Casting It Forward

A number of recipients of undergraduate Warner Bursaries, funded by the Robert Warner Fund, were invited to come along and join members of the company for lunch at Founders Hall.

The students were all either in the third or fourth year of a materials science-related course at the Universities of Birmingham, Manchester or Imperial College London and, following an excellent lunch, a number of them were invited to present an overview of their final year - or Year in Industry - projects and take questions from the audience, which was good experience for them as well as really interesting for those attending.

A number of 6th form students studying STEM subjects from a Buckinghamshire grammar school were also able to attend and mix with members of the Company and their guests, with their lunch places also funded by the company’ charities.

Topics ranged from the development of aero hydrogels for harvesting water in arid regions, to a study of nano technology metallurgy, corrosion & nano composites, testing bio-compatible piezo-electric dipeptide crystals and design work to improve the aerodynamic performance of the rear wing of a Porsche 911 GT3. All the students acquitted themselves well, dealing with the wide range of questions from the room.

The bursaries are worth £1500 per year to the students and selection of the recipients is done via a panel interview which considers enthusiasm and passion for the subject, as well as financial need.

As Master Alan Hughes noted, the company is proud that its bursaries are helping to support the future of innovation in metallurgy and materials science engineering in the UK.

- Dr Pam Murrell, Chair of the Industry Committee