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Tuesday 25 October 2011

University Ranking Times and The Complete

WORLD RATINGS ARE A DOWNER FOR SCOTISH UNIVERSITIES

but things look a wee bit better on the UK only score card _ scroll down
Technology & Engineering
Times Higher Education world-university-rankings/2011-2012/ Tech & Eng
,
6 University of Cambridge, 8. University of Oxford , 9. Imperial College London

Phys-Sci 2010-2011Phys Sci 2010-2011  2011-12 to be published 10 Nov 2011.

8 University of Cambridge, 10 University of Oxford, 13. Imperial College London

27 University of Edinburgh

For good measure
Arts and Humanities Universities 2010-2011

16 University of Edinburgh, 20 University of St. Andrews


 Top 50 Social Sciences Universities 2010-2011  No Comment!

 Top 50 Clinical, Pre-clinical and Health Universities 2010-2011  idem

Life Sciences

UK ONLY


 UK University Subject Tables 2012 & Mechanical engineering
7 Strathclyde   Just holding our own considering our history, Andersonian Inst -> The Royal College of Sci & Tech Glasgow

Business Studies

16 Strathclyde  The Business School was the 1st created in 1963 my entry year!

It may be tempting to say that "it's not what you know but who you know" in terms of maintaining Univ ranking for this also is a student criteria in choosing a School but I admit to have lacked the motivation to study the above criteria in-depth - I trust the staff do this in depth

And I wonder if spin-off revenue and industrial and enterprise funding "Invention - Innovation - Marketing" enter such estimations?  If they do will the Uni's loose their independence of thought, ethics and independence? Strong leadership and independent spirit will remain a premium

Interdisciplinary Advanced Forming Research Centre, Univ of Strathclyde "The Tech", One of 7 Members of the Advanced Manufacturing Consortium

NEWS RELEASE & PERSONAL NOTES:

This post arose from a short note in the Strathclyde Quarterly Alumni Mag., Autumn 2011. and a real pleasure to see that the once proud Metallurgy Department-Colville Building has prominent place in the new Advanced Manufacturing Consortium (even if Sheffield houses a couple of Centres, cf. ref.1, below and the metals recycling spin-off was cornered by Heriot-Watt 's Caledonian Aerotech. cf refs.3 & 4, below) The notes in parenthesis are more than sour grapes they are intended to keep my colleagues up-north on their toes...
 Now it is also encouraging to learn that, fittingly, my old outfit  Aubert & Duval-Imphy  are among the sponsors, cf. ref.3.

The Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) is a collaborative venture between the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise,the Scottish Government and internationally renowned engineering firms including Rolls‐Royce, Boeing, Mettis Aerospace, TIMET, Aubert and Duval Aubert and Duval and Barnes Aerospace.

Formally opened in January 2011 by HRH the Duke of York, the AFRC represents a total investment of £30M over 5 years.

The Centre undertakes fundamental and applied  research, and develops cutting‐edge forming and forging techniques to support manufacturing processes in the aerospace, energy, marine and
automobile industries.

Key manufacturing challenges:
-Tighter tolerances: Plant monitoring, control and robotics.
-Longer die life: Improved die design and use.
-Lubrication: Investigating mechanisms and improved lubricants.
Improved models: Microstructure, properties and probabilistic methods

This post could and should, given time, be extended to give much credit to the UK, Innovation Strategy Initiative

References


1. Innovate UK_newsletter 01_june2011 [pdf]

2. Technology Strategy Board


3. Materials Science and Technology, Feb. 1985, Vol 1- 1st Issue.  strong evidence of work done at AD_Imhpy (Imphy SA at the time) In fact much more was achieved, from initiating the industrial aceptation of the project requested by GE-SNECMA, to the industrial realisations to tight tolerances Chemistry, Microstracture, cleanness, equivalence of virgin materials and recycled aero-engine scrap material,  imposed by client QC-AQ procedures

Recycled alloy718 supplied by Ireland Alloys Ireland Alloys in Blantyre, Scotland now part of Murry Metals Grp 1982 to 1986. Excellent source.


4. Caledonian Aerotech

Caledonian Aerotech has carved a lucrative niche in the multi-billion dollar global aerospace market by recycling and processing the special alloys used in the production of aircraft engines, land-based turbines and in the petrochemical industries.

A core process is recovering the metal left after machining, then cleaning, grading and preparing it to be returned as ‘chips’ to specialist melters for re-use, (PS shunned upon by Aerospacial Toulouse now EADS for aluminium-lithium [Al-Li alloys] in 1988! but registered in my report to Airbus Industry on Materials Selection 1988.

High Purity Cr sources for Superalloys

Energy for th Future:Phil.Trans.A-Vol. 365, N° 1853 / April 15, 2007, curtesy The Royal Soc. London

Engineered foams and porous materials: Phil Trans A. Vol 364, N° 1838 / 06 curtesy_The R Soc. Lond