2022 September / October Events
Cool and unruly: how disordered materials could refrigerate the world
22 September 2022, 19:00 – 21:00
Anglia Ruskin University (Room QUE 101)
A FREE IOP / CSES talk for the public by Dr Anthony Phillips (Queen Mary University of London).
It is well known that the beautiful facets of crystals are a consequence of the regular geometric arrangement of the atoms and molecules from which they are formed. But real crystalline materials can deviate substantially from these mathematically perfect arrangements, accommodating surprising levels of structural disorder. This isn't just a curiosity, but leads directly to applications ranging from solid-state refrigeration to switchable dielectrics. This talk will present ways to measure this disorder, and show how and why we might want deliberately to introduce it.
Refreshments available before the talk from 6.30pm.
Attendance is free and open to all – no reservation required
For further information please contact
Alan Turing and his Machine
5 October 2022, 19:00 – 21:00
Anglia Ruskin University (Room QUE 101)
A FREE talk for the public by Damian Bevan.
In his seminal 1936 paper 'On Computable Numbers', a young Alan Mathison Turing set in motion the field now known as 'Computer Science'. With the notional automaton which Turing presented in this paper, he set the blueprint for the digital computer, which is so central to modern-day life. In this talk we describe this so-called 'Turing Machine', and explore Turing's life, his death and his legacy today. On the way, we briefly study the impact of computation on the field of wireless, both during Turing's work at Bletchley Park in World War 2, and in the modern day.
Damian Bevan earned an MEng degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Loughborough University in 1991. Since that date he has been working in the field of wireless technology. He specialises particularly in the areas of a) antenna array digital signal processing and b) computational techniques for passive intermodulation (PIM) detection, localisation and mitigation. He is a co-inventor of digital PIM cancellation for cellular base stations. He has over 30 granted patents to his name.
Refreshments will be available from 30 minutes before the advertised start time.
In Memoriam
It is with great sadness that we report the death of
- Mr John Yates who joined in 1959, died on 26th August 2022.
- A few months ago he had a major cancer operation from which he recovered, he was at the MVA reunion. But recently had further complications and died in Broomfield hospital.
- He worked in Installations, he was the Union Rep, and a keen amateur radio enthusiast. He was also a keen member of the Friday pub gang.
- The funeral is at the Chelmsford Crematorium on Tuesday 11th October at 12:30.
- Mr Brian Ackroyd who joined in 2008, died on 27th July 2022.
- The Funeral service for Brian Ackroyd was on 31st August.
- Mr Harold Emms who joined in 1941, died August 15th 2022.
- For many years he was head of Printed Boards Technique Group (PCTG).
- The funeral service was on Wednesday 7th September.
Click here for a list of recent (last 12 months) deaths of veterans which have been notified to us.
Click here for a list of recent (last 12 months) deaths of friends which have been notified to us.
2022 Reunion a Sucess
We had a very successful 85th MVA Reunion on July 2nd 2022 at Pontlins Park.
Over 100 veterans attended, and the feedback is that the food and service was good.
Our President for 2022 is Veteran David Roscoe, ex Software Engineer.
Our Honoured Guest was Tim Wander.
Click here if you want to view some photographs taken at the event.
Click here to view the messages of absent veterans.
Click here to view a list of attendees.
During the last year we have recorded the following veterans who have passed away (click here for list), our thoughts are with them and our sincere condolences go out to their families.
If you did not come but would like to pay your MVA subscription you can still do this from here (but click not-coming).
Our 2023 MVA Reunion is on Saturday 22nd April 2023 - make a note in your diary.
Newsletter for 2022
The Marconi Veterans Association Newsletter for 2022 is now published.
The web version which is ideal for viewing on your PC, Smartphone or Tablet is here:
The pdf version is here, which can be viewed (ideally on a large screen) or printed. It is 20 A4 pages long:
The next MVA Reunion is planned for Saturday 22nd April 2023
We should now be collecting articles for the 2023 Newsletter, if you have any