With 147 medals and an unprecedented 2nd place behind China, the GB & NI Paralympics team have surpassed all previous sporting expectations. But what of the technology that enables these athletes to compete and produce such outstanding results. At what point does technology take over from hard work and ability? and what responsibility do engineers have in ensuring that their innovations do not overshadow an athlete’s personal and physical successes?
Dr Helen Meese, Head of Healthcare at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers will be discussing the fast-moving world of Sports Technology and Biomechanics; its history and methodologies, how research and development has exploded since 2012 and the ethical responsibilities engineers face going forward to Tokyo.
Helen works on behalf of the Institution’s 114,000 members, managing its programmes on all aspects of health and social care, focusing on medical equipment, pharmaceutical production, innovative healthcare technologies and their impact on both UK and global communities. Through peer reports, public speaking and policy development she engages with clinicians, government and the media to raise the profile of biomedical and mechanical engineering and its contribution to the health and wellbeing sectors.
She is an Electro-Mechanical Power Engineer with over 20 years of experience in both academia and industry. Her academic career was spent at Loughborough University researching turbocharger performance characteristics and developing electrical defence systems for armoured vehicles. Her industrial career was predominantly in the defence industry working for Babcock International and GE Energy, where she managed projects on euro-fighter typhoon, submarine systems and naval vessels.
Venue: Cellar Bar, Kennaway House, Sidmouth, EX10 8NG
Free.
This lecture has been sponsored by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.