CAREERS AND AWARDS
design an ‘ Oscillating Aerofoil ’ wind pump which went on to win the BBC ‘ Young Scientists of the Year ’ competition . It was John Jeffery and Graham Sutton , my teacher of Maths and Further Maths , who inspired me to apply to study engineering at university . I will forever be grateful to them both for their advice which led me to a stimulating career in wind turbine engineering , designing wind turbines of all shapes and sizes for customers all over the world .”
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROFESSOR ELECTED ROYAL ACADEMY FELLOW
In September 2023 , David Quarton ( 69-76 ), a Visiting Professor in Renewable Energy at the University of Bristol and leading figure in the wind energy industry , was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering ( RAEng ).
The RAEng , formed in 1976 , is the UK ’ s national academy for engineering . Through its Fellowship it brings together an unrivalled community of almost 1700 leading business people , entrepreneurs , innovators and academics from every part of engineering and technology .
Following his graduation from Cambridge , David established and led an international , multidisciplinary team of consulting engineers to provide wind turbine research , design services and software tools , working in markets around the world including Europe , North America and the Far East . Since 2015 , he has been a Visiting Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Bristol University and contributes to renewable energy teaching and research activities there .
David commented : “ In recent decades , wind turbine engineering has seen astonishing progress and innovation which has enabled huge growth in the size of wind turbines , as well as a dramatic reduction in costs . Wind energy is one of the most important
David joins 72 leading engineers from the UK and around the world who have been newly elected as Fellows of RAEng in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession .
David said : “ It is a great honour for me to have been elected to the Fellowship of the Academy in recognition of my activities during a 40-year career working as an engineer in the wind energy industry .”
“ My fascination with wind turbines first began at Pocklington when John Jeffery , joint head of the recently opened school Design Centre , guided me and three others ( Nigel Ramsden 68-79 , Nick Pollard 69-76 , Andrew Blacker 68-76 ) to
sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels . It is vital to the decarbonisation of electricity production and mitigation of climate change . With experience in this field , I look forward to playing an active role within the Academy to contribute to its mission to use the power of engineering to build a sustainable society .”
“ In accepting the honour of this Fellowship I thank all those who have guided , advised and worked with me during my career as well as , most importantly , those at Pocklington School who originally inspired me and revealed a path for me to follow towards engineering and wind energy .”
OP ’ S APPRENTICE APPEARANCE SPARKS NEW BUSINESS IDEA
OPs who watched the last series of BBC One ’ s The Apprentice may have spotted a familiar face in Oliver Medforth ( 09-12 ), the Raisthorpe Manor and Yorkshire Tonics entrepreneur who was unfortunate to be the first participant to be fired from the group of 18 candidates competing for Lord Sugar ’ s £ 250K business investment .
During the show , the candidates were tasked with hosting a corporate away day in the Scottish Highlands . Despite his aspirations to play to his strengths in sales on the corporate team , Ollie found himself making brownies in the kitchen as part of the hospitality sub team . With little culinary experience ,
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Ollie inadvertently omitted adding the flour , a key ingredient for chocolate brownies . Although his mistake only contributed in a small way to the team ’ s overall downfall in the task , it has sparked a big new business idea for Ollie , who has used his entrepreneurial nous and creativity to launch his own brand of ‘ Ollternative ’ flour-free brownies .
Ollie commented : “ I was disappointed to go out first , but it ’ s given me the opportunity to go on to do something else and create a new business idea with the flourless chocolate brownies . So , I ’ m doing that alongside our Yorkshire Tonics and Raisthorpe Manor distillery . I turned a negative into a positive .”
Ollie has already expanded the ‘ Ollternative ’ range to include premium and salted caramel & chocolate brownie vodkas .
Speaking about the show he said : “ It has been a fantastic experience and something I will always remember ; I wish all the other candidates the very best of luck .”