Sponsored by

The BSSM Young Stress Analyst (YSA) competition is an annual competition that is intended to encourage and reward young practitioners in the field of experimental mechanics.

The next competition, sponsored by Airbus, AWE and Imetrum Non-Contact Precision Measurement will take place alongside the 7th BSSM International Conference on Advances in Experimental Mechanics, to be held at the University of Liverpool from the 7th to the 9th of September 2010.

Competition format

• Entrants are invited to submit a 1000 word summary of their work, based on which 4 finalists will be selected by a review panel
• The 4 finalists will be asked to present their work at a special conference session where they will be judged by a panel of leading researchers from both industry and academia
• The winners will be announced, and prizes awarded at the conference dinner
  
  

  Entries are welcome from

  • Final year undergraduate (or equivalent) students
  • MSc students
  • PhD students who have not submitted their final thesis
  • Young industry based personnel

  Full allowance will be made for the varying levels of experience of the applicants; however all should be within five years of graduation.

Prizes

• The first prize winner of the YSA competition will receive Imetrum Non-Contact Precision Strain Measurement software and a cash prize of £200.
• The second  place entry will receive a £100 prize with £50 going to each of the other finalists.
• Each of the 4 YSA finalists will receive free conference registration, a contribution towards B&B accommodation, lunches and refreshments over the three days of the conference and will be invited to attend the conference dinner free of charge
• The YSA winner will also receive free membership of the BSSM for one year, which includes six issues of the journal ‘Strain’ and reduced fees to attend the BSSM’s technical and scientific workshops/seminars
• Other entries of merit will be invited to produce a poster for display at the conference, which will also be entered into a competition.

How to enter

Write a summary of up to 1000 words, stating the objectives, main results/discussion and conclusions of your work, with a maximum of 6 figures/tables

Complete an application form click here and email entry

The deadline for receipt of the entries is 29th of June 2010.

Suitable entry topics

Strain measurement techniques, analysis and applications, including:

• Strain measurement during static, cyclic or impact loading
• Modal testing and structural analysis
• Instrument design/development Materials testing and quality control
• Design case studies
• Use of optical techniques
• Data acquisition and processing
• Comparison of experimental and analytical methods

Selection process

The competition judging panel will be comprised of experienced practitioners from industry and academia

The panel will select 4 finalists who will be notified by 3rd August 2010 and invited to the conference to present their work

For more information contact:

Dr Simon Quinn, Deputy Director, Research Institute for Industry, School of Engineering Sciences, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom. s.quinn@soton.ac.uk Telephone: +44(0)23 8059 8549

2009 YSA Winner Graeme Horne

2009 YSA Winner Graeme Horne(pictured right) said "As a finalist in the Young Stress Analyst competition, I attended the 7th International Conference on Modern Practice in Stress and Vibration Analysis free of charge. This provided an excellent opportunity to present my research and meet academic and industrial experts within the field of stress analysis. To my surprise, I was announced as the winner of the competition at the conference dinner.Besides the prize money, winning has given me enthusiasm to start my PhD and allows me to keep up to date with the community through membership of the British Society for Strain Measurement. I would thoroughly recommend applying, you could be writing this next year!"

2009 Young Stress Analyst Competition Winners

First Prize - Graeme Horne, University of Bristol
2nd Prize - Tran Nam Nguyen, Loughborough University
Runner Up - Djallal Khennouf, University of Southampton
Runner Up - Franck Quero, Manchester University

Young Stress Analyst Handbook - download below
Front Page
Graeme Horne
T. Nam Nguyen
Djallal Khennouf
Franck Querno

2008 YSA Winner Shamala Sambasivam

2008 YSA Winner Shamala Sambasivam said "It was overwhelming and exciting to win the young stress analyst competition while attending the 6th BSSM international conference. This is really going to benefit me both in the short and long term. I think that this is a great program that benefits and encourages young mechanicians to recognise their aptitude, work to develop them into skills and use these skills to accomplish goals. This recognition has given me confidence in my work and a boost for the final year of the PhD".

2008 Young Stress Analyst download booklet pdf 

2008 Young Stress Analyst Competition Winners

First Prize - Shamala Sambasivam, Southampton University
2nd Prize - Geoffrey Wylde, University of Oxford 
Runner Up - Oscar Portillo, Cambridge University 
Runner Up - Paulo de Matos, University of Oxford 
Poster Competition
First Prize - Xu Song, University of Oxford

2007 YSA Winner Andrew Conway

2007 YSA Winner Andrew Conway said "Taking part in the YSA competition has been a really beneficial experience and one that I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone thinking about entering. The competition was a great opportunity to generate interest in my research and to meet experts from academia and industry working in the field. Winning the competition has also given me the confidence and motivation to tackle the final year of my PhD."

2007 Young Stress Analyst Competition Winners

First Prize - Andrew Conway, University of Sheffield (pictured right) Second Prize - Matthias Schallert, Federal Institute for Materials Research & Testing, Berlin
Runner Up - Tarun Kumar Sharma, London South Bank University
Runner Up - Juan Pablo Casas-Rodriguez, Loughborough University
Poster Competition
First Prize - Richard Fruehmann, University of Southampton
Runner Up - Vivien Schlueter, Federal Institute for Materials Research & Testing, Berlin