Mechanical Engineering: Personal Statement

Mechanical Engineering surrounds us in our everyday lives, whether we realise it or not. I am very curious about the world around me and how design can interact with it to improve societies. I’m interested in the mathematical and the application of physics to design.

My desire to understand the world around me was the driving force behind my selection of physics as an A Level course. Being able to learn about the fundamentals of mechanics and how forces can impact a system has been a highlight of the course for me, especially applying equations and principles to real world scenarios both in and out of the classroom. One of my favourite examples of applying mechanics to solve a real world problem is the Dambuster Raid. Barnes Wallis was tasked with destroying a dam, which was protected by torpedo netting. His solution was to “bounce” a 4 tonne bomb across 400m of water using a specially designed release mechanism. The bomb was in the shape of a barrel and had a backspin of 500rpm applied to it to aid stability and take advantage of the Magnus effect to generate lift. This helped with skipping the bomb as its lower surface had more horizontal velocity. Through testing, Barnes also found that the bomb would be most effective if the explosion was against the wall of the dam. Barnes also specially designed a release mechanism to help keep the spinning bomb balanced to prevent vibrations and released the bomb using wires held under tension and a solenoid to release this tension, allowing the mechanism to open by a few degrees and drop the bomb. In this example I was particularly interested in how the Magnus effect was applied to create lift, and researched how the force per unit length generated by a rotating object can be found.

My EPQ focuses on using appropriate technology and design to support education in developing countries. My aim is to create a prototype of a product, while developing my research, evaluation and CAD skills, which I believe will be vital for studying mechanical engineering and build a foundation for my further studies. My inspiration for this project came from Manu Prakash, and his creation of the Paperfuge. The Paperfuge is a paper blood centrifuge which costs 68 cents, but can be used to diagnose malaria. This stood out to me as an example where engineering can save lives without being expensive by applying existing knowledge in an abstract way.

Outside of academic roles, I have been heavily involved in school sports, including playing within the football team throughout my secondary education, as well as captaining the basketball team for 3 years, a particularly challenging role as I was responsible for ensuring my teammates were confident within games and taking on feedback from the coaching staff. This experience helped me develop my teamwork skills as well as becoming more confident in a leadership role. The highlight of this role was organising an annual charity match against teachers which became a popular tradition within the school and always a successful event.

I was also chosen to be a prefect in year 11. I am very glad I applied for the role as it taught me about being a role model for my peers and gave me additional responsibilities outside of a sports environment. Being a prefect helped to develop good time management and communication skills. I had to apply these skills during prefect meetings as well as fulfilling my role in monitoring buildings during break times.

I have always wanted to work towards bettering the lives of the people around me, particularly those less fortunate than myself. Throughout my life I hope to build a solid understanding of mechanics and engineering and use this knowledge to improve societies.