Matthew Pottinger of Canterbury University shares his thoughts on engineering and being part of the winning team for the 2009 Ray Meyer Medal for Excellence in Student Design, sponsored by GHD and presented by IPENZ.
Matthew and team-mates Sam Horgan, Kim Hedley and Daniel Barry won the medal for their 'Blade Instrumented Kayak Paddle'.
Power Blade Instrumented Kayak Paddle
Daniel Barry, Kim Hedley, Samuel Horgan and Mathew Pottinger supervised by David Aitchison
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Canterbury
The aim of this final-year project was to develop a system capable of measuring and analysing a kayaker's performance as a function of their technique, for use by high-performance athletes and their coaches. The system had to be unobtrusive and capable of being used during training on the water.
The Power Blade Instrumented Kayak Paddle group demonstrated considerable skill in producing a fully functioning prototype that has already shown its effectiveness in providing tangible assistance to elite K2 kayakers and their coaches leading up to the Beijing Olympics.
The judges were impressed by the careful way in which the group examined the alternatives, the care with which the chosen solution was implemented and the performance of the final design.
Professor Ray Meyer DistFIPENZ was President of IPENZ in 1982-1983 and Dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Auckland from 1971-1974 and again from 1978-1992. Throughout his career he was actively involved in design and commercialisation of research. He has held and holds positions on the governing boards of a number of companies in all of which excellence in engineering is essential to their business. He was awarded the ONZM for his contributions to engineering and education. This award is named in recognition of his achievements and seeks to encourage a new generation of innovative engineering designers.
The Ray Meyer Medal for Excellence in Student Design is awarded to the student or group of students presenting the best final year design project as part of an IPENZ accredited qualification, as determined against the following judging criteria:
Clear specification of requirements and constraints
Identification and preliminary evaluation of potential solutions
Detailed technical analysis of one or more preferred solution options
Detailed evaluation of a preferred solution against the requirements and constraints
Consideration of social, environmental and economic impacts
Quality of presentation and its communication of ideas
Beyond these formal criteria the judges look for innovation in design solutions recognising that design is essentially a creative activity.
The award is open to all fields of engineering in which IPENZ accredits qualifications. Design projects are not only undertaken in subjects labelled Design Project but may also be found in some final year Research Projects where the object is to design, build and demonstrate a new or improved device.
The Award consists of a medal and certificate presented at the annual IPENZ Fellows' and Achievers' Awards Dinner held in a main centre in March following adjudication of entries received at the end the previous academic year in December.
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