Spotlight on: Warwick's Submarine Team
The Warwick Awards for Public and Community Engagement seeks to recognise the vital contributions Warwick staff and students make in engaging the public – on an international and national level, as well as within our region and local communities.
With the winners of this year's awards recently announced, we decided to catch up with some of the members of the Warwick-Human Powered Submarine Team; winner's of this year's Team Award Category. For over ten years, the team has engaged with the widest range of audiences about the joys and wonders of engineering.
Read on to hear what staff team member Professor Ian Tuersley and student members Colm Dudley and Ben Barker have to say about life in the Submarine Team.
(Pictured from left to right: Members of the Submarine Team, Professor Ian Tuersley, Colm Dudley, Ben Barker)
Could you briefly explain what the Submarine Team do?
"The team, made up of students and academics, design and build a human powered submarine for entry into the International Submarine Race competition- (which alternates between the UK and US on an annual basis). This includes the entire process from initial concepts, sketching, Computer Aided Design (CAD), physical/digital testing, to the final manufacture of the submarine, ending with us jumping into the water! We then compete against other universities and institutions across the globe in order to win prizes in a range of categories, such as the fastest and the most innovative.
What does it mean to you to win the Warwick Award for Public and Community Engagement?
Ian:
"The WAPCE award is a wonderful recognition of the efforts of successive student teams over the last 10 years to engage with a wide range of people – from sponsors and Professional Institutions, to the general public and schoolchildren. The award funds will also be very helpful in helping next year’s team continue their work!
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Colm:
"Winning this award is a great achievement and shows how united we all are behind the project. It's a great indication of how our communication has developed for the benefit of working together as a team and engaging new audiences of all ranges. The team wouldn't be what it is without the public and community support from the sponsors, generously donating their tools and expertise, to the schoolchildren eager to learn what engineering could hold for them in the future.
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Ben:
"For me, the WAPCE Team Award exemplifies the efforts taken by the current team and the previous year's members, in going beyond our engineering studies, to engage with anyone and everyone who will listen to us talk about our project. It's an accolade that I feel complements my degree, capping off my studies with something that recognises the teams’ efforts- not just in building a submarine, but in promoting all manner of facets relating to the project.
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What do you enjoy most about being part of the Submarine Team?
Ian:
"The competition each year is the highlight of all the preceding project work. A number of students have commented over the years that it is the hardest couple of weeks work they experience during their degree studies – but also the most rewarding and the most fun. I couldn’t put it better myself!
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Colm:
"The physical application of our University studies. We design, manufacture, and test all our ideas. This is engineering at its core; solving problems, increasing the efficiency of components, and working as a team to improve and maintain the submarine. These skills will be essential both inside and outside our engineering careers.
Learning to scuba dive was a lot of fun, especially as we were taught by Warwick's very own Nigel Denton, with support from Warwick Sub Aqua Society.
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Ben:
"For me, meeting new people from all manner of backgrounds has been the most pleasurable part of being on the team this year. This includes building my network to include contacts at our sponsor organisations, meeting people old and young at events such as the Resonate Festival, and making friends from all over the world during the eISR competition in Gosport.
The other members of the Submarine Team have made working a fun experience and one that I will look back on fondly.
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What does the future hold for the Submarine Team?
Ian:
"Personally, I have just retired (to take an Emeritus role) and so will be handing over the ‘Project Director’ role to someone else. However, I intend to try and maintain some involvement if I can – perhaps as some kind of advisor. I hope that the team itself will further develop, from their current, strong position. To date, they have won just about all of the competition awards at least once – except for the actual racing/speed prizes. It would be great to see the Warwick Sub develop to become truly competitive in the speed trials.
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Colm:
"More trophies! Every year the new team learns and builds on their predecessors. I know the team this year is excited to see how the future teams develops our concepts and solves the issues we encountered. The Warwick Submarine team has a number of success stories already, and we expect to see a lot more in the future. Outside of the competition, the Submarine Team will continue to grow its presence to be amongst the staples of Warwick engineering, such as Warwick formula one and Warwick moto. This includes a greater use of social media and encouraging students of all years and disciplines to provide their expertise to further improve the submarine itself and the community spirit.
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Ben:
"With a new supervisor, a new team, and the requirement for a new submarine to compete at the ISR 2023, the future will be challenging. However, with an opportunity such as this, and the possibilities that it brings, the world really is their oyster. Luckily, there are many who would be more than willing to help, and the resources the new team has available mean that they can really hit the ground running and continue the great work completed over the last 10 years.
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If you had to describe your experience of being part of the team in 3 words, what would they be?
Ian:
"Demanding, rewarding, fun!"
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Colm:
"Would that work?"
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Ben:
"Inspiring, Unforgettable, and Industrious"
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