Henry Beighton
2020-03-04 19:00 (Europe/London) | BIRMINGHAM Think Tank, Birmingham Science Museum,, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7XG
THE KEY TO UNLOCKING THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE NEWCOMEN ENGINE: Suhail Rana discusses his research on this engineer and surveyor

CANCELLED History of Women in Engineering
2020-04-01 19:00 (Europe/London)
Professor Graeme Gooday explores the ongoing role of women in engineering and related sectors

CANCELLED History and Conservation of "City of Birmingham"
2020-05-06 19:00 (Europe/London)
Dr Jim Andrew explains the history and conservation challenges of this iconic locomotive

Claymills - the building of an integrated Victorian industrial site and its later restoration
2021-12-01 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
John Freeman CBE
Claymills – the building of an integrated Victorian industrial site and its later restoration
John Freeman CBE discusses the progressive development and repurposing of this imposing site from industrial to heritage use.
It replaces the provisionally arranged talk on the Harwell Dekatron Computer, which will be rescheduled for 2022/2023.
This lecture is provided by the Newcomen Society, in conjunction with Birmingham Museums Trust.
About the Speaker
John is a Trustee of Claymills Pumping Engines Trust and has kindly offered this lecture to the Newcomen Society.
About the Venue
Please note that in compliance with Thinktank’s commitment to COVID-19 secure events, we ask that masks are worn (unless exempt) and social distancing is observed.
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Lady Charlotte Guest at Dowlais 1833 – 1855
2022-01-05 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
An in-person only presentation by Dr. Victoria Owens
Dr Victoria Owens examines how a pioneering businesswoman came to head the world’s largest ironworks.
When impoverished aristocrat Lady Charlotte Bertie married wealthy Welsh ironmaster John Guest of Dowlais in 1833, her relatives looked on with dismay. Yet despite their vast difference of background and age, over their nineteen-year long marriage, husband and wife enjoyed great happiness and much adventure. There would be ten children and while John built up an immense commercial empire, Charlotte championed Welsh culture.
Crucially, she taught herself John’s business from the inside. Over the years, she made the keenest observation of iron production, the fluctuations of the trade and the engineering innovations that touched upon its developments. When John died in 1852, she was therefore uniquely well-placed to succeed him as head of the works – a remarkable position for a Victorian woman. Not only did she endeavour to introduce reforms, but also – rather to her dismay – had to weather a potentially destructive strike. But success came at a price. With her star to all sight in the ascendant, Lady Charlotte suddenly chose to abandon all, leave Wales and marry her sons’ tutor!
This presentation (& Victoria’s book on the subject) traces the ardent, creative years of her first marriage, explores her determination – widowed – to preserve John’s legacy, and observes her growing devotion to her second husband, the scholarly Charles Schreiber.
About the Venue
Please note that in compliance with Thinktank’s commitment to COVID-19 secure events, we ask that masks are worn (unless exempt) and social distancing is observed.
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'Boxing Clever' - a brief history of corrugated containers and the ingenuity of their design and manufacture
2022-04-06 19:00 - 21:00 UTC
An in person and online presentation by Nigel Jopson
Nigel Jopson offers an insight into the complexity of items often taken for granted.
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'The Newcomen Engine Pumping House at Brislington' by David Hardwick
2022-10-05 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
David Hardwick discusses the historical and archaeological appraisal of the standing building in Brislington

'Brickyard Engines that drove Clay Mills in the Early 19th Century' by Elizabeth Thomson
2022-11-02 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
Elizabeth Thomson considers a critical aspect for Britain’s urban growth

'Invention & Design; Elkington of Birmingham' by Dr. Jonathan Berg
2022-12-07 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
Dr. Jonathan Berg discusses the invention of electroplating and its commercialisation in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter

'The Pentrich Engine' by David Hulse
2023-01-04 19:00 - 22:00 (Europe/London)
This event is both an in-person and on-line event. To reserve a spot for either option, please visit the lecture’s Eventbrite page.
The Pentrich engine, designed by Francis Thompson, was constructed in 1791 to pump water out of a coal mine at Pentrich in Derbyshire.
David Hulse will describe its features and tell its history, based on his research while building a detailed 1/16th scale model of the original engine. Pictures of the model will be used to illustrate the talk.
About The Lecturer
In 1970, David Hulse started a project which was to occupy all his spare time for the next 45 years! He has researched and constructed in miniature the important steam engines which were built in the eighteenth century.
These engines paved the way for the industrial revolution in the British Isles and which spread to many other countries throughout the world. These eighteenth century engines are usually grouped together and called steam engines, however, they were not steam engines. Steam was used as a means of creating a vacuum against which the earth’s pressure could act. The correct terminology is that they were atmospheric engines.
Please visit David’s website: davidhulse.co.uk for more info.

