Cambridge University Engineering Department
Encyclopedia
The Cambridge University Engineering Department (CUED) at the University of Cambridge
is one of the largest departments in the university. The main site is situated at Trumpington Street
, to the south of Cambridge
city centre. The department is the primary centre for engineering
teaching and research activities in Cambridge, and is currently headed by Professor Dame Ann Dowling. It was founded in 1875 by James Stuart
.
and the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos and is a pathway into the Chemical Engineering Tripos. The department currently admit in excess of 300 students a year.
The first two years of the Tripos (Parts IA and IB respectively) cover many subjects allowing for the general aspect of engineering to be taught. In the second two years (Parts IIA and IIB) undergraduates choose to specialise into more specific areas of Engineering or can move to the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos which starts in the 3rd year.
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
is one of the largest departments in the university. The main site is situated at Trumpington Street
Trumpington Street
Trumpington Street is a major historic street in central Cambridge, England. At the north end it continues as King's Parade where King's College is located...
, to the south of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
city centre. The department is the primary centre for engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
teaching and research activities in Cambridge, and is currently headed by Professor Dame Ann Dowling. It was founded in 1875 by James Stuart
James Stuart (politician)
James Stuart was a British educator and politician. He was born in Markinch, Fife, and attended the University of St Andrews before going to Trinity College, Cambridge. He later became a Fellow of the College and Professor of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics at Cambridge University from 1875; he...
.
Notable alumni and researchers
- Frank WhittleFrank WhittleAir Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS was a British Royal Air Force engineer officer. He is credited with independently inventing the turbojet engine Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, CB, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British Royal Air...
, inventor of the jet engineJet engineA jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
. - Nicholas PatrickNicholas PatrickNicholas James MacDonald Patrick, Ph.D., is a British-born engineer and a NASA astronaut. His flight on the 2006 Discovery STS-116 mission made him the fifth Briton to go into space....
, astronaut. - Alec Broers, nanotechnologyNanotechnologyNanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
pioneer. - Ian LiddellIan LiddellWilliam Ian Liddell CBE FREng FIStructE Hon FRIBA is a structural engineer and the designer of London's Millennium Dome. He was one of the founding partners of Buro Happold and is a Royal Academy Visiting Professor of Engineering Design at Cambridge University School of Engineering...
, designer of the Millennium DomeMillennium DomeThe Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
. - Andy HopperAndy HopperAndrew Hopper CBE FRS FREng FIET is the Professor of Computer Technology and Head of the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge.-Research:...
, founder of Acorn ComputersAcorn ComputersAcorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the UK. These included the Acorn Electron, the BBC Micro, and the Acorn Archimedes...
. - Harry RicardoHarry RicardoSir Harry Ricardo was one of the foremost engine designers and researchers in the early years of the development of the internal combustion engine....
- Sir Bennett Melvill JonesMelvill JonesSir Bennett Melvill Jones was Francis Mond Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Cambridge from 1919 to 1935. He demonstrated the importance of streamlining in aircraft design...
, demonstrated the importance in streamlining in aircraft design. - John BakerJohn Baker, Baron BakerJohn Fleetwood Baker, Baron Baker OBE was a British scientist and structural engineer.-Early life:Baker was born in Liscard, Cheshire, a son of J.W. Baker and Emily Fleetwood...
, developer of the plasticity theory of design. - Carol VordermanCarol VordermanCarol Jean Vorderman MBE is a British media personality, best known for co-hosting the popular game show Countdown for 26 years from 1982 to 2008. In September 2011 she became a co-anchor of the ITV1 panel show Loose Women....
, former CountdownCountdown (game show)Countdown is a British game show involving word and number puzzles. It is produced by ITV Studios and broadcast on Channel 4. It is presented by Jeff Stelling, assisted by Rachel Riley, with regular lexicographer Susie Dent. It was the first programme to be aired on Channel 4, and over sixty-five...
host and mathematical television personality.
Notable companies and projects founded by students and alumni
- Cambridge University Eco RacingCambridge University Eco RacingCambridge University Eco Racing is a student-run team which designs, builds and races solar vehicles. Founded in 2007, its first prototype vehicle, Affinity became the first solar-powered car to drive legally on UK roads...
, a student run team which designs builds and races solar electric vehicles. - Innocent DrinksInnocent DrinksInnocent Drinks is a UK-based company founded in 1999 whose primary business is producing smoothies and flavoured spring water, sold in supermarkets, coffee shops and various other outlets nationally as well as in Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland...
, best for the Innocent Smoothie brand. - Cambridge Consultants LtdCambridge Consultants LtdCambridge Consultants is an international technology development and consultancy company, providing outsourced Research and Development to clients - from start-ups to blue-chip multinationals - who need to develop innovative, technologically novel, breakthrough products...
, an international technology development and consultancy company. - Cambridge Scientific Instrument CompanyCambridge Scientific Instrument CompanyCambridge Scientific Instrument Company was a company founded in 1881 by Horace Darwin and Albert George Dew-Smith to manufacture scientific instruments....
, first manufacturer of the scanning electron microscope.
Buildings
CUED consists of several sites scattered around Cambridge:- The main buildings are located at Trumpington Street on the Scroope House site, where most of the undergraduate teaching in the Engineering TriposTriposThe University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
is carried out. The first building on the site was the Inglis building, completed in 1945, and was closely followed by the Baker Building, completed in 1952. - The Whittle Laboratory (turbomachineryTurbomachineryTurbomachinery, in mechanical engineering, describes machines that transfer energy between a rotor and a fluid, including both turbines and compressors. While a turbine transfers energy from a fluid to a rotor, a compressor transfers energy from a rotor to a fluid...
laboratory opened in 1973), the Centre for Advanced Photonics & Electronics (CAPE) and the Institute for ManufacturingInstitute for ManufacturingThe Institute for Manufacturing was founded in 1998 and is part of the Cambridge University Engineering Department. Originally Division E: Manufacture and Management, the IfM was formed under the leadership of Prof...
(opened in 2009) at the West CambridgeWest CambridgeWest Cambridge is a university site to the west of Cambridge city centre in England. As part of the West Cambridge Master Plan, several of the University of Cambridge's departments have relocated to the West Cambridge site from the centre of town due to overcrowding...
site. - The Schofield Centre (Geotechnical Centrifuge laboratory) on the High Cross site.
Undergraduate Education
The CUED allows undergraduates to take the Engineering TriposTripos
The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
and the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos and is a pathway into the Chemical Engineering Tripos. The department currently admit in excess of 300 students a year.
Engineering Tripos
Teaching at the Engineering Department consists of lectures reinforced by examples, of which there are several provided every week, and labs, carried out in lab groups of two along with several other lab groups. At present the Engineering Department tries to maintain as few afternoon lectures and labs in the first two years as possible.The first two years of the Tripos (Parts IA and IB respectively) cover many subjects allowing for the general aspect of engineering to be taught. In the second two years (Parts IIA and IIB) undergraduates choose to specialise into more specific areas of Engineering or can move to the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos which starts in the 3rd year.