Latest news with #mechanicalengineering
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Teenager wins university place after poolside chat led to life-changing bursary
A teenager is celebrating top A-level grades after a chance conversation led to him being offered a free place at his dream school. Former competitive swimmer turned-rower, Felix Merritt, 18, gained a 110% bursary to attend Millfield School in Somerset. It happened after his mother got chatting to a stranger whilst poolside, who told her about the Springboard charity and encouraged them to apply. The teenager gained A grades in maths, physics and product design while living with the long-term conditions ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. He now plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Bath. Mr Merritt recently competed in the British Rowing Championships and came home with a silver medal in the Men's Beginner 2x category having only been rowing for a year. Having previously represented Great Britain in 2022 in the 100/200m backstroke events, he discovered rowing at Millfield, forming strong friendships and regularly training with former students in Bath, as well as using facilities on campus. Springboard connects children from disadvantaged backgrounds with boarding schools that are willing to provide 110% bursaries. The bursary, funded by Millfield, not only covers fees but includes uniform and sports kit, travel to and from school and essential items. Originally from East Sussex, the teenager moved to Dorchester with his mother and younger sister during lockdown. He attended a state school in Dorchester but believed he could succeed better at a school offering smaller class sizes and greater support. To help with his condition, Mr Merritt was supported by his house parents who regularly cooked gluten-free options to help him manage his symptoms. The teenager, who joined in lower sixth as a boarder, said: 'I am overjoyed with my results and so grateful for the opportunities that I have had these past two years at what I can only describe as my dream school that was always out of reach. 'Coming to Millfield really focused me. I would not have done as well if I stayed at my old school. 'The support that I have had in house has been amazing and I cannot thank them enough. 'Millfield has really boosted me academically and I think that is due to the teachers, being around like-minded peers, and the support from my house parents.' Headmaster Gavin Horgan said: 'Felix epitomises what Millfield can do for a young person given the opportunity to access and balance academics and sport at high levels. 'To also manage health conditions and switch and excel in a new sport is testament to the hard work he has put into making the most of his two years in sixth form. 'We wish him the very best in his future path.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Teenager wins university place after poolside chat led to life-changing bursary
A teenager is celebrating top A-level grades after a chance conversation led to him being offered a free place at his dream school. Former competitive swimmer turned-rower, Felix Merritt, 18, gained a 110% bursary to attend Millfield School in Somerset. It happened after his mother got chatting to a stranger whilst poolside, who told her about the Springboard charity and encouraged them to apply. The teenager gained A grades in maths, physics and product design while living with the long-term conditions ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. He now plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Bath. Mr Merritt recently competed in the British Rowing Championships and came home with a silver medal in the Men's Beginner 2x category having only been rowing for a year. Having previously represented Great Britain in 2022 in the 100/200m backstroke events, he discovered rowing at Millfield, forming strong friendships and regularly training with former students in Bath, as well as using facilities on campus. Springboard connects children from disadvantaged backgrounds with boarding schools that are willing to provide 110% bursaries. The bursary, funded by Millfield, not only covers fees but includes uniform and sports kit, travel to and from school and essential items. Originally from East Sussex, the teenager moved to Dorchester with his mother and younger sister during lockdown. He attended a state school in Dorchester but believed he could succeed better at a school offering smaller class sizes and greater support. To help with his condition, Mr Merritt was supported by his house parents who regularly cooked gluten-free options to help him manage his symptoms. The teenager, who joined in lower sixth as a boarder, said: 'I am overjoyed with my results and so grateful for the opportunities that I have had these past two years at what I can only describe as my dream school that was always out of reach. 'Coming to Millfield really focused me. I would not have done as well if I stayed at my old school. 'The support that I have had in house has been amazing and I cannot thank them enough. 'Millfield has really boosted me academically and I think that is due to the teachers, being around like-minded peers, and the support from my house parents.' Headmaster Gavin Horgan said: 'Felix epitomises what Millfield can do for a young person given the opportunity to access and balance academics and sport at high levels. 'To also manage health conditions and switch and excel in a new sport is testament to the hard work he has put into making the most of his two years in sixth form. 'We wish him the very best in his future path.'
