Job Description - Mr S.A.Boon.
Title: Senior Experimental Officer; Research/Design Engineer.
Reporting to the Head of Department - Geological Sciences, University College London
Duties:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Design and development of unique research equipment to enable high quality research to be
carried out within the Department of Geological Sciences
Design and development of equipment and apparatus for laboratory based practicals for
Undergraduate and Postgraduate teaching.
Undergraduate teaching – Geophysical research techniques C12 Course Organiser.
Actively seek new research funding and collaborations for existing facilities and for new
research initiatives.
Job Summary
In my role as a Senior Experimental Officer/Research Engineer in the Department of Geological
Sciences, I have a major input in the design & development of unique research equipment, the bulk of
this work being carried out in the Rock & Ice Physics Laboratory. These developments have enabled the
collection of unique data, resulting in the publishing and presentation of many papers. This has lead to
new collaborations with agencies world-wide, and several successful grant applications, which have
also incorporated salary overheads for my time. The latest major successes have been the award of a
Royal Society Paul Instrument Fund grant (value £70,000) to develop a ‘Ice Deformation Cell’ and a JIF
grant (value £1.33 million) to further update and enhance the Rock & Ice Physics Laboratory. As a result
of the success of the equipment in this area, a company (Rock Physics Systems Ltd) has been
incorporated with the help of UCLv. The purpose of the company is to market these products in the
industrial arena. I perform the role of Company Secretary and Director of Rock Physics Systems
Limited.
One of the projects I am presently seeking funding for, is a new research initiative which entails the
development of an undersea laboratory. This laboratory is a unique opportunity to perform long term
rock deformation experiments to enhance an understanding of the effects of stress corrosion. (See:http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/research/rip/creep.htm ) The attached CV details some of the successful
grant applications and indicates the level of collaborations with other agencies.
As of 1998/99 a new course for M.Sci Geophysics and Earth & Space Science 3rd Year undergraduates
has started called Research Techniques. As Course Organiser for this module I have designed a course
to cover most areas of technical and practical knowledge the students would need to carry out their 4th
year laboratory based projects. The course comprises of 20 lectures and 10 practicals in the first term
leading
to
a
short
project
in
the
second
term.
(See
:http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/edu/ugrads/courses/C12/)
I perform the role as co-ordinator of engineering support of UCL Geological Science Research Groups.
This role involves the scheduling of engineering work for research groups that need technical support
but do not have dedicated staff to enable it to be carried out. This entails the use of a network of outside
contractors for some work, to reduce the workload on internal resources and to enabled support
engineers to make more valuable use of their skills.
As a member of the Departmental Services Committee, I help to cover the changing needs of the
Department in respect to technical support. Recent examples are the winning of ‘UCL Friends’ grant to
update the Graphics unit in the Department, and the setting up of web pages detailing the ‘Services’
available to the Department, a pricing code and on-line requisition.
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Job Summary (continued)
I carry out the design, development, evaluation and requisition of experimental apparatus for
undergraduate teaching and practical's which has enhanced the quality of practical's; Earthquake
seismology and Rock mechanics (C441) has been singled out for praise by the Departments external
examiners in this respect. This role is intensifying with the increase of student numbers in the department
and the start of new M.Sci and M.Res course's which involve 3-6 month duration laboratory based
projects. I perform supervisory duties during these practical’s.
As a Departmental Computing advisor and member of the Departmental Computing Committee, I assist
with the day to day support of Departmental Computing, particularly for IBM PC compatibles. This
includes implementation of the new Departmental Computer Cluster and general upgrade of PC
hardware, software and connections to the network through out the Department.
Research - Activities:- (Please see attached CV for lists of successful research proposals.)
a)
Liaise with Principle investigators when writing research proposals for: i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
b)
Development of new research equipment requiring:i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)
vii)
viii)
ix)
x)
c)
Conceptual design of research equipment.
Discussion of experiment methodology.
Realistic costing of equipment needing in-house design.
Evaluation and compatibility of equipment from other suppliers
Production of diagrams, presentations and web-sites detailing and explaining the
conceptual design of equipment.
Overall system design and scheduling.
