The Engineering department in Cambridge University celebrates the opening of the new Dyson Building by Sir James Dyson
In May 2016, Sir James Dyson visited Cambridge with family members to officially open the Dyson Building and the Dyson Centre, which received £8milion funding from the James Dyson Foundation (https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/the-james-dyson-foundation-donates-ps8m-to-fuel-invention-powerhouse).
During the opening event, the CDT showcased the multi-disciplinary nature of the course through posters and projects completed by both the MRES and the PhD students. This was achieved through a map of London with different pinpoints on buildings in London which the MRES students had featured in their in-depth "A Time Traveller's Guide to London's Building" report which had garnered much praise and attention. Other pinpoints represented PhD projects, including international ones currently undertaken by the PhD students.
The students came up with a fun and novel way to decide how each pin-point could be selected and consequently highlighted in more detail. The map was covered in hand-made, multi-coloured confetti, which was a challenge in mass production and team-work. Visitors to the stand then used a Dyson vacuum cleaner (to acknowledge one of Dyson’s most famous inventions) to vacuum up the confetti to reveal a point, this was then presented in more detail by the relevant student. The interactive display enabled different projects to be represented and provided the students with an opportunity to show the large array of topics covered within the CDT.
The event was a big success and both staff and students throughout the department will benefit from the new building and facilities. The FIBE-CDT students are particularly looking forward to moving to their new desks in the building. And some of the students even had a starring role on Cambridge TV news which covered the Opening Event:
http://www.cambridge-tv.co.uk/09-05-2016-evening-news/ (2.30mins - 2.45mins)."