ON THIS DAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY - 31ST JULY 2014

On this day in 2003, 34 year old Austrian, Felix Baumgartner became the first man to pass over the English Channel by unpowered flight. He leapt from a plane at about 9,800m above Dover, England and glided 22 miles across the Channel in only a 10 minute flight wearing a special suit with carbon-fibre wings across his back. The flight began at about 220mph, descending to around 135mph towards the end of his flight, when he landed by parachute at Cap Blanc-Nex, near Calais, in France. He was equipped with all necessary equipment, oxygen, cameras and high tech data monitors which enabled his journey to be tracked. His wing span of 1.8m was about 10cm longer than another he used only a few weeks earlier to win a race against an aeroplane in the U.S. 

Pirbright Institute - 100 Years

The Pirbright Institute opened the doors of it's laboratories on Saturday 19th July, to mark 100 years of research into livestock diseases. The institute was founded as a cattle testing station for tuberculosis in 1914, in more recent years it had become a centre for virus research. The open day included tours of the newly constructed laboratory complex. Visitors also had the chance to talk to scientists and enjoy interactive, hands on exhibits.

SATROClub Work Placements

Yesterday, two students from Guildford County School and Esher College began their 4 week long SATROClub Extended Work Placement at The Royal Holloway University of London. They will be conducting research to put into projects. One student's project is focussed on Plant-microbial ecology, and the other will be researching the effect of soil bacteria on foliar-feeding insects attacking calabrese. The students are amongst a group of 12 who will all be participating in Work Placements over the Summer at various companies and Universities including, Surrey Wildlife, Vzzual, Jacobs and The University of Surrey.

SATELLITE SENT INTO ORBIT

A satellite designed and built in Guildford has been sent into orbit! SSTL (Surrey Satellite Tecnhology Ltd) who are based here in the Surrey Research Park, have successfully launched a new satellite in Kazakhstan. It was announced that the spacecraft, called TechDemoSat-1, launched into orbit just before 4pm on Tuesday 8th July. It includes a miniature radiation and effects monitior from the Surrey Space Centre, a compact instrument to detect electrons and ions from the Mullars Space Science Laboratory, and an enhanced GPS reciever from SSTL, which will be used to monitor reflected signals to determine ocean roughness. SSTL will be managing the spacecraft monitoring and operations for TechDemoSat-1 from their base in Guildford.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SATROCLUB PLACEMENT STUDENT

Nayan Dhokia from Tiffin School has been part of a SATROClub Extended Work Placement over the past few days, he started on 14th July and will be on the placement for a further three weeks. Nayan's provider is St George's University of London and he will be conducting research for a project titled 'Cardiovascular adaptations in Premier League footballers'. Here's what Nayan had to say about his placement so far...

"The first week of my project included a trip to the West Ham FC Training Ground, in Chadwell Heath. Ahmad and I met Professor Sharma (Prof) at the ground, before meeting with his cardiology team of St George's University Hospital. We also had the privilege of meeting some of his medical students, who were able to give us insight into the application process for universities, while also telling us, personally, how life at university is. While the cardiology staff set up the ground's medical room with equipment used for measuring the ECGs (electrocardiograms) and echocardiograms of the players, Prof along with his staff briefed us on what we would be doing through the day. We were told the process used to connect the players up to the ECG machines - where exactly to place the electrodes on the body of the player. The doctors working with Prof showed us how to analyse echocardiograms of the players and how to record certain measurements such as aortic size and the hearts muscular wall's thickness. Soon after, we had the fortune to meet the reserve players and the first team players to measure their ECGs and record their echocardiograms. Through the day, we continued with this process, alternating between roles. At times, we would have to take personal details of the players, and ask them to sign the suitable consent forms. At the end of the day, we had met each player of West Ham, including manager Sam Allardyce, and were able to have friendly conversations with them. Ahmad and I had each brought a football which we were able to get signed by each of the players, which was the highlight of our day. 

In general the whole experience was very enjoyable as being football fans, meeting the players was an exciting opportunity. Along with having a fun time, we were able to learn a lot, with ECGs and echocardiograms being new to us. Our research project is based on comparing the heart rate of a professional athlete with an ordinary non-athletic person. In addition, we will be comparing the heart rates of the players of West Ham, with the heart rates of players of perhaps Tottenham Hotspur or even Manchester City. Other factors the project may look into investigating are if race, age and fitness have any effect on the performance of the players hearts. 

In terms of minuses, I must admit I have yet to report on any so far. The project has been intriguing and engaging for us. We hope soon we can visit another club to record some more data for our project. Prof has kept the results and data but with his permission, we can use it to tailor our projects. Of course, the project will not include the names of the players, due to the players confidentiality agreements."

SCHOOLS OUT!

We have now had our last event of this academic year. However - there is no time to put our feet up and relax, as it's time to replenish all resources and restock for next year. We have already taken many bookings for the next academic year including numerous Business Games, Discovery Science Workshops and Careers Speed Dating Workshops. We also have a couple of events happening over the Summer Holidays. The Three Peaks Challenge, a sponsored walk, is taking place in August and our very own Dani Longhurst and Lisa Dimbylow will be facing the challenge amongst a group of others, any sponsorships would be very welcome!! We also will begin preparations for our Fundraising Concert that is happening on Saturday 18th October. For more details about any of these events please visit our website. Don't forget to keep checking our blog, Twitter & Facebook pages for updates and information. We hope you all have a lovely summer!

LAST EVENT OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR!

Yesterday, SATRO headed over to Rodborough Technology College for our last event for this academic year! We delivered another of our Business Games to around 180 students. The participants were required to run their own stationery company for the duration of the workshop. Each team consisted of different 'Job Roles' including Managing Directors, Marketing Managers and Sales Managers to name a few. Each individual was given a role along with responsibilities that they were to keep on top of throughout the day. Over the course of the day, students were faced with different challenges including a Newspaper Advert and an increase in resource prices. The game aims to educate students about the real working world and the importance of skills such as teamwork and time management. It's clear from the students feedback that they have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learnt many important life and employability skills.