Academy Seal of Approval for young Sheffield entrepreneur

摘要

A unique sensor technology that can monitor and predict the failure of mechanical seals has won University of Sheffield research assistant Phil Harper the inaugural ￡40,000 ERA Foundation Award from The Royal Academy of Engineering. The Award has been established to identify entrepreneurial researchers working in UK universities in the field of electro-technology who are at an early stage in their career and who demonstrate both considerable entrepreneurial promise and the potential to benefit the UK's future prosperity. Twenty-eight year old Harper's winning entry outlines the technical development and commercialisation of a patented method of monitoring the critical thin liquid layer separating the stationary and rotating rings of mechanical seals, using a piezo-electric ultrasonic sensor and specialist software.