Scientists SET take their research to Westminster

Three University of Glasgow staff members and one PhD student are heading to Westminster to present research to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of SET for Britain on Monday 9 March. Dr Euan Wielewski, Kirsty McInnes, Dr Mark Symes and Dr. Peter Stewart will be representing the Univesity across the board by competing in different sessions of the competition. Judged by leading academics in the field, the gold medallist in each session receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively. Dr Euan Wielewski is a lecturer in Systems Power and Energy at the University of Glasgow and he has entered into the engineering session of the competition. Euan's research poster about predicting the failure of materials used in jet engines will be judged against dozens of others in the only national competition of its kind, bringing early career researchers and politicians together. On presenting his research in Parliament, he said, "SET for Britain is a fantastic opportunity for me to showcase my work to politicians and communicate the importance of supporting engineering research in the UK." Kirsty McInnes, a PhD student at The University of Glasgow is competing in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences session. Kirsty's poster on research into the power of ultraviolet-B (UV-B), a natural component of sunlight, and how it can help plants defend against insect pests will be judged against dozens of other biologists' research in the only national competition of its kind.