Mechanical design of equipment using computer aided design techniques.
Electronic design of control systems using computer aided design techniques.
Production engineering of component parts.
Supervision of assembly by experimental officers, or by external suppliers.
Liaison with Bursars and outside contractors for auxiliary needs.
Component testing and commissioning of equipment.
Writing of operation and service manual for the equipment.
Development of experimental methodology for developed equipment.
Training and supervision of postgraduate students and post doc's during initial use.
Further development of existing research equipment requiring:i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)
vii)
viii)
ix)
Assessment of existing or secondhand equipment for adaptability to laboratory needs.
Mechanical design of modifications.
Electronic design of modifications.
Production engineering of component parts with external suppliers.
Supervision of assembly by experimental officers, or by external suppliers.
Liaison with Bursars and outside contractors for auxiliary needs.
Component testing and commissioning of equipment.
Writing of operation and service manual for the modified equipment.
Training and supervision of postgraduate students and post doc's during initial use.
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d)
Writing research proposals for research funding. (See CV)
e)
Carrying out research using previously developed equipment funded by successful
research
proposals.
i)
ii)
f)
Development of new experimental methodologies.
Integration of facilities to enable holistic data gathering.
Assistance to other research staff and students in the writing of papers, posters etc.
i)
ii)
iii)
Production of schematic diagrams.
Writing and editing of technical summaries.
Carrying out additional experiments to complete research projects.
Teaching activities:-
a)
Undergraduate teaching and practicals support
i).
ii).
iii).
iv).
v).
vi).
vii).
b)
Course Organiser for C12 - Research Techniques. This is a new (1998) whole unit
course set up for Geophysics & ESS M.Sci undergraduates to give grounding in
laboratory based experimentation using sophisticated control systems and associated
equipment.
(See:http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/edu/ugrads/courses/C12/)
Lecturer on C12 – Research Techniques.
Development of laboratory practicals to integrate with lectures on new core Geo-physics
modules developed for the new BSc and M.Sci Degrees in Geo-physics (1992) and Earth
& Space Science (1996):
• B254 - Geo-dynamics.
• C441 - Earthquake Seismology & Rock Mechanics.
• C449 - Geo-physical Mechanics.
• C12 – Research Techniques
Design and development of equipment for teaching equipment.
Demonstration of equipment and its use.
Supervision of students and explanation of results during laboratory practical sessions.
Supervision and support of 3rd and 4th year M.Sci Degree students working on laboratory
based projects.
Postgraduate teaching.
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
Development and implementation of student equipment induction courses detailing:
l
Servo control systems applied to Rock Physics.
l
Applications of transducers.
l
Use of special tools (Soldering irons etc)
l
Data Acquisition and Control software and hardware.
l
PC Architecture and use of CAD Software.
Experimental methodology for various test conditions
Equipment maintenance needs.
Safety considerations.
Supervision during initial experiments and during pilot projects.
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vi)
sessions.
Supervision of students and explanation of results during laboratory practical
Enabling Activities
a)
Engineering Support Co-ordinator - Responsibilities
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
b)
Realising engineering support for research groups with full time engineering support
staff.
Scheduling of projects to enable production of equipment using internal or external
resources.
Reporting to HOD in case's where support is not forthcoming.
Assembly of Product Database and network of engineering support companies.
Liaison with Bursars department for associated technical needs.
Departmental Computer Advisor - Responsibilities
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)
vii)
Member of the Departmental Computer Committee.
Member of the MAPS Computer Users Committee.
Provide technical support during network connection.
Provide support on various software products used by the department.
Advise on PC Hardware and software requirements.
Provide staff training on computer software and hardware
Provide support and training to Graphics Unit personnel.
c) Departmental Services Committee Member - Working Terms of Reference
i).
ii).
iii).
iv).
v).
vi).
vii).
To provide and maintain a ‘Service Level Document’
To discuss difficulties encountered in providing services.
To seek opinion on the service provided and ideas for improvement.
To consider the benefits and costs of possible changes to the service.
To plan for future needs in support,
Auditing of the accounts and charges of service facilities.
Recommend changes to the Professors’ Committee.
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