Judges

The judges for the British Engineering Excellence Awards have been drawn from a cross section of electronic and engineering design disciplines. They are all technical and well qualified people who champion innovative engineering design.

Message from the Chairman of the Judges

The Engineering Industry has always been the cornerstone of genuine economic growth and national competitive strength and I doubt that any other sector has been able to demonstrate an equivalent visionary contribution to everyday life.

As we recover from recession, there can be no better time to deploy all our engineering resource to build an economy that can be recognised as world leading, with skills and value added enterprises as its foundations.

The proper recognition of our accomplishments is what drives all of us to higher levels and the achievement of engineering excellence is no exception. The British Engineering Excellence Awards have established a national platform by providing for such recognition and allow a celebration of the basic truth that skill, imagination and endeavour are the true ingredients for success. There can be no better accolade than to be seen by your own community as having achieved something very special.

In today’s competitive world, only the best will survive and only the excellent will provide for market leadership. The British Engineering Excellence Awards are an essential part of pushing our performance to ever higher standards and an opportunity to showcase our best products and solutions. To receive one of the Awards is a massive endorsement to any company and should inspire its entire staff for a job well done. To win overall is to be world leading and there can be no higher accolade.

I am confident not only in the abilities of the UK’s engineering sector, but also in its world class skill and innovation. I urge you to engage with us in recognising the best.

David Kynaston
Chairman of Judges

David Kynaston - Chairman of Judges

Previously Chair of the Electronics Innovation Growth Team, on behalf of the Secretary of State, culminating with the publication of “Electronics 2015 – Making a visible difference” in December 2004.

David has a first class degree in Applied Physics from Strathclyde University, and is a holder of the Kelvin prize for physics.

President of Solectron from 1996 to 2001, he led the development, growth and strategic deployment of Solectron's European operations.

Previous roles have included Managing Director of Philips Private Mobile Radio Division, Philips Business Communications Systems Division and Philips Mullard Ltd. Subsidiary, Operations Director of EMI Medical Ltd, Technical Director of Cambridge Scientific Instruments.

Colin Brown - Director of Engineering

Colin Brown has spent 25 years in engineering industry since graduating with a PhD on the fatigue behaviour of titanium alloys. During that time he has worked for Rolls-Royce, BP and T&N in a range of business roles. He also has experience in SME and spin-out companies of generating value from engineering excellence. Importantly he also has worked abroad in North America, Europe and the Far East as well as here in the UK.

In 2005 he joined the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to support their work in promoting the value of engineering. He has a strong belief in the ability of engineers to add value and to improve living standards especially through sharing best practice and by displaying professional competence. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining as well as the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Web: www.imeche.org

Mark Sanders - Director

Mark Sanders trained as a Mechanical Engineer at Imperial College and Rolls-Royce.

After working in the engineering industry for several years, he also trained as a Designer at the Royal College of Art in London.

This combination of science and art usually gives efficient, elegant product solutions (engineering), that are also appealing and straightforward for all users (design).

Mark has combined these professions for 25 years as an engineer, inventor, and design consultant. His award winning products sell in 10’s of millions, globally.

He is a visiting lecturer at various schools and colleges in UK & abroad, including the RCA and Imperial College in London.

Web: www.mas-design.com

Doug Cross - Technical Director

Doug Cross is Technical Director, and co-founder of Flybrid Systems LLP, a green technology company which makes mechanical hybrid systems for motorsports and OEM automotive markets.

Prior to founding Flybrid Systems Doug worked at the Renault Formula One team, where he was responsible for the design of their first 19,000rpm 2.4L V8 engine. During his time at Renault they achieved back to back victories in both the drivers and constructors Formula One championships.

Before this he designed F1 engines for Toyota, living in Cologne, Germany, for five years.

He started his career at Ricardo Consulting Engineers designing engines for road-car customers.

Web: www.flybridsystems.com

Harry Tee CBE - Chairman

Harry Tee has worked in the electronics industry for more than 35 years, firstly as a design engineer, then moving into sales, marketing and general management.

In 1990, he founded The Roxboro Group PLC and grew this to a £200million company, acquiring companies such as Weston and Solartron. He listed Roxboro on the LSE full market in 1994.

Harry is now chairman of a number of companies, including Dialight, the world’s largest independent solid state lighting company, Scientific Digital Imaging, which he took to the AIM market in 2008, and Piezotag, a start up company developing battery free tyre pressure monitoring technology.

Harry is also chairman of the Electronics Leadership Council, having been appointed by the Secretary of State for Industry in 2005 to form the Council and lead its work. He was honoured by her Majesty the Queen with a CBE in the 2008 Birthday Honours List for his services to the electronics industry.

Tel: 01638 665161
Email: htee@dialightplc.com
Web: www.electronicsleadershipcouncil.org

Kate Bellingham, Presenter and Broadcaster

Kate Bellingham did not set out to become a TV presenter. She was ‘spotted’ whilst working for the BBC as an electronics engineer and invited to audition for a Schools TV programme, ‘Techno’. Having embarked on a career in ‘show biz’, her engineering background, along with a degree in physics from Oxford University and experience as a computer programmer, came in useful during her four years as a presenter on the flagship science and technology programme ‘Tomorrow’s World’.

