PREP '99 - Conference for Young Researchers

Kybernetes

ISSN: 0368-492X

Article publication date: 1 July 1999

54

Keywords

Citation

Hutton, D.M. (1999), "PREP '99 - Conference for Young Researchers", Kybernetes, Vol. 28 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.1999.06728eab.007

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited


PREP '99 - Conference for Young Researchers

5-7 January 1999 at University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST, UK)

Keywords Young people, Technology

PREP '99 was held in Manchester, UK at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology when some hundred oral and poster presentations were made by postgraduate students. One of the most important features of this student conference was that many were presenting their work in public for the first time. There was no doubt that the young researchers responded enthusiastically to the challenge of presenting and publishing their research results to a wider audience and, particularly to their own generation of researchers. This was claimed to be the first student-focused conference in the UK that concentrated on electrons, photonics and related fields.

PREP was sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, UK), the IEE, the IEEE and IOP. One participant told the EPSRC's conference organisers that: "I received valuable encouragement and feedback on my research from delegates and judges".

This typical response was expressed by PhD student Richard Turner from Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. He was investigating reconfigurable FPGA technology.

The range of topics covered included presentations that covered innovative ideas in many areas such as: computer methods, sensors, device physics, materials fabricator techniques and digital and analogue circuitry.

One of the main attractions of the conference were the awards for each of the best papers and posters. These were cash prizes of £500 for each winner. They were sponsored by Phillips, DERA and Roke Manor. Readers of this review will be interested not only in the winners themselves but their institutions and also the subjects they were researching. They were:

  • Best presentation in optical devices and systems: Robert Ranson (Nottingham Trent University, UK) for the paper: "Development of phosphor thermography".

    Best presentation in devices, materials and analogue circuits: Neil Bourhill (Leeds University, UK) for the paper: "Conversion gain and intermodulation performance of a w-band MMIC self-oscillating optoelectronic upconverter".

    Best presentation in digital circuits and methods: Piotr Dudek (UMIST, UK) for the paper: "An SIMD array of analogue microprocessors for early vision".

    Best oral presentation: Dominique Morrison (Newcastle University, UK) for the presentation: "The effect of surface defects on forward I-V characteristics of SiC".

    Best poster presentation: Ed Chester (Newcastle University, UK) for the poster: "Development of a high-speed 32b real arithmetic unit of DSP and graphics applications using logarithmic number system techniques".

One other attraction for the young scientists was the opportunity to have their papers published in the conference proceedings. At the traditional conference the work of young researchers is more often than not submerged beneath the work of their seniors. Here we will have the opportunity of reading the researches of one generation of postgraduate students in the one set of proceedings.

Another valuable feature which organisers of conferences for all generations of research workers should note, is the benefit of having displays by leading companies offering future employment opportunities, and from short courses designed to help broaden skills as an aid to career progression and job hunting.

The keynote speeches were made by Professor Peter Cochrane, BT's Head of Research and Helen Sharman, the UK's first astronaut. Professor Cochrane looked forward to a total IT future and said:

Our entire history has been dominated by the production and trading of artefacts in a world of random interactions. But IT is creating a chaotic world dominated by information. Bits now rule the atoms,and e-commerce lubricates the economy of the planet.

Helen Sharman described her experiences in preparing for a mission to the Mir Space Station, on which she set up experiments of value to research being conducted on earth. She said that:

In ten years time, with creativity and an increase of scientific and technical knowledge, we will have more and more people working in space and associated industries on the ground.

Perhaps an example of the ingenuity of the younger researchers was that exhibited by those who entered the "Design a Device" competition. Many innovative and practical devices had been designed. The competition was won by Gareth Willians of the University of Wales at Bangor, UK. He created a device the size of a pager, for use by elderly people. The device automatically sends an alarm signal by phone when it detects the impact of a person falling over. The second prize went to Alan Wong of Hull University, UK. He designed a device which uses digital techniques to produce a bass accompaniment to other sounds, say to supplement musicians in a band.

The first prize was for £1000 and the second prize £500. They were sponsored by ARM Ltd. The judges, according to the Managing Director of ARM Ltd, Robin Saxby, emphasised that:

(they) looked for a solid concept, creativity and a path to exploitation. The secret is to follow through an idea with energy, dedication and hard work.

There is no doubt that these remarks were good advice not only to the competitors for these prizes but for all the young participants of this successful conference. It must be noted that the next PREP conference has already been planned for April 2000. It should make an excellent start to the millennium for another generation of young researchers.

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