N E W S Engineering scholarship announced on International Women’s Day “I feel alive every single day!” Charlotte Flaherty’s decision to leave full time work, and sign up for a Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Mechanical) took a lot of soul searching, and a long time to resolve. So she’s delighted with the news that she is Otago Polytechnic’s inaugural winner of the Women in Engineering Scholarship. “I gave up full time work to do this. My self-image and status was tied up with my job, and obviously, I’ve taken a drop in income, so winning this scholarship validates my choice. The 54-year-old has been a journalist at the Daily Telegraph in the UK, a Safer Journey Coordinator at the Dunedin City Council, and (is still) a mother of two. But after studying a couple of civil engineering papers five years ago, she got a taste for engineering. “I saved for three years for the fees, but I didn’t quite have enough, so this scholarship is just perfect.” Through the scholarship, Charlotte will receive $1000 towards her fees for each year of study. “I’m moderately geekish. I really want to speak fluent maths, and I have a real desire to understand how structures and systems work and react.” Charlotte’s no stranger to study. She has a CapableNZ degree in Business Transformation and Project Management. This was gained by studying part time while working full time. But she’s decided it’s time to focus solely on her education. “I am so happy - I’m absolutely loving the study. I really believe it’s the right choice and career move for me.” 6 April 2017 World first: Canterbury team gets victory flag for Eco-car design Added thrust to RocketLab launch The prospect of a New Zealand rocket launch has taken a significant step forward with the announcement that RocketLab has secured $100 million; with the possibility of a launch within the next two months. Peter Beck, RocketLab founder and chief executive, says the funding was led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Data Collective, with additional investment from Promus Ventures. The company hopes to get its first satellite into orbit within the next two months from its launch site on the Mahia Peninsula between Gisborne and Napier. A little red, fully recyclable eco-car designed and built by University of Canterbury students has won a major international design excellence award in New Zealand’s first entry into the competition. The electric car, designed and built by a team of eight UC Engineering students dubbed the EnduroKiwis, was awarded the prestigious design award at the Asian leg of the Shell Eco-Marathon in Singapore. The UC students competed with hundreds of other students to design, build and drive the most energy-efficient car. The primary goal of the competition is not to break speed records or finish first but to build a vehicle that can last the longest on as little fuel as possible. In a world first, the UC students produced an electric vehicle made entirely from thermoformed plastic sheets, including the chassis and the outer panels. Judges described its build quality as the best they have ever seen, UC faculty advisor Bruce Robertson says: “Our team won the Shell Eco-Marathon Design Award, which gives them US$3000 plus a nice big trophy for the cabinet. The judges said it was the easiest decision ever and all the feedback was very satisfying for the whole team. “For the Shell Drivers World Championship efficiency race it was a real rollercoaster of a ride,” Mr Robertson says. After the heats the team was in fourth place in a nail-biting competition. “We were really pleased to qualify for the event, but as the day went on we realised that we were in a stronger position than realised. We were going for the win!” The little New Zealand eco-car had made it to the final and was looking like a shooin for third with a good chance at second place, when disaster struck. “Our car was just about to pass to take third position when the motor controller exploded,” Mr Robertson says. The Kiwi car was out of the finals. “Knowing how hard our students worked, and how very close they came to such a huge upset in their first year of entry, it was a painfully crushing disappointment.” But shortly after this blow, the UC team’s car won the design award. “The EnduroKiwis team won for producing a car that brought fresh thinking about recyclability to the competition,” according to the judges’ citation. “By entering a car largely made of a common thermoplastic, the team showed a refreshing and holistic approach to design – it chose a material that was easy to work with, light, low-cost, and easy to re-use.”
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