My Motivation To Study Technical Engineering

To me, the most fascinating thing about engineering is how disparate branches of physical science can be drawn together to produce hugely impressive, complex systems. Both hybrid rocket motors and epoxy resins have existed since the 1930s, but engineer Burt Rutan innovated to combine them in SpaceShipOne. It is such innovation, particularly in space engineering, that inspires me to push myself with challenging projects - a practice I hope to continue at university.

My proudest achievement to date is conceiving and leading a team to design and build a turbojet engine. It is 1m long and designed to achieve speeds of 1000RPM - it is now complete, but will not be tested for safety reasons. I successfully applied to iMechE for £1k funding. I led the manufacturing group that produced all models, using both CAD/CAM and hand tools. We designed all mechanical, electrical and fuel delivery systems– I led the team designing turbines, using both A-level physics and sources such as US Navy research papers to analyze airflow. A-level chemistry formulae were used to calculate fuel flow and O2 consumption. I used Solidworks simulations to analyze mechanical stress, optimize the design and quantify failure risk.

System failure was also the topic of one of my presentations at engineering society. Others have been linked to space engineering e.g. spacecraft landing systems and advanced propulsion. I enjoy presenting ideas in person and also in articles, and have worked with German space engineering startup PTScientists to write a number of pieces for their blog. One discussed the use of gravimetry to study the internal structure of the Moon, a topic I first learnt of at an RI lecture about the structure of Europa. I’ve attended a range of lectures from prestigious speakers, such as NASA Chief Technologist discussing the innovations in the Curiosity rover.

Robotics is an interest I have fostered for many years - I have led the school’s computer science and robotics society for the past 4 years and recently attended a Smallpeice Trust course to design a robotic rowboat. I’m interested in coding and have many personal projects, such as a program that simulates geophysical processes to procedurally generate planets. I also used coding to solve problems involving graph theory in Manchester University’s Maths Bombe 2018 competition - our team finished in the top 10% nationally. I’ve competed in other maths challenges, qualifying for the UKMT Kangaroo round for the past 3 years. I look forward to applying abstract mathematical principles and problem solving techniques learnt in class and in competitions to engineering problems - I am especially keen to learn about the use of PID loops in control systems and their application to robotics.

As well as the technical engineering skills that my jet engine project has helped me to develop, it has honed my soft skills. Throughout, I negotiated with suppliers and manufacturers, and organized and wrote a final project report. The lessons of resilience, teamwork and communication have been echoed in work experience at Inmarsat and WSP. As well as practical skills in evidence-based design and application of physical principles to telecoms systems, I learnt the importance of communication and time management to an effective team.

Teamwork and leadership are skills I extend to my life outside engineering. I participate in the school Sound & Light team, a role I aim to continue at university. I’ve grown into an organizing role at a politically and socially engaged youth group. I was elected by my peers to a number of positions – House Officer, Senior Pupil and Enfield Youth Parliament – in which I aim to improve opportunities for young people in my borough. Similarly, I feel that engineering provides a tangible way to improve the lives of people around the world, through creative application of physical principles and mathematical techniques that I can’t wait to learn about.