'Reverse Engineering' by Dr. John Moyle
2023-02-01 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
This event is both an in-person and on-line event. To reserve a spot for either option, please visit the lecture’s Eventbrite page.
Dr. John Moyle will talk on the subject of “Reverse Engineering”, sometimes called “back engineering”. This is a process in which machines, weapons, architectural structures, software and other products are “deconstructed” to extract design information from them.
About The Lecturer
Dr. John Moyle is a Chartered Engineer, retired Physician & Anaesthetist plus historian with a particular interest in telegraphy and medical technology.

'BSA: A Birmingham Company in World War II' by Dr. Jim Andrew
2023-03-01 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
Dr. Jim Andrew shares new insights on wartime organisation and operations
In the Second World War, BSA supplied about half the total UK production of small arms up to 20 mm cannon. They were heavily targeted by German bombers and in 1940 very serious damage was done to their main works in Small Heath. This talk details the firm’s efforts to recover or relocate some of its production to other factories and any other firms which could help. Little more than a month’s production was lost but there was also serious loss of life among staff, male and female.
About The Lecturer
The speaker, Dr. Jim Andrew, spent part of his early career at BSA, before moving to Birmingham City Council. He was, for many years, responsible for the exhibits in Birmingham Science Museum, and, although retired, still provides technical advice to the present Thinktank Museum. He spent a long time as Honorary Secretary of the Midlands Branch of the Newcomen Society, and is currently Chairman of Newcomen Midlands.

‘Women in Engineering’ by Dr. Emily Rees Koerner & Prof. Graeme Gooday
2023-04-05 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
This event is both an in-person and on-line event. To reserve a spot for either option, please visit the lecture’s Eventbrite page.
A co-authored paper presented by Dr. Emily Rees Koerner and Professor Graeme Gooday.
In 2019 the Women’s Engineering Society celebrated its centenary (founded in 1919 when they held their first conference in Birmingham). The two speakers will present evidence of women’s roles in engineering during the 19th and 20th centuries, uncovered whilst they researched historical tales of women engineers in Birmingham and the Midlands.
They are now working on a broader history along with the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists.

'John Snow And The Fight Against Cholera' by David Moore
2023-10-04 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
This event is both an in-person and on-line event. To reserve a spot for either option, please visit the lecture’s Eventbrite page
This is a joint meeting with Thinktank: Birmingham Science Museum
David Moore describes how John Snow identified the source of a cholera outbreak in London and showed it to be a water-borne disease.
About the Speaker
David Moore has given several talks to Newcomen Midlands in the last few years. He has been heavily involved with the trust that has rescued and preserved the Sandfields steam pumping engine at Lichfield, Staffordshire.
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'The Early Years of Jodrell Bank' by Mark Edwards
2023-11-01 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
This event is both an in-person and on-line event. To reserve a spot for either option, please visit the lecture’s Eventbrite page
This is a joint meeting with Thinktank: Birmingham Science Museum
Mark Edwards relates how a leading radio observatory developed by chance at Manchester University's Jodrell Bank site.
About the Speaker
Mark Edwards is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and studied radio astronomy at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in the 1970s before working as a software engineer at Marconi in Coventry where he helped to develop the System X local telephone exchanges for BT.
Now retired, Mark continues to follow his interest in astronomy by making daily observations of the ionosphere and presenting monthly skynotes at the Coventry and Warwickshire Astronomical Society.
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'Where On Earth Am I?' by Jim Andrew
2023-12-06 18:30 - 20:30 (Europe/London)
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This Newcomen Midlands Public Lecture is held in conjunction with Think Tank: Birmingham Science Museum
At:
The Lecture Theatre, Level Two,
Thinktank: Birmingham Science Museum,
Millennium Point,
Birmingham B4 7XG
[for Sat Nav use B4 7AP]
Jim Andrew gives an explanation of how marine navigation techniques, and the necessary technology, developed through the centuries.
Click here for Zoom link

