An intense four-week academic summer programme in Engineering

In this module we will explore how different pieces of ‘cold metal’ can be integrated together to achieve this amazing thing – jet propulsion. It is going to introduce the past, the current and the future path of this revolutionary technology. We will learn the basic ideas and the fundamental principles which keep the engine running.

This will also lead us to explore the state of the art technologies of making the current engines more safe, efficient and environmentally friendly. Consequently, we will discuss the directions and challenges of developing future generations of jet engines.

Finally, a number of high impact academic research carried out in Cambridge to the evolution of the jet engines will be introduced. This will give an example of what good academic research in this field looks like. Throughout the module there will be a hands-on opportunity to closely examine the real components of jet engines.
 

In this module, we will look at what quantum technologies are, where they have come from and where they can and are being used. We will explore the foundations of quantum mechanics and how they led to a deepening of our understanding of the world around us, and how many of the properties of matter can be explained.

We will look at how this has led to novel devices in computing, data storage, information processing and other fields, and gain an appreciation for this often-misunderstood branch of science. We will introduce the Schrodinger equation and solve it for a number of everyday problems which will reveal the breadth of this field.

We will also consider some of the more challenging aspects of the interpretation of quantum mechanics calculations, which are often highly counter-intuitive.

In this course, we will look at what Nanotechnology is and where it is used. We will explore the evolution of modern science and see how it paved the way for nanoscience, which set the foundations for nanotechnology.

We will present and analyse the basic scientific principles behind the properties of matter and how and why they change at the nanoscale, and see how to make use of this in our everyday lives in areas such as in the automotive, aerospace, medicine, construction, computing and cosmetic industries.

We will look in detail at nanomaterials including nanoparticles such as graphene, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes and nanowires, and describe where they are found, how to make them and how they are used.

There will be some hands-on experience building crystal structures and a tour of the state-of-the-art nanofabrication cleanrooms in Cambridge.