On Sunday 25 May 2025 – SIM members took part in the Tudor Pull. Photos in no particular order but you might like to note the black WCSIM polo shirt being trialled as sailing/sports wear.
Thanks to Bargemaster Simon Hall for organising the team and Liveryman Phil Hewer for organising the polo shirts and photos.
The Master’s Weekend took place in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire in very nice late Spring weather. As well as some splendid dining, and some dancing on Saturday night, there were visits to the Great Western Railway STEAM museum, the REME museum at MOD Lynham and the fine Roman town of Cirencester where the Civic Society provided guides for a Town walk.
For those wondering – the weekend is open to all. Look out for next years weekend around the same time of year in Birmingham.
Michael Faraday features on the left hand side of the SIM coat of arms. Little-know notebooks of his have recently been unearthed from the archives of the Royal Institution. Read more here.
It is with the greatest sadness that we learned of the death of Past Master Ken Sanders BSc, DSc, CCMI following his valiant battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
The Company congratulates Lewis who successfully defended his PhD viva on Monday, 24th of February 2025, at the Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland. Lewis is one of our post-graduate scholarship awardees. He expressed his gratitude to all, for the massive support and motivation he received to the successful completion of this tough journey. His research focuses on exploring the application of novel hexagonal optical devices for improving sustainability, performance, and packing density of building integrated concentrating photovoltaic systems. By concentrating light through the novel hexagonal concentrators onto smaller highly-efficient PV cells, he achieved significant reduction of PV material volume, while improving output power, energy-efficiency, cost-effectiveness, reducing carbon footprint, and environmental impact. These compact hexagonal photovoltaic modules can be integrated seamlessly within double-glazed windows, facades, and rooftops of the building envelope compared to traditional photovoltaic panels. He is open to future opportunities.
The Master attended the Degree Congregation at City St George’s, University of London on Monday 27th January together with a number of Masters from other Livery companies. The Lord Mayor was Installed as Rector before the awarding of degrees in the School of Health and Psychological Sciences.
Jim has commented ‘’ it was heartening to see so many young people receive their degrees in subject areas such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, radiography, speech therapy and nursing and a privilege to represent our Company at this auspicious ceremony’’.
Meng Wu is the most recent member to gain his Freedom of the City. Congratulations.
We are very sad to hear the news that the co-founder and executive chairman of Renishaw, Sir David McMurtry, has died and we wish to acknowledge his many achievements in the field of measurement technology. Following an early engineering career in the aerospace industry, Sir David founded Renishaw to commercialise the 3-D trigger probe that he had invented whilst working at Rolls Royce. The company has become one of the world’s leading measurement technology companies based on continuous investment in research, product development and manufacturing. His obituary can be found here.
During Honorary Liveryman Prof. Michael Mainelli’s year as Master he prompted a number of scientific experiments in the City. This included collaborating with Liveryman Russell Pridgeon to identify better ways of managing temperatures in old buildings and specifically this past year at Mansion House. Go here to read more.
