Vacuum News

Magnetic Radiations', 'Devices for Physical and Chemical Researches', 'Radio Measuring Instruments', 'Installations and Devices for Nuclear-Physical Researches', 'Computing Technology for Laboratory Researches, 'Equipment for Investigation of Materials and Elements of Structures', "Installations for Investigation of Friction, Wear and Lubrication', 'Devices for Vibro-Acoustic Researches'.

The visitors and the participants of the exhibit ion wil l be given an opportunity to familiarize themselves with a special division called upon to display novelties of scientific instrument making in the countries--members of the Council for Mutual Economic Aid (CMEA).

In international exhibition "Science--78' all conditions wil l be created for a fruitful work of the participants. A scientific and technical symposium wil l be organized within the bounds of which the exhibitors wil l be offered an opportunity to deliver lectures, exchange views with the colleagues, show films on matters relating to the subjects of the review. For organization of meetings on business matters, establishing contacts with the officials concerned and conclusion of bargains it is planned to form a Commercial Centre which wil l include the representatives of the respective Soviet foreign-trade organizations.

For the information of those who desire to attend or take part in exhibit ion 'Science--78" we offer the address to write to us and to make inquiries on all matters relating to the exhibition.

Sokolnitcheski val, 1 a, NAUKA--78, (The USSR Chamber of Commerce and Industry,

V/O EXPOCENTR), Moscow 107113, USSR

(Telex : 7184, 7185, Nauka, EXPO.)

The M a c R o b e r t A w a r d The MacRobert Award, which has been described as the Nobel Prize for engineering, consists of £25,000 and a Gold Medal presented annually by the Council of Engineering Institutions (CEI) on behalf of the MacRobert Trusts. The Award is made for successful technological innovation which has contributed (or wil l contribute) to the national prestige and prosperity of the UK.

The rules al low the prize to be made to a team of no more than five people or to an individual, making an outstanding contribution to engineering, the physical technologies or to the application of the physical sciences. The Award has been awarded since 1969, among the winners are: Rolls-Royce for the "Pegasus' engine used in the Hawker Harrier Jump Jet; Freeman Fox Et Partners for their design of the Severn Bridge superstructure; British Petroleum for the successful exploration of the Alaskan North Slope Oilfield ; a Gas Council team for several processes for the manufacture of gas; Mr G N Hounsfield of EMI Ltd for his invention of a new X-ray technique which he used as the basis of a new computerized system for diagnosing brain disease, Dunlop Limited for the development of the total mobil ity Denovo tyre and wheel system ; the Agricultural Division of ICI ; British Rail for developments in railway vehicle suspensions and Westland Helicopters for the semi-rigid rotor system and conformed gearing for the Lynx Helicopter.

The MacRobert Trusts were formed by Lady MacRobert of Douneside and Cromar, w idow of Sir Alexander MacRobert, Bt, the founder of the British India Corp. Lady MacRobert was born in Massachusetts in 1884. Her three sons were all pilots; the oldest was killed in a flying accident in 1938 and the other two died in action with the RAF in 1941 within a month of each other.

The Trusts have made many contributions to agricultural research, education, medical research, youth and Services welfare work. In founding the MacRobert Award for engineering and technology the Trustees wished to honour the individuals who contributed to the economic well-being of the United Kingdom.

CEI, 2 Little Smith Street, Westminster, London SWl P 3DL, UK

M a j o r Engineering A w a r d for Ma lve rn Research Team The 1977 MacRobert Award, the major engineering Award in Great Britain, has been won by a team of five men who successfully developed the Malvern Correlator. This sophisticated electronics instrument measures the movement of particles or molecules in applications as diverse as air f low over an aerofoil and blood f low in the retina of the eye. A Gold Medal and prize money totalling £25,000 is the reward for a combined effort of a research team from the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) and a British electro optical company, Malvern Instruments. The development was backed by the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC).

The Award was presented on 20 December 1977, by HRH Prince Philip, the former President of the CEI, at a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The Award winners are Dr E Jakeman, Mr R Jones, Dr C J Oliver, Dr E R Pike of RSRE and Mr D S Trudgill of Malvern Instruments.

The Malvern Correlator is an ultrasensitive measuring tool similar to a computer which, when combined with a laser, leads to a complete range of powerful new instruments for the measurement of movement, having application in all fields of industry and research. The measurement of movement is complex when applied to problems such as measuring air f low inside a Concorde engine or the f low in the cooling system of an atomic reactor. In agriculture, the rate of intake of fertilizer by a plant or the monitoring of artificial insemination in bloodstock breeding can be more easily understood from information supplied by the Malvern Correlator.

The major advantages of the MaIvern correlator are that it does not affect the movement that is being studied and that it extracts measurements in hostile environments that would damage or pollute conventional probes. The advent of the Malvern Correlator has already enabled considerable technological advances to be made. New transmission fluids are being developed which wil l al low variable transmissions to be produced wi thout conventional gears. New aerofoils are being designed to carry greater loads further and faster. Combustion in internal combustion engines and gas turbines are being studied which wil l result in quieter and more economical engines creating less pollution.

Important sales have been made in Europe, the USA and Japan. Prominent among these are the aircraft companies--Rolls Royce, Boeing, General Electric, Pratt 8- Whitney, Grumman and McDonnell Douglas. Industrial buyers include GEC, ICI, Shell, Unilever, Bayer and BASF, and correlators are also used by the CEGB, UKAEA, the British Gas Corporation and the Royal Aircraft Establishment. Many UK universities and prominent continental research centres such as Bell Laboratories, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Max Planck Institute and Moscow Academy of Sciences have bought correlators for an amazing variety of difficult velocity measurements and molecular analyses. A typical corre[ator system with its associated laser and optics can cost from £10,000 to £20,000.

CEI, 2 Little Smith Street, Westminster, London SWl P 3DL, UK

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