Academics from the Department of Engineering will speak on subjects such as climate change and technology

As part of the Festival, the Department of Engineering will open its doors to the public on Saturday 17 March, 10am-4pm, for a bumper day of interactive activities and informative talks:

• 10.30am-12noon – Build your own electronic sensors from scratch and learn how modern sensors work. Booking required.
• All day – Design, make, test and modify battery-powered toy cars and race them in challenges.
• All day – Future Infrastructure and Built Environment (FIBE) research students will take you on a hands-on tour of Civil Engineering including activities such as building your own castle to withstand the impact of projectiles.
• 12noon-1pm – Graduate students enrolled for a PhD in engineering will take on the challenge of sharing their research with you in just 6 minutes 40 seconds.
• 1pm-4pm – Join researchers from the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) and the Laing O’Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology for demonstrations and hands-on activities to discover how we can use technology to make our infrastructure ‘Smart’.
• All day - Explore the future of nuclear energy with PhD researchers from Cambridge, Imperial College London and the Open University.

There will also be an open day at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), part of the Department of Engineering, on Saturday 24 March, 1pm-5pm:

• 1pm-5pm – There will be laser lab tours running where experts will demonstrate various laser technologies and explain how they are used in the industry.
• 1pm-5pm – There will be various hands-on activities including laser tin can alley, a group selfie etched onto steel opportunity, and a range of the latest science-based products from local companies available to try.
• 1.30pm-2.30pm | 3.30pm -4.30pm – Professor Tim Minshall, Head of the IfM, and colleagues will explore how body parts, cars, clothes, medicines and many more things are being made using extraordinary new manufacturing techniques. Booking required.
• 2pm-4pm – Graduate students enrolled for a PhD in engineering will take on the challenge of sharing their research with you in just 6 minutes 40 seconds.

Academics from the Department of Engineering will also speak on subjects such as climate change and technology. This year’s line-up includes:

Dr Phillip Stanley-Marbell, Lecturer in the Internet of Things, will highlight new research relating to everyday materials that are augmented with sensing and computation. Dr Stanley-Marbell will speak on Monday 12 March at 7.30pm. Booking required.

Dr Adrian Weller, Senior Research Fellow in Machine Learning, on how processes are being developed to ensure AI systems are transparent, reliable and trustworthy. Dr Weller will speak on Thursday 15 March at 7.30pm. Booking required.

Dr Hugh Hunt, Reader in Engineering Dynamics and Vibration, will discuss what life would be like now if the Victorians had engineered things differently, on Saturday 17 March at 2pm. Booking required.

Allan McRobie, Reader in Engineering, on understanding curved surfaces that span the human body, science, engineering, and art. Mr McRobie will speak on Saturday 17 March at 3pm. Booking required.

Dr Milica Gasic, Lecturer in Spoken Dialogue Systems, on how researchers in machine learning teach computers to talk. Dr Gasic will speak on Wednesday 21 March at 6pm. Booking required.

Meanwhile, Dr Hunt will explore climate change on Thursday 22 March at 6pm asking: is it safe to meddle with the climate when we only have one Earth?

To find out more, visit www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk