Engineer student into green transport and Formula One
I grew up in Nigeria in a family of medics, my father and two sisters are doctors and my mother is a radiographer. At high school I was a big fan of maths and I even took a further maths course which I really enjoyed.
I decided I’d like to pursue a career in engineering. Unfortunately my parents couldn’t understand this and persuaded me to go into medicine. After two years of studing medicine, I stood up for myself and changed to my first love of engineering.
In October 2007 I moved to England and enrolled at Blackburn College on a Higher National Diploma in Electrical/Electronic Engineering. I was in my comfort zone! I did “blended learning” - a mixture of classes and finished the two year course in eight months. Usually I was the only girl in a class of 15. I did not find this daunting as most of the men were from the forces and down to earth.
Luckily I got a three-month internship with PZ Cussons Nigeria, in August 2009. I was part of a team to see to the smooth running of their gas turbines and went on to learning about their production processes. It was really interesting and inspiring, and I knew this was the path I wanted to take.
I am now studying for a BEng Hons degree in Mechatronics which I started in the second academic year. The course is a blend of mechanics, computing and electronics.
Being a big fan of Formula One, I decided to do my minor research project on KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) in Formula One Cars. This is a new and environmentally friendly technology introduced into the World Championship in 2009. It works by having a boost button which the driver can press to give the car extra energy. This energy comes from the otherwise wasted heat energy in the tyres during breaking which is recovered, stored and reintroduced into the car’s drive-train at a later time.
KERS was only used in 2009 and subsequently the Formula One Team Association agreed not to run it for various reasons (e.g. cost and restrictions) in 2010. However there is a big potential for KERS in buses and trains. KERS has been tested by Flybrid Systems on 17 ton buses in London, giving a 45 % fuel saving. The Toyota Hybrid Prius car for example uses a form a regenerative breaking system. This certainly is an exciting area which could bring out an energy saving revolution in the transport industry.
I hope to work for a multinational company, I’d like to carry out research in engineering and see it applied to everyday life. My next step will be a Masters/ Phd in smart grid and meters, and the integration of distributed generation to the transmission system.
This year I attended a media training day, as part of the S Factor with the UKRC. I found this a real eye opener, it made me realise how passionate I am in my subject areas, and that I can easily get carried away!
I’m hoping, thanks to the UKRC, to find more opportunities to have a profile as a young woman in SET and as an engineer. Doing this blog is a great way to start!
Damilola Adelekan is a student at the University Centre at Blackburn College, she is a STEM Ambassador and member of the IET.
Comments
Ruth Wilson (UKRC moderator):
Welcome Damilola, its great to have you join us on the blog. It was a pleasure to meet you at our S Factor final event. I don\'t often get to meet our bloggers in person. I\'d love to hear a bit more about the media training day you went on. We run these days from time to time, and I know women always get a lot out of it. What tips can you pass on? Thanks.
Damilola Adelekan:
I had a great time at the S Factor final event and it was nice meeting you too Ruth. The media training was a real eye opener like I mentioned earlier. They got a number of us to do a practice radio interview about our work before the start of the training and later played it back for everyone to listen - It was full of technical jargons. We were made aware of things not to say and how best to answer questions in ways that will catch the attention of listeners. We also got a chance to do another practice radio interview with \'callers\' ringing in and all, it was good fun. My tips to others will be: be aware of the audience, relax but don\'t get carried away and just enjoy it.
Malcolm Davies:
Hi Damilola - I too met you at the S Factor final event in Leeds. It was a real pleasure to hear of your experiences. Re media training - 2 pieces of advice I was given some time ago were 1.Talk/write for your auntie not your lawyer 2. Talk/write to influence the heart not the intellect. I try to stick by these principles although I am not always successful! I think that KERS is fantastic and I\'m pretty sure there is a move to re-introduce it to Formula One cars at some stage in the future. I love your plans about doing research and seeing the results applied to everyday life - howvever what on earth are \' smart grid and meters\' and \'the integration of distributed generaton to the transmission sytem\'? I\'d love to know their potential impact on everyday life.
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