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An undergraduate student from The University of Nottingham has been announced as the overall winner of the prestigious Sir William Siemens Medal for 2012.
Danielius Samsonas was among nine engineering students from some of the UK’s leading universities (Imperial, Lincoln, Loughborough, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Manchester, Sheffield and Strathclyde) who have been recognised by their universities and Siemens as being the most outstanding students in their year.
A panel of senior engineering managers from Siemens awarded Danielius’ with the top prize after being impressed with his exceptional academic ability, but also his passion for engineering and his clearly demonstrable knowledge of current and future technologies.
After picking up the award, the second year Mechanical Engineering student said: “It is a great honour for me to represent The University of Nottingham and also to win this award.”
Danielius, who is currently spending a year at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus as part of the institution’s student exchange programme, continued: “The topic of my essay was about graphene and nuclear fusion. Graphene is a new material which is 200 times stronger than steel and produces current when struck by light.
“Therefore, it could be used to build lighter cars and aeroplanes, as well as more efficient solar panels and far more powerful computers in the near future. I chose this topic because I wanted to approach the essay with a unique vision and ideology and this helped me to win the competition.”
Danielius is now looking forward to undertaking a placement in the Siemens healthcare division. During this placement he hopes to learn more about the technology behind MRI machines — technology that was invented at The University of Nottingham.
“During the awards ceremony, I had the opportunity to meet Siemens’ top executives who shared their valuable thoughts on real engineering and how it is an important tool to solve future problems while providing a cleaner, safer and more comfortable living environment for society. This experience has certainly made me more certain about my career path.”
After Danielius was presented with a cheque for £1,000 and an iPad at the competition final in London, Professor Steve Pickering, Head of Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, was quick to congratulate his student.
He said: “We are delighted that Danielius has won this award, which is a great reflection of the quality of Engineering students here at Nottingham. With the opportunity to study on exchange at our Malaysia and China Campuses, students in Engineering at Nottingham can really enhance their studies with an international dimension to enhance their employability in the global workplace.”
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follow us on TwitterNotes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 42,000 students at award-winning campuses in the
United Kingdom,
China and
Malaysia. It was ‘one of the first to embrace a truly international approach to higher education’, according to the Sunday Times University Guide 2013. It is also one of the most popular universities among
graduate employers, one of the
world’s greenest universities, and winner of the
Times Higher Education Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the UK’s Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong and the QS World Rankings.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. The University aims to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a
Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its research into global food security.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fundraising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
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