This Group is for anybody who has an interest in how things work or how things are made. New members are alway welcome. Click the buttons below to see what we have learnt about in previous meetings and what we so far have planned for 2026.

WE ARE ALWAYS HAPPY TO HEAR FROM ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A PRESENTATION AT ONE OF OUR MEETINGS.

At the May meeting

Dr. Mike Clifford, Associate Professor of Engineering at Nottingham University, presented ‘What’s Cooking? An Engineer in the Kitchen’, exploring the environmental, health and social impact of using traditional open fires for cooking and the engineering solutions being developed to address these issues.

He opened with an overview of why he became an Engineer and how he became involved in working with various charities to improve third world lives.

We learnt that around 3 billion people cook on open fires fuelled by biomass which has adverse environmental, health and social impacts. The majority of the burden of collecting fuel, maintaining the fire and cooking falling on women and children. 

Dr. Clifford emphasised the need for Engineers to work with social scientists and end users to develop new ways of cooking. He described the development of various different stoves and a project run in conjunction with the Nottingham Refugee Forum to test and give feedback on their use. 

We also learnt that the ‘first world’ can benefit from the exchange of ideas. Dr. Clifford described an initiative run in collaboration with Tiger Community Enterprise across deprived areas of Nottingham. This project introduced the use of ‘Wonder Bags’ which are portable, non-electric thermal slow cookers that use heat retention technology to continue cooking food once it has been brought to the boil.

Dr Clifford closed his presentation with a quote from Mary who used to cook on an open fire. She was given one of the new stoves and when asked for feedback she said it had improved her marriage. When she used an open fire, her husband wouldn’t come into the kitchen as it was too smoky. With the new stove her husband joins her in the kitchen, and they have time to talk.

(Many thanks to Sally Whitmore for preparing this summary)

Our Previous Meetings

• 2020
• November - “The History of the Rolls Royce RB 211 Turbofan Engine” presented by Phil Ruffles
• 2021
• January - “The Wonder of Wood” presented by John Barnett
• February - “Sand to Silicon” presented by Peter Marston
• March - “From Operation Backfire to the Space Station and Beyond” presented by Bob Ruffles
• April - “Automation in the Poultry Industry” presented by Richard Walden
• May - “The Engineering behind MasterMover” presented by James Jones, a Partner at MasterMover
• June - “Vehicle Electrification” presented by Tony Walker CBE
• July - “improved Energy Efficiency for Technology-Complex Buildings” presented by Matt Butler, an associate at ARUP
• September - “The Re-creation of the Turing Bombe” presented by Tony Walden
• October - “A Brief History & Update on the Regulations Governing International Commercial Air Transport” presented by Ian Jones
• November - “The trials and tribulations of sending the First British School Experiment into space” presented by Brian Stockwell
• 2022
• January - “Sheffield Streets Ahead” presented by Robert Allen
• February - “Making a Tornado” presented by Dave Billings, the MD of Tornado Motorsport
• March - Visit to Taylors Bell Foundry in Loughborough
• April - “Small Modular Reactors – producing Carbon free electricity” presented by Harry Keeling from Rolls Royce
• May - “His Majesty’s Airship R-100 designed by Barnes Wallis BSc -Innovator Extraordinary” presented by Roger Alton
• June - “Recovery of Canadian Oilsands” resented by Roy Atkinson
• July - “The Harrier from Concept to Scrap Yard” presented by Geoff Cole
• September - “REMAP – Custom Made Aids for Disabled People” resented by Mike Banks
• October - Visit to Rolls Royce organised by Phil Ruffles to the Heritage Museum and the new test bed.
• November - “The Electron Microscope” presented by John Barnett
• 2023
• January - “Making Ammonia to feed the World” presented by Tom Doggett
• February - “Global Supply Chains: Why the supply chain to manufacture a 500mw Turbine is connected to your mobile phone.” presented by David Clarke
• March - “Engineering Secrets of English Church Bell Installations” presented by Mike Banks
• April - Factory visit to J.C.B.
• May - “Restoring Classic Cars” presented by Tony Walden
• June - “The Leaders of Rolls-Royce 1904-2001” presented by Phil Ruffles
• July - Joint visit with the Landscape & Heritage Group to Upton Horological Institute, Upton Hall near Newark. Return via the Bennerley Viaduct in the afternoon
• September - “Restoring and Automating Muggintons 1710 Blacksmith’s Church Clock” presented by Mike Banks
• October - “The History of Submarines” presented by John Arthur
• November - “What makes the sap rise? The hydraulics of trees” presented by John Barnett
• 2024
• January - “Super Sewers” presented by Christopher Harper from Seven Trent
• February - “Automating Agriculture” presented by Andrew Wilson from Lely Horizon
• March - VISIT to view Mugginton Church Blacksmiths Clock kindly arranged by Mike Banks.
• April - “The Rebirth of Supersonic Civil Air Transport” presented by Professor Rick Parker from Boom Supersonic
• May - “Cars, Chemicals and Energy” presented by Tony Stephens
• June - “Pit Props and Butch Miners” presented by Robert Kemp who was a professional photographer working for the Coal Board
• July - “The Marlin Story (A way of recycling Cars)” presented by Doug Billings
• September - “What is Cement” presented by David Haspel
• October - Visit to Hope Cement Works
• October - “How heritage railways keep old steam engines working – my experience at the NVR” presented by Peter Marston
• November - A conversation with Willie Green, Racing driver.
• 2025
• January - Visit to Peak Waste, Kniveton
• February - "The need for Speed - the development of fighter aircraft 1914 to 1944" presented by Geoff Coles
• March - Visit to the AVRO Heritage Museum, Stockport
• April - "The Buck Stops Here" with Tony Walden (retiring Group Leader) talking about the history of his family's business
• May - "Refrigeration: Battling the Second Law of Thermodynamics" presented by Matt Butler, an Associate at ARUP.
• June - "Does Glass Offer a Sustainable Future" Presented by John Parker, an Emeritus Professor in the Dept. of Materials, Sheffield University.
• July - “A Life on the Roads… and Rails and Trams” Presented by Ashbourne-based, civil engineer Kim Dorrington.
• September - "Applications of Fluid Dynamics within the UK's Health and Safety Regulator" Presented by Dr Andrew Newton, a Senior Scientist in the Buxton HSE laboratories.
• October - Joint visit with the Landscape & Heritage and Natural History Groups to Wollaton Hall, the home of Nottinghamshire Industrial Museum.
• November - "Game-changing Advanced Composites at Higher Volume, Lower Cost and Greater Sustainability" Presented by Steve Barbour, founder and MD of Composite Braiding Ltd.
• 2026
• January - "Challenges in UK Construction" presented by Andrew Threlfall, Group Chief Engineer at Costain
• February - “Reducing Harm from Falls in Healthcare Settings” presented by Donal McNally, Professor of Bioengineering and Head of the Human Factors Research Group at the University of Nottingham.
• March - Visit to Amazon Fulfilment Centre at East Midlands Airport
• April - "Soft Soap: the anatomy of modern detergents" presented by Dr. Andrew Graydon , Proctor and Gamble R & D Director (retired)
• May - "What's Cooking: an Engineer in the Kitchen" presented by Dr. Michael Clifford, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at Nottingham University.