Kate went on to present her own weekly programme on Radio 5 Live, ‘The Big Bang’ on Children’s ITV and other programmes for the Open University, BBC Schools and Channel 5. Subsequent broadcasts included a seven-part science series for the Open University, an engineering series for BBC2’s ‘Learning Zone’, ‘Testing Times’, a series for Radio 4 about the challenges faced on major engineering projects and a series on maths for BBC Schools Radio.

She is currently filming a new series for BBC2 about the work that goes on behind the scenes at the Natural History Museum, which is due to be transmitted in 2010.

Among Kate’s current projects is her work as the National STEM Careers Coordinator, supporting the Department for Children, Schools and Families' (DCSF) STEM campaign. She is also Education Ambassador for the 3 year Bloodhound Engineering Adventure – Richard Noble’s latest World Land Speed Record attempt aiming for 1000mph by 2011.

Kate also regularly hosts conferences and seminars for major companies and is very much involved in projects promoting science, engineering and technology to the general public. She is President of Young Engineers, the national network of engineering clubs in schools and colleges, and sits on the Knowledge Management Board for the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and is a Patron of WISE – Women into Science, Engineering and Construction.

In 1997 Kate was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Technology by Staffordshire University in recognition of her work. In 2003 she obtained an MSc in Electronics with distinction at the University of Hertfordshire. Kate was awarded the ‘Public Promotion of Engineering’ Medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2004, and between 2006 and 2008 Kate qualified and worked as a secondary maths teacher.

Graham Pitcher – Group Editor, Findlay Media Engineering Design Division

Graham Pitcher has worked as a journalist and editor for 30 years. Working mainly in the electronics industry, he also has broad expertise in computer aided design, industrial automation and computing technologies. For the past 15 years, he has been involved with the development of New Electronics and has edited the magazine for more than 10 years. As group editor of Findlay Media’s Engineering Design Division, he is responsible for New Electronics and Eureka magazines.

An engineer by training, he has worked in the steel and petrochemical industries.

Tel: 01322 221144
Email: gpitcher@findlay.co.uk
Web: www.newelectronics.co.uk

Andrew Sleigh – Senior Scientific Advisor

Andrew Sleigh was appointed Group Chief Technology Officer in April 2007. He is responsible for leading the development of QinetiQ Group’s technology strategy and is custodian for QinetiQ’s investment processes. He ensures that the EMEA and QinetiQ North America regions have a strong technology axis, are able to sustain the foundations for world class science and innovation, and are fully exploiting opportunities for growth.

Andrew joined QinetiQ when it became a plc in 2001 and before his current appointment, held the position of Managing Director of the Defence & Technology Sector. Before joining QinetiQ, he was Capability Manager for Information Superiority and member of MOD’s Joint Capabilities Board. He has over 30 years’ experience in defence-related technology and its exploitation into adjacent markets. He was a Managing Director in the Defence Evaluation & Research Agency (DERA) until 1997, and before that, worked at the Royal Radar Establishment.

Andrew read physics at St Catherine's, Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and was for several years a Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London. He is a Member of OFCOM Spectrum Management Advisor Board, a Member of the SBAC Council and a Member of the NDIC Research and Development Group. He is also a Member of the European Commission Framework Programme 7 Security Advisory Group.

Tel: 01252 392000
Web: www.qinetiq.com

Eric Wilkinson – Head of Product Development

Eric Wilkinson is a Director of Cambridge Consultants and Head of Product Development.

He has managed projects as diverse as the development of the latest in anti-terrorism radar, a revolutionary cosmetics applicator, the world’s most intelligent iron and even something to liven up a can of beer!

This varied experience across a range of different industries has given Eric the insight necessary to manage some of this innovative company’s largest projects.

Tel: 01223 420024
Email: eric.wilkinson@cambridgeconsultants.com
Web: www.cambridgeconsultants.com

Nick Appleyard – Lead Technologist, Electronics, Photonics and Electrical Systems, Technology Strategy Board.

Dr Nick Appleyard’s first career, as a condensed matter physicist, culminated in work at Cambridge on quantum behaviour in compound semiconductor devices, after which, with unerring timing, he moved into the semiconductor manufacturing industry in early 2001.

He worked on materials processing equipment for Trikon Technologies (now Aviza) and Surface Technology Systems, developing tooling and processes for etching and thin film deposition. Nick still claims the world record for cutting a trench into silicon using a plasma, at 8inches per hour.

Nick joined the Technology Strategy Board in July 2007 as Lead Technologist for Electronics, Photonics and Electrical Systems. This role involves formulating strategies for government to invest in the future of technology intensive industries, and then delivering on them using a toolkit that includes Knowledge Transfer Networks, R&D project funding, skills placements and policy inputs. The aim is to develop cross disciplinary linkages that underpin new market opportunities, and Nick’s current focus is on the digital economy and low carbon agendas.

Nick is also a director of Westmill wind farm in Oxfordshire.

Tel: 01793 442700
Email: nick.appleyard@tsb.gov.uk
Web: www.innovateuk.org

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