University wins sport engineering accolades (From Daily Echo)
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University wins sport engineering accolades
7:20am Saturday 31st December 2011 in Education
Sports engineering students at the University of Southampton.
IT has helped propel Britain’s athletes to Olympic gold success.
And now a Hampshire university has been awarded a prestigious prize for its pioneering work in sports engineering.
The University of Southampton has been given the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for the innovation in design and testing over the last four decades, which has helped athletes including cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and skeleton winner Amy Williams.
The prize is the highest accolade available for a British academic institution, and recognises the world-leading expertise at the university’s Performance Sports Engineering Laboratory.
The department has had a major influence on competitive sailing, high-performance motor racing, cycling and winter sports.
It has worked in support of sports that gained 15 of the UK’s gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
And post-graduate engineering students Rachel Blackburn and James Roche designed the skeleton sled Arthur which Amy Williams rode when she took gold at the 2010 winter games in Vancouver.
The university’s delighted vice-chancellor, Professor Don Nutbeam, said: “This is great news for the university, offering much deserved recognition for the Performance Sports Engineering Laboratory.
“The award recognises the outstanding work of our academics and students in supporting competitive sport and demonstrates Southampton’s world-leading expertise in engineering and the impact we have globally.”
The University of Southampton has had a partnership with UK Sport since 2005 to help provide the best performance and preparation for British athletes.
It is currently working with sports including, cycling, swimming, sailing, rowing, canoeing and wheelchair racing ahead of n e x t year’s O l y - mpics.
As well as c o n t r i buting design expertise to the sails, hulls, keels and rudders on America’s Cup yachts, the university has also had a long-term impact on the aerodynamics of Formula One motor racing cars.
Laboratory director, Professor Stephen Turnock said he is delighted with the award.
He said: “We have seen our research impact at the highest level in competitive sport, but are equally proud of our graduates who excel in the ultra-competitive technology driven world of motorsport and performance sailing.
“It is rare to find a team without one of our ship science, aeronautical or mechanical engineering graduates playing a leading role.”
The university will officially receive the prize at an award ceremony at Buckingham Palace in February.
