euspen Challenge, July 2014

euspen Challenge is an annual international competition held by euspen identifying students with potential to be future leaders in the field of precision engineering and nanotechnology.

This year, euspen and HEIDENHAIN GmbH hosted thirty European and international students 1st-3rd of July 2014 in Traunreut, Germany.

Students were placed into ten teams and provided with a set of limited materials, tools and test equipment to help build a proto-type within twenty four hours.

The task was to solve a problem of trembling hands associated with using a laser pointer. Laser pointers are used to guide the eyes of the audience to relevant parts of a presentation but presenters with trembling hands often distract or even irritate the audience. Their solution had to be presented to a jury of academics and industrialists who deliberated for several hours before deciding upon the winners.

Prizes were awarded to Team Gauss for the “Overall Winning International Team”; Team Hertz who were awarded the “Best Presentation & Most Innovative Solution” and Team Planck received their prize for “Best Performance of the Prototype”.

Jonathan Abir, a PhD research student in the EPSRC Centre in Ultra Precision, who represented Cranfield University, UK and was part of winning Team Hertz said, “I relished the task of working with other students to solve a technical challenge with real life applications!”

Karen Yu, PhD researcher, EPSRC Centre in Ultra Precision (University of Cambridge) during her team presentation
Nan Yu, PhD researcher, EPSRC Centre in Ultra Precision (Cranfield University) during his team presentation
Jonathan Abir (centre), PhD researcher, EPSRC Centre in Ultra Precision (Cranfield University) with his team during the Challenge
Team Hertz -“Best Presentation & Most Innovative Solution” L-R: Dr Wolfgang Knapp, euspen President; Jonathan Abir (Cranfield University, UK), Veronica Iacovacci (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, IT), Tomas Lazak (Czech Technical University, CZ)

Images courtesy of euspen Limited