IMechE Mechatronics Engineering Student of the Year Announced

Four student finalists battled it out to win the coveted title of ‘Mechatronics Engineering Student of the Year’ sponsored by L.B. Foster Europe, at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) headquarters in London.

Twenty three year old Adam Fry is studying Electronics Engineering at the University of Bath. His unmanned ground vehicle platform design project was judged the best example of the application of mechatronics by a panel of industry and academic experts.

Dr Martyn Paradise, judge and former managing director of L.B. Foster Automation, presented Adam with a £1000 cheque on behalf of sponsor L.B. Foster Europe. He said: “The quality of the entries in this year’s competition was exceptional, as were the four finalists. The depth of intellect, research and development demonstrated in each candidate’s final presentation was truly inspiring and made the job all the more difficult for the panel.

“However, Adam’s entry stood out for its application of mechatronics in its truest sense. The complex design of his unmanned ground vehicle platform showed a real understanding of the challenges we face day-to-day as design engineers. Our congratulations to Adam.”

Adam says: “Obviously I am over the moon to win. It was a big surprise as the other entries in the room gave me stiff competition. It was a great experience presenting to the judges and members of the IMechE board. Winning is great for my CV and I hope it the award will prove attractive to future employers too.”

This year’s finalists included Edward Sayer from the University of Bristol (Project: Medical device for assessing patients with peripheral neuropathy); Harry Page, University of Southampton (Project: Low cost, tendon-driven robotic hand with controller); and Paul Yule, University of Strathclyde with his Drone Gimbal. 

Phil Chester, Head of Marketing, L.B. Foster Europe, says: “Our business is a big supporter of innovation so to see its application in action in the IMechE boardroom was something else. That’s why we’ve already committed to sponsoring next year’s Mechatronics Engineering Student of the Year.

“I was blown away by the finalists’ presentations. With that depth of thought and level of application, these guys really look to have a very bright future ahead of them.”

Hosted at the IMechE headquarters at 1 Birdcage Walk, London, the annual awards celebrate the best undergraduate or recent graduate student project in the field of mechatronics. Judges included Dr Martyn Paradise, Dr Mark Aston, Chief Technical Officer at L.B. Foster Europe and Dr Chris Ward from Loughborough University.

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering that includes a combination of mechanical engineering, robotics, electronics, computer engineering, telecommunications engineering, systems engineering and control engineering.

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