Accolade for Leeds Researcher

A University of Leeds researcher struck gold in the House of Commons after impressing MPs and expert judges with the quality of his work. Dr Tim Stevenson presented his engineering project to more than one hundred politicians and a panel of leading engineers, as part of the ’Set for Britain’ poster competition on Monday 14 March.

Describing the development of a new material with unusual magnetic and electric properties, his work was judged against 59 other entries and came out on top. He was rewarded with a cash prize of £3000.

Dr Stevenson, postdoctoral researcher in the University of Leeds’ Institute for Materials Research, said: "Having your work recognised is always a gratifying and encouraging achievement. To be presented with such a prestigious prize is therefore all the more exciting, especially among so many multidisciplined engineers who share your passion for science and technology. It was a fantastic experience, and the medal serves as an incredible reminder of that."

Professor Chris Taylor FREng OBE, Associate Vice President of Research from the University of Manchester, who chaired the engineering judging panel, said: "Tim Stevenson presented his work developing and characterising a novel ’magnetoelectric’ material which provides a low-cost solution to high-temperature actuation and sensing, and the fascinating ability to switch magnetic state electrically.

The panel was impressed with the quality of the research, which uses advanced neutron scattering techniques to probe the structure of the material, and has the potential for practical use in applications as diverse as fuel injection in jet engines and data storage.