Triple science learners at The JCB Academy have recently had a fantastic opportunity to work with Loughborough University. Dr Paul Roach and his team visited the academy to teach learners about bioengineering, and how science and engineering come together. Dr Roach has been involved with several projects involving the design and fabrication of novel materials and surface coatings, also being incorporated into microfluidic devices. His work spans synthetic organic chemistry, materials science, experimental physics and instrumentation and biological response to surface cues.
JCB Academy learners give an account of their experience’s on the day
Aeryn
“We all worked as a team throughout the day and learnt many skills and improved our knowledge and visons of options for the future and career choices we could possibly make. This was extremely helpful and gave all of us an insight to things we wouldn’t usually consider if we hadn’t had the opportunity.
“All of his team were helpful and gave us input to the ideas we had to make them better. The information was very helpful and well delivered, which made the day engaging and us wanting to know more.
“We thank the team for the amazing day we had and appreciate the time that was taken to plan this day. Also big thanks to Dr. Simha for making this day possible, because without her today wouldn’t have been possible.”
George, Jess, Callum and Nicholas.
“Overall, today was highly enjoyable. The Loughborough team really know how to make science fun. From squishing doughnuts with kilogram weights, to discovering the future of bioengineering, the day was full of non-stop activities.
“The Loughborough team was easy to get on with and helped us with all of our ideas, theories, and general knowledge. They asked us about which type of doughnut can hold the most weight (like a vertebral disc). We couldn’t have asked for a better day.”
Jadan
“We all had a very enjoyable day learning about biomedical engineering and how, with research it can be used to cure many medical disorders. A team of scientists came from Loughborough University and they were extremely helpful and very insightful about their careers and research. As the day progressed, we carried out multiple experiments including designing our own biomedical transplant; our idea was having gills to swim so we could breathe under water. Additionally, we carried out an experiment, which tested the viscosity of jam and custard doughnuts and how weight affected the doughnut. During the test, we added weights to the doughnut and measured how much they could hold before they exploded. This experiment related to medical research on how to cure slipped discs within the spine. Intervertebral discs are made of fibrocartilage. The outside of the doughnut represented the tough outer wall called the annulus fibrosis and a gelatinous inner material was represented by the jam or custard.”
Ethan, Katie, Caleb and Izzy
“We all really enjoyed the day, we are thankful we were able to take part in this opportunity and learn about biology, the activities were fun and taught us the problems with spinal discs using the analogy of jam and custard donuts. In a fun experiment using donuts we investigated the correlation between the weight a material can hold and the viscosity of the liquid.”
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