanical Engineering. Lucas was awarded £200 for materials and equipment in connection with a project to investigate the nature of tumours. This project seeks to advance high-frequency ultrasound elastography, addressing the current limitations that arise from complex wave interactions within tissue. To carry out these experiments, tissue mimicking phantoms with controlled viscoelastic properties will be fabricated, potentially advancing diagnostic precision and improving capabilities for early detection and characterization of malignant tumours.
Despina Charalambous 5th Year Biomedical Engineering. After discussing with the interviewers her request for £1 195 for reagents, an agreed award of £600 was made. The research is related to biomaterials and tissue engineering, aiming to develop tuneable bioactive microgels for guiding the tissue regeneration for different applications, such as bone tissue repair. Microgels, micron-scaled polymer particles, can be used as biomimetic extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds that can promote cellular activities, whilst also acting as cargo-carriers of proteins and cells.
Caolán Devine, 5th year MEng, Mechanical Engineering. An award of £500 was made to design and fabricate a 3D bone phantom using 3D printing, to investigate ultrasonic techniques for detecting osteoporosis. This project aims to design, fabricate, and characterize a bone-mimicking phantom with controlled geometry, viscoelasticity, and porosity. The phantom will serve as a testbed for advanced ultrasonic techniques under reproducible conditions prior to human studies. If successful, this approach could enable a new generation of non-invasive, low-cost diagnostic tools for early osteoporosis detection, transforming preventative care and significantly reducing the healthcare burden.
In January 2025, a record 19 individual applications were made, as well as seven from groups within the School of Engineering. This resulted in considerable demands on our funds, and the following awards were made:
Jamie Clarke 5th year MEng, Product Design Engineering
£300 to develop a device that allows competitive motor bike riders to see better without compromising their aerodynamic position, enhancing both safety and performance in TT competitions
Sean Hayashibara 5th year MEng, Product Design Engineering
£406.57 to design an all-in-one whole spice storage, dispenser and grinder system to make spice use more accessible and convenient
Jalal Sayed and Murray McGinley 5th year MEng, Electronics and Software Engineering
£550 to develop a resilient team of micro-rovers to simulate and study the dynamics of robotic teams when challenged with faults and failures in planetary exploration settings
Finlay Durkin and his team 5th year MEng, Electronics and Software Engineering
£500 to create potentially the world’s smallest electrostimulation and liquid-handling robot for heart cells
Isabel Payne 5th year MEng, Product Design Engineering
£400 towards exploring the use of mycelium’s biofiltration properties for removing organic pollutants from sewage, to design a deployable water filter.
Emily O’Neill 5th year MEng, Product Design Engineering
£560 towards her project, which aims to improve astronauts sleeping experience aboard current and future space stations by addressing the difficulty in sleeping identified by the International Space Station
Luke Barber 5th year MEng, Product Design Engineering
£300 to create a lamping system allowing users to customise their unique lamp online and and using sustainable, recyclable materials to create an innovative, modern lamp engineered to fit through a letterbox
GU Rocketry
Once again this team put forward a convincing presentation and were awarded £3 400