Electronics, Power and
Energy Conversion Group
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The World's First Fully Superconducting Motor
18th November 2010
This machine has been developed in the Engineering Department, Cambridge University, UK
and in conjunction with Magnifye Ltd from 2005 to 2010
New magnet technology attracts funding
02 April 2009
A Cambridge University spin-out has received proof of concept funding to push out a new type of magnet that could find itself rolled out across several multi-million pound industry sectors within the next two years. Magnifye has used 39k of EEDA funding to test the market for its innovative method of magnetising superconducting material which can create magnets over 10 times stronger than conventionally produced magnets.
PowerSi Technologies wins prizes
4 February 2009
PowerSi Technologies Limited, a spin-out from the Department of Engineering, have won prizes at both the 2008 Cambridge University Entrepreneurs (CUE) £5K Challenge and the 21st Century China UK Entrepreneurship Competition. Last October 336 teams entered the serial CUE Challenge business plan competitions. The team of PowerSi Technologies won both Technology Prize and Cleantech Prize as announced at the recent prizegiving ceremony, pitching in front of a panel of Cambridge entrepreneurs, business angels and venture capitalists. The team also won the first place in the 21st Century China UK Entrepreneurship Competition out of more than 200 entries from both the UK and China. The team presented at the China UK Showcase held in London in June with prestigious delegates from both the UK and China. The two prizes include £12,000 cash, free IP services worth £5,500 and other free advisory services. PowerSi Technologies was recently founded by Dr Patrick Palmer, Reader in Electrical Engineering, and two of his former PhD students, Dr Zhihan Wang and Dr Yalan Wang, from the Electronics, Power and Energy Conversion group of the Department. Their winning business plan is to promote the technologies for power semiconductors and controllers in renewable energy applications.
Engineering student picks up UK's first ever Best Student Paper Award at IEEE International Conference on Sensors
7 January 2009
Ibraheem Haneef, a PhD student in the High Voltage Microelectronics (HVM) Group in the Electrical Engineering Division, is the first ever student from the UK to win a best paper award at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Sensors conference. He won the third place Best Student Paper Award at the 7th IEEE International Conference on Sensors that was recently held at Lecce , Italy. His paper entitled "Laminar to Turbulent Flow Transition Measurement Using an Array of SOI CM OS MEMS Wall Shear Stress Sensors" was one of the six finalist student papers (out of sixty papers) selected by a panel of international experts. During the conference, the authors of the six finalists papers were asked to give a six minute special presentation to the selection committee, which chose the be st three papers based upon the originality, quality of research work and quality of written and oral presentation of the authors. The other co-authors with Ibraheem, also from the Department, include S. Zeeshan Ali and Dr Florin Udrea from the HVM Group, and John Coull and Professor Howard P. Hodson from the Whittle Laboratory.
A novel memory device set to rival transistor-switched silicon-based memory
25 June 2008
Working with an international group of researchers, Professor Gehan Amaratunga has produced a novel memory device which is set to rival transistor-switched silicon-based memory. In the world of technology, expanding knowledge results in shrinking products. Laptops, mobile phones and MP3 players are as small as their components allow. Companies are constantly battling to make their products faster, smarter and smaller. Conventional memory chips in electronic devices are made up of transistors, resistors, and capacitors built in layers on a silicon wafer through a photolithographic process, during which precise patterns are etched on the silicon to form the chip. Today's technology allows several million transistors to be built on a piece of silicon the size of a pinhead, but many researchers believe this form of memory has been pushed to its limits.
Professor Gehan Amaratunga receives Royal Academy of Engineerings Silver Medal
11 June 2007
Professor Gehan Amaratunga has been presented with the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Silver Medal, recognising outstanding personal contribution to UK engineering. Gehan is Head of the Electronics, Power and Energy Conversion group at the Department. He receives the Silver Medal for his pioneering development of special silicon chips with built-in high voltage power-switching devices. These integrated circuits are used in the AC/DC converters essential for most consumer electronics. He has formed several successful companies to commercialise his work, including CamSemi and Enecsys. His latest project is to develop nanoscale supercapacitors to replace batteries in products from electric vehicles to PDAs. Gehan and his team have grown forests of multi-walled carbon tubes just billionths of a metre wide. When sandwiched with silicon nitride between niobium and aluminium electrodes they create a tiny capacitor that packs a real punch in terms of energy storage.
New technology improves the reliability of wind turbines
29 October 2007
The world's first commercial Brushless Doubly-Fed Generator (BDFG) is to be installed on a 20kW turbine at or close to the Department's Electrical Engineering Division Building on the West Cambridge site by early 2008. This will help the University meet its obligations under new legislation, which requires a new building to obtain ten percent of its electricity from renewable sources. The research team based here at the Department, led by Dr Richard McMahon, have developed a new generator technology for the wind turbine industry to the point of commercial exploitation. This type of generator can be used in a wide spectrum of wind turbines ranging from multi-megawatt systems for wind farms down to micro turbines used for domestic power generation.
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© Cambridge University, Engineering Department, Electrical Engineering Division, 9 JJ Thomson Ave,Cambridge, CB3 0FA. UK (map)
Tel: +44 1223 748300, Fax: +44 1223 748348, Information provided by jpn25
Tel: +44 1223 748300, Fax: +44 1223 748348, Information provided by jpn25