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PhD student receives award for excellence in engineering

From left to right: Master Engineer, Mr John Robinson FREng, Robert Matthews and Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of EngineeringUK

From left to right: Master Engineer, Mr John Robinson FREng, Robert Matthews and Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of EngineeringUK

Press release issued: 15 July 2010

A PhD student at the University of Bristol has received a national award for excellence in engineering. Robert Matthews, a postgraduate engineer conducting research for the Aquatest Research Programme at the University's Water and Health Research Centre, received the ‘2010 Fiona and Nicholas Hawley Excellence in Environmental Engineering Award’ by the Worshipful Company of Engineers. His award is for developing a low-cost, portable incubator that does not rely on electricity.

A PhD student at the University of Bristol has received a national award for excellence in engineering.

Robert Matthews, a postgraduate engineer conducting research for the Aquatest Research Programme at the University's Water and Health Research Centre, received the ‘2010 Fiona and Nicholas Hawley Excellence in Environmental Engineering Award’ by the Worshipful Company of Engineers. His award is for developing a low-cost, portable incubator that does not rely on electricity.

Robert’s incubator design supports reliable microbiological testing of water sources where electricity supply is unpredictable and is part of a water test kit that will provide greater confidence in the safety of drinking water where technical resources are limited.

Robert’s paper, A novel, electrically independent field incubator to support microbiological water testing in low resource settings, is an excellent demonstration of a practical application of known technology to meet the needs of users thereby improving the prospects for the health of communities dependent on drinking water of uncertain quality. 

The device:

  •  is deceptively simple and genuinely low cost providing precision temperature control - not a trivial design despite the intended $20 unit cost
  • supports reliable microbiological testing of water sources where electricity supply is unreliable (the  testing for E.coli indicates the likely presence of faecal pathogens that cause 1.6 million deaths of children annually worldwide)
  • is an essential component of a new testing system in which it provides near constant temperature to enable a water sample in a test capsule (itself a separate and very elegant design) to be subjected to a culture-based test with high confidence. 

During his research, Robert gained a comprehensive understanding of the test cycle requirements and the needs of potential users in developing countries.  He then devised a simple and robust design using a phase change material, which had been tried before for the application but without success, specifically tailored for this application and installed in a way which assures the required performance, including over-temperature protection. 

Prototypes have been made for lead-user trials, with further advanced prototypes planned for deployment next year.  Robert knows of other health test requirements for which the technology should provide improved solutions and plans to use his award to work on these.

Robert was presented with his award and a cheque for £5,000 at the Worshipful Company of Engineers’ Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday 6 July at Gibson Hall, London, by the Master of the Engineers’ Company, Mr John Robinson FREng and the guest speaker, Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of EngineeringUK.

Further information

The Aquatest Research Programme is an international, multi-disciplinary consortium led by the University of Bristol with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  The aim is to deliver a water test kit that can be used widely in developing countries, with a sustainable basis for its manufacture and distribution.
Please contact Caroline Clancy for further information.
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