News

The University of Glasgow’s expertise in quantum technology research and development has been showcased for visitors from the UK Government.

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are an exciting vision of the future, promising clean, locally generated electricity wherever it is needed, using technology that is mostly built off-site.

The 2025 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering celebrates seven engineers for their groundbreaking contributions to Modern Machine Learning, a cornerstone of artificial intelligence advancements.

From stretchable screens to tiny robot cats that blow on your hot drinks to cool them down, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has a reputation for showcasing some of the more frivolous gadgets that may or may not end up on the market.

Rio Tinto and Hydro are partnering to evaluate available carbon capture technologies for use in aluminium electrolysis.

Seawater electrolysis, repurposing of offshore oil and gas assets for hydrogen production and storage, and decarbonised steel production will all be explored as part of 10 new hydrogen-focused projects.

Routine eye tests may be able to predict a person’s risk of dementia thanks to a digital tool developed by data scientists and clinical researchers in partnership with high street opticians.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) can now last as long as petrol and diesel cars, a new study has found, marking what researchers called a “pivotal moment in the drive towards sustainable transportation”.

Edinburgh engineers have been awarded £2 million to support cutting-edge research into innovative offshore renewable energy technologies.

Long-duration energy storage, decarbonised steel production, clean aviation – the opportunities from affordable green hydrogen are many and varied. At the moment, however, that goal is a long way off.

A hi-tech sail aimed at reducing shipping emissions could soon be fitted to thousands of vessels.

The Airwing is being assembled by engineers in Hull, and sea trials are due to begin this spring.

On 19th February 1789 Sir William Fairbairn was born.

William Fairbairn was the greatest mill-builder and experimental engineer of the middle quarters of the nineteenth century, a major contributor to iron shipbuilding during the critical decade 1835-44, and to wrought-iron bridges during two of the most formative decades in bridge-building, 1845-64.

He advanced understanding of material strengths and properties which he applied in the design of multi-storey iron-framed mills, wrought iron ships (where he made a significant contribution to understanding the response to changing forces on the hull) and bridges. Fairbairn built 1000 bridges and his major contribution was in the design, testing and manufacture of iron bridges made from long riveted tubular section girders. Of these the two best known are the Conwy (1848) and Britannia (1850) bridges, the building of both being overseen by Robert Stephenson. Fairbairn stands as an icon of the heroic age of Victorian engineering, straddling the era of practically-trained ingenious millwright and professional engineer.

Sir William was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2017, read his full citation here