Perspectives Issue 2 / December 2016

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6 Perspectives Keeping staff informed December 2016 7 Perspectives online: Intranet > 'Communications' > 'Perspectives'
Big BEN project in London
strikes a blow for the low-
carbon economy
We are playing our own small part in helping to
combat global warming by enabling electricity
to be generated in a way that actually removes
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Our Combustion, Carbon Capture and Storage Centre is working in
collaboration with carbon-negative technology business Origen Power,
on a fuel cell calciner. This new technology will capture CO2 from the
atmosphere – providing negative CO2 overall emissions – and so help
keep its concentration in the atmosphere as low as possible, while
electricity is generated.
This is as part of the wider BEN (Balanced Energy Networks) project
on the London South Bank University campus in Southwark. The £2.9
million two-year project, funded by Innovate UK and led by cleantech
company ICAX, is delivering both a physical and digital network to
integrate systems that will enable the balancing of heating, cooling,
electricity and carbon to minimise costs.
Our share is nearly £512,000 and we are aiming to utilise the waste
heat and chemical energy from a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in an
innovative calciner. This will enable the production of a pure stream of
CO2 ready for sequestration (the process involved in carbon capture).
The spent sorbent (a material used to absorb or adsorb liquids or
gases) will be used to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and so provide
negative CO2 overall emissions.
Our pledge of support
The University has joined a growing group of organisations
that have pledged support for the military community and their
families by signing up to the UK Armed Forces Covenant.
Our Vice-Chancellor Sir Peter Gregson said: “We are delighted to add our
name to the UK Armed Forces Covenant. Support for our Armed Forces,
which contribute so much to our University, community and country, has been
in the DNA of Cranfield since our founding on the site of RAF Cranfield 70
years ago.”
Mark Lancaster, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence
Personnel and Veterans, witnessed the university signing by Sir Peter
Gregson alongside members of staff who currently serve or have served in
the armed forces.
What’s the basis of a great team?
Does the proportion of women and men in
a team affect the quality and quantity of
research outputs? What about other team
characteristics such as age and level of
experience?
This is a topic being investigated by Dr Anne Laure Humbert and Dr
Elisabeth Guenther from the Global Centre for Gender and Leadership
in the School of Management, as part of a project examining what
makes great research teams.
One of the main aims is to develop a Gender Diversity Index which will
measure the representation of women and men in teams, not only in
terms of numbers but also in relation to different levels of experience
and various demographic characteristics. This will provide a self-
assessment tool that can be used by any research team to assess how
diverse it is from a gender perspective.
A second aim is to examine the relationship between gender diversity
in research teams and research performance. This will be done
through the use of an exciting and innovative approach involving
socio-metric badges which measure daily interactions between
members of a team.
These badges are worn around the neck for about a week and measure interactions within teams, including face-to-face interactions and the positon in
which team members sit in relation to one another other. The badges include microphones which, rather than taking note of the content of conversation,
measure which people speak and when. The first case studies are currently taking place and involve our own Cranfield research teams as well as other
research teams in Spain and Germany.
Anne said: “These badges are an example of how new technologies transform research, so our work really is pioneering. It’s such a fantastic opportunity
to experiment with new techniques and I can definitely see the potential this has. The data we collected is going to be so interesting.”
Funded by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 programme, the three-year project involves partners from Sweden, Germany, Spain and
the UK.
Is your team a willing case study?
Anne is looking for more research teams across the University to take part in her work. Interested? Email her at:
Among our Cranfield community, we have a
number of serving and former military personnel.
Here we catch up with three of our lecturers
who have previously served in the armed forces
to find out more about their experiences of the
military and their lives after leaving the services.
Accident investigation lecturer Pete McCarthy
served for 32 years in the Army before joining
Cranfield two years ago. He flew helicopters for 25
of those years as a pilot with the Army Air Corps.
Chris Taylor, lecturer at Cranfield Defence and
Security (CDS), was a regular in the Royal Navy for
16 and a half years, working as an education and
training specialist and focusing on the submarine
service – a schoolie submariner! Having left in July
2014, he started at Cranfield in August 2014.
Roger Crook, who is also a lecturer at CDS,
spent 37 years in the Army, working within the
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers as a
mechanical engineer.
What first attracted you to being part of the
armed forces and what is the most enjoyable
part?
PM: Both my brothers had previously joined the army, and their positive
accounts were the driving force for me to join. It was a proud moment
when I joined one of them for the presentation of his MBE and their
examples were an inspiration to me.
