Green Design Challenge winning team announced by Imperial College London and Shell Renewables

For immediate use
2 July 2003

The winners of the first Green Design Challenge are four pupils from Bhasvik, Hove; Newstead Wood School for Girls, Orpington; St Helens School, London; and Our Lady's Convent High School, London.

They beat off seven other teams in the competition, held by Imperial College London and Shell Renewables, which aims to raise the profile of engineering among young women.

The Challenge is aimed at female sixth form students with an interest in maths and science. The 32 entrants were divided into teams of four to design and build a wind turbine capable of charging the battery to power a small hospital fridge from a selection of recycled and more expensive purpose-bough materials. The turbines were tested for performance by an Imperial wind machine and judged on power efficiency, cost and the ingenuity and elegance of the design.

The winning team will have the opportunity to attend a two day programme in Wales designed and run by the Centre for Alternative Technology, gaining hands-on engineering experience in the day-to-day running of renewables such as wind-power and hydro-electric power schemes. Prizes for the lowest cost scheme, and the most ingenious and elegant design solution, were provided by Shell Renewables (See Notes to Editors for full list).

Karen De Segundo, Chief Executive Offficer of Shell Renewables said: "We expect renewable sources of energy to become increasingly important as the world addresses the problems of climate change and energy security. Meeting the engineering challenges of developing renewables requires the best female minds, as well as the best male ones. I hope that the competition has highlighted to these promising girls that through engineering they can play a crucial part in resolving fundamental issues facing our society."

Ruth Graham, a Research Fellow in Imperial's Department of Mechanical Engineering, who is overseeing the Green Design Challenge, said: "The whole event has been a great success. We have really challenged some traditional stereotypes of engineering, and allowed the young women to see the impact a professional engineer can have in areas such as sustainable development or in projects in the developing world."

The winners were announced by Sir Richard Sykes, Rector of Imperial College London. Judging the competition were Dr Eileen Buttle, Deputy Chair of Imperial Council and Non-Executive Director of Shell Transport and Trading; David Jones, Executive Vice President, Shell Wind Energy; and Professor Mike Graham, Head of the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial.

For further information and for pictures contact:

Abigail Smith
Imperial College London Press Office
Tel: 020 7594 6701
Email: abigail.smith@imperial.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

Full list of winners:

The Overall winners were:

Susanna Fragoso, Bhasvik (Brighton and Hove Sixth Form College), Hove
Marie Harris, Newstead Wood School for Girls, Orpington, Kent
Philippa Walters, St Helens School, London
Huong Trinh, Our Lady's Convent High School, London N16 5AF

The winners of the prize for team for Cost Effectiveness were:

Rachel Davison, Queen Anne's School, Reading
Serina Kwan, St Peter's School, York
Jacqueline Li, Moira House Girls School, Eastbourne
Kay Chadwick, Queen Elizabeth School, Kirby Lonsdale, Lancashire

The winners of the prize for Ingenuity and Design were:

Julia Capon, Newstead Wood School for Girls, Orpington, Kent
Cong Cong Bo, Old Palace School of John Whitgift, Croydon
Kumal Thakkar, Green school, Hounslow
Lucy Nguyen, Our Lady's Convent High School, London N16 5AF

About Shell Renewables

Shell Renewables sponsorship of the Green Design Challenge is the latest facet of an existing relationship between the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies (Shell) and Imperial College. Shell funds the Shell Chair in Sustainable Development in Energy at Imperial College and the Shell Chair in Petroleum Geology. Shell and Imperial College also conduct joint research and the secondment of staff between the two organisations. Six graduates from Imperial College joined Shell companies in 2002.

Shell Renewables is one of Shells five core businesses and was established in 1997 to pursue commercial opportunities in renewable energy. It is active in over 90 countries around the world.

About Imperial College London

Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for excellence in teaching and research attracts students (10,000) and staff (5,000) of the highest international quality.

Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions, which enhance the quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

Website: www.imperial.ac.uk