26 Apr 2013
SET for Britain was founded by the late Dr Eric Wharton DSc in 1997 to act as vehicle for early career scientists to engage with Parliamentarians and provide a platform to showcase their work in the form of a poster competition. SET stands for Science, Engineering and Technology.
The most recent SET for Britain event took place on 18 March 2013 and collected together a large number of the UK's brightest (early career) scientific minds. The topics of posters were wide-ranging and split into three distinct categories: Engineering, Biological and Biomedical Sciences and Physical Sciences. Each category had a select panel of judges whose task it was to pick a winner. Once the each category winner was known; a super panel was assembled to quiz the presenters on their entries. An overall winner was then chosen.
The event was hosted by Andrew Miller MP and attended by a large number of MPs including prominent members of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, and the science minister, David Willets MP. Mr Miller spoke eloquently on the high quality of the entries and the need to support and encourage early career researchers.
This year's winner of the Westminster medal, awarded in memory of Dr Eric Wharton, went to Dr Valeska Ting from the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Bath. Dr Ting's poster was entitled 'Pushing hydrogen to the limit: engineering nanomaterial systems for storage of solid-like hydrogen'. Her poster detailed how nanomaterial surface engineering can lead to enhanced gas absorption and to potential uses in next generation hydrogen storage devices - an essential part of the developing hydrogen economy.
Dr Ting is no stranger to SCI. She was recently awarded a Sir Eric Rideal Travel Bursary to attend the Sixth International Conference on Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology in Auckland, New Zealand (link below).
The London regional group supports SET for Britain by providing funding for the Westminster medal in honour of Dr Wharton who served as the group's chairman and was an active committee member up until his untimely passing in 2007.
For more information about SET for Britain and the other award winners see below.
Dr Russell Binions
London Group
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