Banquet at Brown's of Covent Garden

Congratulations to our 2024 class of the Engineering in London (EIL) study abroad program! Photos from the banquet dinner at Brown's of Covent Garden on Friday, July 5 are provided below. Click here for the final slideshow of the program edited by Lisa Patel and Jackson Moore.

Special thanks to our corporate and alumni sponsors of the EIL 2024 program: Tickle College of Engineering, Cisco,  MilleniTek,  Rebecca Collins, Denise Gosnell, Kyle Leinart, and the Larry and Yosiko Shell Global Initiative.

 

Ultimate Frisbee (Southwark Park)

Taking a break before the final quizzes in ECE 301 and ME 331, twelve EIL students joined Prof. Aaron and his family in the early evening of July 4 for ultimate frisbee in Southwark Park located in Rotherhithe (central south east London).  Prof. Berry provide a brief yoga session afterwards for cool down and stretching.

Brunel Museum (Rotherhithe, London Borough of Southwark)

On Monday afternoon (July 1), the EIL students joined Profs. Berry and Aaron for a visit to the Brunel Museum at Rotherhithe on the bank of the Thames River.  In the original shaft of the tunnel (under the Thames River) that Marc and Isambard (Kingdom) Brunel designed and built, our guide (Keith) gave an excellent historical timeline for this great nineteenth century engineering achievement.  Completed in 1834, this was the world's first underwater tunnel.  Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his father, Marc Brunel, were considered by many to be the greatest engineers of Victorian England.

British Science Museum (South Kensington)

On Thursday, June 27, the EIL students visited the British Science Museum in South Kensington.  They were able to see several Boulton and Watt Steam Engines and Babbage's Difference Engine (Models 1 and 2).  Professors Berry and Aaron awarded trivia winners with candy afterwards.  The group photo (with EIL banner) is taken in front of the 1903 Mill Engine manufactured by Burnley Ironworks Co.  At the invitation of Gareth Jones,  Lead Engineering Technician for the museum, and his Tech Team (Anti and Tom), the students witnessed the running of this particular steam engine.  This sophisticated 700-horsepower engine was installed in the Harle Syke Mill, near Burnley, Lancashire in 1903.  It powered hundreds of looms in the mill, via belts driven by the huge 20-tonne flywheel.  The mill was dismantled in 1970 and moved to the museum in 1979.

Royal Institution (Faraday Laboratory)

On Wednesday evening, June 26, the EIL Students along with Profs. Berry and Aaron visited the Royal Institution (Michael Faraday Museum) near Green Park. In addition to visiting Faraday's Laboratory, the students attended a (Friday) Discourse lecture entitled "The Science of Happiness" by Professor Bruce Hood (Bristol University, UK). His lecture was given in the Royal institution's lecture hall, where Michael Faraday started the Christmas lectures in 1825. The RI today is known for its science education programs, a continuation of the tradition of scientific lectures as enlightened entertainment. The Friday Night Discourses were formal affairs with the audience in evening dress and the speaker by tradition had to start and stop his address as the auditorium clock struck consecutive hours. J. J. Thomson announced the discovery of the electron in his 1897 lecture in this room. The Christmas Lecture program, begun by Michael Faraday and continuing through today, is the oldest continuous science education program for young people.

Breakfast of Champions

Prior to the ECE 301 lecture on Wednesday, June 26, EIL students sample assorted Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Later that evening they observe Faraday's original doughnut-shaped electromagnet at the Royal Institution.

Bletchley Park and National Museum of Computing

On the afternoon of Friday, June 21, the EIL students along with Profs. Berry and Aaron visited Bletchley Park (north of London). Bletchley Park (BP) is where Alan Turing and his colleagues in Hut 8 broke the (naval) Enigma code during World War II. The students witnessed demonstrations of working Enigma, Bombe, Tunny, and Colossus machines. The Colossus was the world's first electric digital computer that was programmable. The Colossus computers were developed to help in the cryptanalysis of the Hitler's Lorenz cipher.  Our National Museum of Computing (NMC) guide for the afternoon, Robert Dowell, did a fantastic job explaining both the history and design of all the early cypher and computing machines.  Before visiting Hut 8 and the Turing archives in BP, the students toured the Bletchley Park Mansion and then posed for a few group photos.

Greenwich

On Thursday, June 20, the EIL students along with Profs. Berry and Aaron took an Uber boat up the Thames River to Greenwich.  After arrival, the group took a short bus ride to the Thames Barrier, just north of the Greenwich Town Centre. Operated by the Environment Agency of the British government, the Thames Barrier is one of the largest movable flood barriers in the world.  Returning to Greenwich (via bus), the EIL students toured the Cutty Sark ship and the Royal Observatory. In the Time and Longitude Gallery of the Flamsteed House at the Royal Observatory, students were able to see the four Harrison's sea clocks from the eighteenth century.  Harrison's H4 clock is considered the most important timekeeper ever made. It is the machine that helped solve the problem of keeping accurate time at sea and finally won Harrison huge rewards from the Board of Longitude and the British Government.  As is customary,  group photos were taken at the Prime Meridian (Longitude 0) and with Southeast London as the background. Upon completing the tour of the Royal Observatory, the students headed down Greenwich hill for a brief yoga practice with Prof. Berry on a pitch adjacent to the Maritime Museum.