CT: I sort of fell into the Royal Navy on graduation from university, as I had
no idea what I wanted to really do! But I loved pretty much every minute
of it! It sounds a bit twee and nostalgic, but it’s the people that make it;
the Mob is just full of characters! Even if it’s not a great job you’re in, the
people really make it a complete life – it’s full-on, work hard, play hard and
I had a great time!
RC: As a teenager I was attracted by the prospect of good sixth form
education at Welbeck College. The Army appealed to my enjoyment
of sport and answered the question: “What am I going to do for
employment?!”
What was the biggest challenge you experienced
as part of the armed forces?
PM: Without a doubt, the biggest challenge was operational service in
conflict areas, where you are separated from your family for extended
periods of time.
CT: I had a pretty safe life as a schoolie, with only around three years being
spent in sea-going jobs, but the hardest bit by far is the instability and
separation from family – even if you’re not at sea, you can be constantly
on the move around the country.
RC: I would say that it’s a toss-up between the regular domestic upheaval,
particularly with my children’s schooling, and the insatiable efficiency
monster always wanting more with less!
How did you come to work at Cranfield?
PM: I was working as an air accident investigator, having trained for the
role at Cranfield University. I liked the way the university embraced both
academic and applied practice, and because of this I believed I could add
value to the training of future students coming through the department.
CT: I did a Ministry of Defence sponsored master’s degree with Cranfield,
finishing about three years before I was due to leave the Service; and off
of the back of that, Cranfield got in touch with me when I was coming up
to leave, told me about a vacancy and invited me to apply – and here I am!
Also, my last job was at the Defence Academy, so I think that helped.
RC: I was military staff on some of the courses at the Defence Academy,
working closely with some Cranfield staff. One day someone mentioned a
job being advertised and thought I would be a great fit. After an interview
and presentation to prospective colleagues, I was offered the job. The
process was quite lengthy, but eventually a firm offer was made and
accepted!
How do the skills you’ve developed in the armed
forces benefit you working at Cranfield?
PM: The ability to remain flexible, problem solve and work under your own
initiative are key transferable skills from the military to my current role in
the University.
CT: Given the situation and contact with the military, I think an
understanding of the culture has definitely helped. The teamwork ethos
and discipline that comes from military life has made the transition
easier. And, it’s all about who you know, not what you know, so having a
reasonable network of contacts has also been useful.
RC: Many of the skills suit both roles. Teamwork, planning, getting the job
done, confidence in front of students/delegates. I was proud to say I was
in the Army and I am proud to say I work for Cranfield – it is good to work
for respected institutions.
What’s the biggest difference between military
and civilian work, life, community etc?
CT: It comes down to culture. Academic life and research can be much
more solitary and individualistic than the military. Sometimes I miss the
people and teamwork aspect of military life, but I get to do the research
that I want to do, I’m doing a doctorate, I get plenty of foreign travel if I
want it. All of that combined with a stable family life, whilst maintaining
some significant links with the military here at the Defence Academy,
means it’s all good!
PM: I find my new civilian colleagues to be similar in many ways to
my previous military colleagues. We rely on each other because the
department is so busy, and because of this reliance we’ve formed a close
bond.
RC: The biggest difference is more certainty in my work schedule. Living
in one place means neighbours are not constantly changing and I meet
plenty of people I know when I’m walking down the High Street. But, that
all being said, there is now the challenge of having to decide what to wear
every day!
Mark and Sir Peter Gregson met with Syed Allan from
our Finance team who is a serving reservist with 158
Regiment of the Royal Logistics Corps and Jonathan
Pratt, a junior technican in SATM and a member of the
Army Cadet Force in Cranfield village.
Optimising energy
management in industry
to help reduce carbon
emissions
The UK Government, the European Union
and the international community in general
all have ambitious targets for reduction of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global
warming.
Even though the UK is likely to meet its 2020 emission reduction
targets, longer-term targets to 2050 and 2100 are unlikely to be met
without substantial changes to policy and technological approaches
in the generation, distribution and utilisation of energy.
A three-year UK project which starts this month is aiming to address
these challenges by working closely with some key industrial
collaborators.
Professor Liz Varga from our Complex Systems Research Centre is
leading on the project for Cranfield, working with Emeritus Professor
Peter Allen and also Dr Nazmiye Ozkan from our Institute of Resilient
Futures.
Liz said: “OPTEMIN is taking a whole system approach to the
optimisation of energy management in industry, with a view to
meeting long-term targets for reducing GHG emissions and global
warming. Its objective is to demonstrate the potential to achieve
energy demand and carbon emission reductions of more than 15%.”
The £1.6 million project, of which our income is £450,000, is being
funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
(EPSRC). It is being led by Brunel University and also involves Queen’s
University Belfast.