Top engineer turns to a career in research
Wed, 18 Sep 2013 16:37:00 BST
Researcher Dave wins IET Gerald David Memorial Prize
HIS roots are in guitar playing, but Dave Upton (pictured) has branched out to become an engineering researcher who already has a string of awards to his name.
For six years, Dave, aged 29, was a musician and record shop manager in his native Rochdale. He developed an interest in electronics – especially as they applied to amplifiers and effects pedals – and this led to his enrolment at the University of Huddersfield for a degree course in electronics and music technology.
After a year he realised that his scientific interests had broadened and he took the opportunity to switch to an electronics engineering course. In his final year, an average mark of 91.5 per cent earned him a coveted Chancellor’s Prize, awarded to academic high flyers. He also received a Best Student Prize for his performance on a University of Huddersfield course accredited by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the Fen Arthur Prize for Most Outstanding Engineering Project – an award named after a former Huddersfield Professor of Engineering.
Now he has received a national award – the Gerald David Memorial Prize, bestowed by the IET on an outstanding mature student who has graduated from an engineering course. He will attend a special ceremony in London to receive his £750 prize.
Meanwhile, Dave has moved directly on to three years of research for a doctorate, having received a PhD fee-waiver scholarship from the University of Huddersfield. He is supervised by senior lecturer Dr Peter Mather – who nominated him for the Gerald David prize – and is carrying out work on electronic sensors as part of wider research conducted by Professor Ian Glover, who is heading a £670,000 project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Dave is investigating ways in which analogue sensors can receive clear signals in environments that are subject to large amounts of electronic and magnetic “noise” or interference. It follows on from work he did for his final-year BSc project.
Recently, Dave been based at the University’s 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, carrying out analytical work for one of the high-tech firms located there, Kromek – a leader in the field of digital colour x-ray imaging.
After completing his PhD, Dave’s goal is to move into industry, in the field of research and development.
