Posters of forthcoming lectures have for some time been placed on notice boards in strategic places such as libraries and Colchester Town Hall. The lecture on Abberton Reservoir was very well attended and the Publicity Sub-committee felt that the posters might have had something to do with this. The posters are produced by Bob Light and he and the Publicity Sub-committee felt that a wider distribution of these posters might well improve the attendance at our meetings generally. Bob (on 01206 574020) or I (on 01206 867726) would be very pleased to hear from anyone who could arrange for posters to be placed on notice boards in shops, clubs, community notice boards or even in the rear windows of cars etc. so that the Engineering Society activities could reach a bigger audience.     Les Handley

13 January:       President's Address -  'How not to Retire' - Dr.Bill Cory   
                       
24 February:     Building the Millennium Tower at Bury St. Edmunds Cathedral -      
                                    Horry Parsons 
                     
16 March:        "Seaplanes Felixstowe" WWI  - Phillip Hadwen - Historian
                   
13 April:           New Technology in Corrosion Control - Simon Swain - ABS Technologies IMarEST     
       
11 May:           Edward Paxman Memorial Lecture - Towards a Silent Aircraft  -
                          Prof. Dame Anne Dowling and Dr. Tom Hynes - Cambridge University

Lecture Meetings in the winter programme take place at 19:30 in the Colchester Institute, Sheepen Rd, Colchester, CO3 3LL.
Visitors welcome.
For directions click here

 Preliminary Advice of Weekend Visit - 19, 20 & 21 May, 2012

Our weekend away together next year will be centred on Gloucester, staying at Holiday Inn Hotel.

Planned visits include the London's Tower Bridge,  The Royal Observatory at Greenwich  with included show in the Planetarium, Clearwell Caves Iron Ore Mine in the Forest of Dean, Restoration Workshops of The Gloster Aircraft Collection, The Morgan Car Company and Bekonscot Model Village & Railway.      

Cost will be about £175 per person which includes half board  accommodation, entrance fees and buffet lunch at Morgan Cars.
Please return the attached slip from news letter if you are interested in joining us.
                                                  Keith Middleton

The lectures are as follows. Michael Allen  (mike.mical@ymail.com) is now the organiser.  Members of the Engineering Society are welcome at the meetings which are held on Tuesdays at 7.30 pm at the Ramada Hotel (previously the Butterfly Hotel, near the Crown Interchange on the Ipswich Road out of Colchester).

21 February 2012 at 7.30 pm. Mechanics applied to the modelling of biological tissues and Medical Devices
                    
Dr Georges Limbert is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer currently in the School of Engineering Science at the University of Southampton.
 
The applications of mechanical and electrical engineering to assist medical science are numerous.  In this lecture Dr Limbert will talk about the applications of Mechanics and Finite Element Theory in the modelling of biological tissue structures and implementation into medical devices, for example to optimise the performance of a total knee replacement system. There has also been a strong international interest in engineering in biological applications and Dr Limbert has been active over several years to develop these links and to act as a consultant to facilitate the  technology transfer in which there can be a risk of litigation.

 27 March 2012 at 7.30 pm       Wave Energy

Malcolm van den Bergh, Technical Director, Trident Energy Ltd, London.

Trident Energy Ltd is an innovator and independent developer of products, such as the tubular linear generator, to convert the power of the ocean waves directly into electrical power.  There are significant engineering challenges to capture the enormous forces of wave energy and to convert them to electricity.  Already, many devices are being designed, installed and tested in sea and laboratory conditions.  Superimposed on the technical difficulties are the capital costs which are high at present but which can be expected to fall as designs are proven and volume manufacture begins.  With the estimated size of the UK marine energy market being in the region of £100bn in the next ten years there will be plenty of interesting technical and commercial points to consider and discuss.

 17 April 2012 at 7.30 pm    Thorium Reactors

Speaker to be advised

For many years the use of Thorium, discovered in 1828, has been a tempting alternative approach to the generation of electricity by nuclear means.  Thorium is found in large quantities in many rocks and soils in greater quantities than Uranium.  Considerable work is required to harness its potential as a future source of nuclear energy but work has commenced in a number of countries.  This talk will explain the chemistry of the reaction and the engineering requirements for its acceptance by the public.

see http://www.chelmsfordengineeringsociety.org.uk