CTV News
3 days ago
- Science
- CTV News
UCalgary students construct water storage facility for Costa Rican village
The small village of Taus, Costa Rica, is drinking much cleaner water, thanks in large part to a group of students from the University of Calgary. The small village of Taus, Costa Rica, is drinking much cleaner water, thanks in large part to a group of students from the University of Calgary. 'This town's current water source was depreciating, and it needed to be revamped. It was very old,' said Caden Kjelgren, who is entering his third year of mechanical engineering studies. 'While we were on the grounds, we managed to greatly repair the storage tank. We managed to begin the implementation of sedimentation, a new water source capture tank, and that new water source would more than double the town's water capacity and water flow.' The village's system had been in place for 35 years. The small village of Taus, Costa Rica, is drinking much cleaner water, thanks in large part to a group of students from the University of Calgary. The small village of Taus, Costa Rica, is drinking much cleaner water, thanks in large part to a group of students from the University of Calgary. Kjelgren, along with nine other students and one adviser, made the trip south in May. They documented the one-week visit and helped frame and pour concrete for a new water storage facility, installing new water pipes and filtration systems so locals can have fresh water. 'The Costa Rica project really provided me with an opportunity to see kind of how engineering can have a real-world impact,' said Owen Thurbide, who is entering his final year of mechanical engineering studies. 'It was an opportunity for me to apply engineering skills in a real-world setting. Also, being able to help other people and address water insecurity, which is important to me.' The small village of Taus, Costa Rica, is drinking much cleaner water, thanks in large part to a group of students from the University of Calgary. The small village of Taus, Costa Rica, is drinking much cleaner water, thanks in large part to a group of students from the University of Calgary. The idea began through Project90. It's an engineering club that was first started in 2011 at the U of C's Schulich School of Engineering and focuses on engineering projects that can benefit humanity. 'Approximately 10 per cent of the population in the world receives 90 per cent of the engineering benefits,' said Kjelgren. Project90 focuses on the other 90 per cent of the population. 'Being on the ground and being able to communicate with the locals and see how much water is important to them … they often described it as like a source of life," said Thurbide. 'And one of the locals described it as like where a town starts is where the water system is.' The small village of Taus, Costa Rica, is drinking much cleaner water, thanks in large part to a group of students from the University of Calgary. The small village of Taus, Costa Rica, is drinking much cleaner water, thanks in large part to a group of students from the University of Calgary. The small village of Taus, Costa Rica, is drinking much cleaner water, thanks in large part to a group of students from the University of Calgary. The aqueduct is in place and has helped the community with flow and taps not having any water. Project90 admits the adventure was costly, but the students had funding help from the university and charities. Project90 is looking for sponsors to help with future endeavours. The group did run into some structural problems in Costa Rica when building on the land. 'It's all about applying what you learn in classes, applying them to real-world problems,' said Ahmad Ghasemloonia, associate dean of students at the Schulich School of Engineering. 'But generally, that's a good lesson for our students—that they realized that what you know from textbooks (and) what we know in classes could be very, very different once it comes to application.'
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
German engineering firms see lower orders as tariff concerns persist
German mechanical engineering companies experienced a drop in new orders in the second quarter of the year as firms awaited the impact of US tariffs, the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) trade group said on Monday. Despite strong demand from the eurozone, the second quarter saw a price-adjusted decline of 2%. However, thanks to a strong start, real order values still grew by 1% in the first half of the year, according to the VDMA. "This growth is solely attributable to rising demand from the eurozone countries and should be a positive sign that Europe is indeed in the process of strengthening its own position," said VDMA chief economist Johannes Gernandt. While orders from the eurozone rose by 19% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, they were unable to offset the lower demand from the domestic market and non-eurozone countries, where orders were down 1% and 9% respectively. In June, companies received 13% fewer orders from outside the eurozone compared to the previous year. Overall, the month ended with 5% fewer orders than a year ago. The VDMA experts attribute the decline to the tariff dispute with the United States. The effects of the planned 15% tariff on EU exports to the US - agreed at the end of July - cannot yet be estimated, the group said. "At least companies now have planning security, which has been bought at a high price - provided the 'deal' holds," Gernandt said. Sign in to access your portfolio
CBS News
02-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Stanford researchers unveil breakthrough for treating blood clots in stroke, heart attack patients
Stanford researchers have discovered a breakthrough technology to eliminate blood clots to treat strokes, heart attacks, and other clot-related diseases. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. It happens when a clot blocks blood flow in the brain. Time is crucial when treating stroke patients. During a stroke, millions of neurons die every second, causing permanent, irreversible damage to the brain. The researchers came up with a new, life-saving way to shrink and remove these damaging clots. The technology is called a milli-spinner thrombectomy. Renee Zhao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University, is leading breakthrough technology in treating stroke patients. "This new technology is extremely exciting because we physically developed the first mechanism to shrink the size of the clot, so we can shrink the clot from its original size to just 5% of its original volume," said Renee Zhao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University. Currently, the only way to treat stroke patients is to either inject a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a chemical to dissolve the clot, which only works in the first few hours. The clot can then be removed through aspiration thrombectomy, sucking it out like a vacuum machine or through mechanical thrombectomy stent removal to pull out the clot. The problem with both cases is that the clot can easily break apart, fragmenting into smaller pieces that could move into extremely difficult places to reach. Zhao said their the milli-spinner thrombectomy invention actually changes the microstructure of the clot. "This is very similar to the microstructure of a clot," said Zhao. "It's a bunch of fiber networks, and it's very loosely distributed. And now what the spinner is doing is that when it rotates, it generates a sheer force. It's like my palm applying a sheer force just like that, so it densifies the fiber network. Eventually, what we see is a highly-densified fiber core." The incredible thing is that Zhao and her researchers were completely surprised by their invention, never expecting to see the clot transform before their eyes. "Interestingly, we found a very exciting phenomenon," said Zhao. "We physically saw the clot start to turn white because a clot is red and it has all the red blood cells in the fiber network, but it turned white! That's bizarre! Basically, we've never seen anything like that." "The first step is I'm going to load our milli-spinner into the catheter," said Stanford 4th-year Ph. D. student Yilong Chang. "Here's what our milli-spinner looks like. It's 1.2 millimeter in diameter. It's very small. It has a unique geometry with a hole in the front and four slits on the side." Researchers gave us a demo of the milli-spinner in action, showing us exactly how it works and how quickly it can remove a clot. "Now I still feel this mechanism is not something that someone can easily come up with a clot treatment strategy by extracting the fiber," said Zhao. "Nobody would think of that, so the key point of the way we do research is always feel free and open to the unexpected findings, and they will always give us something that is beyond imagination!" The spirit of Zhao's lab is one of curiosity, creativity and exploration. She said true innovation comes when you embrace the unexpected. It's this passion that drives the advancements of her lab's impressive scientific discoveries. Zhao's new technology, published last month in the scientific journal Nature, is more than twice as effective as current techniques. Zhao and her team of researchers are hoping to perform their first trial on a human next year.
