August 2007: Jenkin Day 2007 Invitation
SOUE Jenkin Meeting, 2007
Saturday 15 September
This year's meeting is a one-day event, because we decided to make it simultaneous with the University's new Alumni Weekend, "Meeting Minds". There was therefore unlikely to be a college able to feed us and house us on the Friday night.
The Jenkin Lecturer this time will be Sir Vivian Ramsey (Oriel 1969-72), who was a civil engineer with Ove Arup for 8 years before becoming a barrister specialising in "construction law". He is now a judge of the High Court. His title is:
"Law and Engineering: resolution of technology disputes"
He will explain some of the processes for resolving such disputes, how engineers get involved, and give some examples.
The Jenkin Lecture will be at 2pm. Earlier, at 1030am, Professor Martin Oldfield will be giving us:
"Keep it cool! 38 years of gas turbine research"
Martin's involvement, over all that period up to his recent retirement, with the extraordinarily successful work on gas-turbine blade cooling at the Osney lab, will be known to many of our members. Unusual short-duration wind-tunnels have been used to research, in a split second, results that would otherwise have needed expensive hours.
The Department of Engineering Science is about to celebrate its Centenary, having been founded in 1908 (see SOUE News for more details). Lord Jenkin of Roding, who is grandson of our first Professor of Engineering Science, Frewen Jenkin, has agreed to be Patron of the Centenary, and will introduce these celebrations in a few words immediately preceding the Jenkin Lecture.
The timetable for the day is partly dictated by our two lectures being part of the program for the University's Alumni Weekend (though open free also to SOUE members). It is:
1000-1030 : Coffee in the Thom Building foyer
1030-1130 : Martin Oldfield, "Keep it cool! 38 years of gas-turbine research"
1130-1215 : SOUE Annual General Meeting, with agenda:
b) Secretary's Report
c) Treasurer's Report
d) Election of Committee Members (there are vacancies for 1 local and 1 non-local members)
e) Any other business
1245-1345 : Buffet lunch in the Holder Common Room (for those who have booked it)
1345-1400 : Lord Jenkin will introduce the Department's Centenary Celebrations
1400-1500 : 20th Jenkin Lecture: Sir Vivian Ramsey, "Law and Engineering: resolution of technology disputes"
1530 (approx) : Tea
The 2¼-hour interval between Martin Oldfield's lecture and Lord Jenkin at 1.45pm is unlikely to be taken up completely by the AGM and lunch. We hope to put up various displays, mainly of historical interest, for visitors to look at. In particular, when the foundations were being laid for the recent Information Engineering Building, a fascinating collection of photographs, illustrating the Department's history, was buried as a "time capsule" inside them. Whether these will be ripped up by a bulldozer in AD 2050, or pored over by archaeologists in AD 3000, we have no idea, but you might be interested to look at copies of them in the meantime.
If you plan to attend the meeting, please return the reply slip, so that we have some idea how many to cater for, and can prepare a name badge for you in advance. And enclose a cheque if you would like the buffet lunch. By 12 September please!
Parking is very limited, and we recommend use of the Park-and-Ride. Limited parking spaces may be available in the car park of 44 Banbury Road, which will need a permit. We will send one to those who ask for one, until spaces run out.
David Witt, Secretary SOUE, August 2007