'The Birmingham Brass Industry: Origins, Growth & Politics' by Dr Duncan Frankis
2024-01-03 19:00 - 22:00 (Europe/London)
This event is both an in-person and on-line event. To reserve a spot for either option, please visit the lecture’s Eventbrite page
This is a joint meeting with Thinktank: Birmingham Science Museum
Dr Duncan Frankis places this key industry in its economic and political context
About the Speaker
Dr Duncan Frankis is a lecturer at Newman University, Birmingham

'John Cooke Bourne and the first London to Birmingham Railway' by Felix Schmid
2024-03-06 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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This is a joint meeting with Thinktank: Birmingham Science Museum
Felix Schmid, Professor emeritus of Railway Systems Engineering at the University of Birmingham, will talk about the construction and early years of the London and Birmingham Railway. He will trace the history of this huge undertaking through the eyes of John Cooke Bourne, using his watercolours and lithographs. Cooke Bourne lived from 1 September 1814 to February 1896 and also illustrated Brunel's construction of the Great Western Railway. Cooke Bourne's pictures illustrate the huge scale of this enterprise.
Felix will discuss some of the technologies used in the construction of this first railway to reach London, notably the equipment needed for the vast movements of earth required to build the railway.
About the Speaker
Felix Schmid is Professor emeritus of Railway Systems Engineering at the University of Birmingham. Felix is neither a historian nor an archaeologist but a railway systems engineer who enjoys discussing the history of railways and its pioneers. He is a member of Newcomen Council, and has recently been elected as the next President of the Newcomen Society.

'Coal Conquers Cholera: The Development & Technology of Sewage Treatment' by Nigel Jopson
2024-04-03 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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This is a joint meeting with Thinktank: Birmingham Science Museum
Nigel Jopson's presentation will start with a brief introduction and then will consider the recognition of water-born pathogens as the harbingers of disease and the need to build efficient sewerage systems for the removal of effluent from Victorian cities. The legal and administrative frameworks developed in step with the rise of local government in the 19th century will also be evaluated.
Next, we discuss the motive power for the pumping operations, the rise of the rotative beam engine and the later developments illustrated with examples of surviving engines. We will consider the historical development of sewage treatment systems, including the nature and characterisation of effluents both domestic and industrial – both physical and biological treatments will be featured.
Finally, the conclusions that may be drawn will be illustrated.
About the Speaker
Nigel Jopson was a Consultant industrial chemist who retired from the Pulp and Paper industry in 2013. Early in his career, he was involved in studies on problems with industrial wastewater treatments.
He is also a devout worshipper at the Shrine of Steam!

'The Nice Parts of Technical Curatorship' by Dr Jim Andrew
2024-10-02 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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This is a joint meeting with Thinktank: Birmingham Science Museum
Most of a senor curator’s time is spent on typical management activities as in any other job, but from time to time the curator can do some research or hand on aspects of exhibits’ history or use.
This talk will look at a few of these sagas and even blocking attempts to “poach” the exhibits for display elsewhere, or dare one say it, to sell!
About the Speaker
Dr Jim Andrew was Honorary Secretary of the Midlands Branch of the Newcomen Society, and is currently Chairman.
After starting his working life in environmental protection for local government, he joined the Birmingham Museum Service at the Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry, where he remained, as curator responsible for the Science Museum’s technical collection.
Although now retired, Dr Jim Andrew remains as a volunteer technical adviser at the Thinktank Museum.

'The Telegraph to India in the Victorian Era' by Dr John Moyle
2024-11-06 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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Much has been heard about laying the under-sea telegraph cables across the Atlantic and other oceans, particularly around the 150th anniversary of the first transatlantic cable laid in 1866. However, the need to extend the telegraph lines, mainly over land routes to, and across, India was also vital to British colonial and military interests.
With strained relations between Britain and several other European countries in the mid-18th century, there was also a need to route the lines to avoid crossing unfriendly countries. Before the technology for underwater cables had been perfected, there were sometimes gaps in the route, requiring messages to be forwarded by steamer before re-entering the telegraph system.
About the Speaker
Dr John Moyle is a Chartered Engineer, retired physician & anaesthetist plus historian with a particular interest in telegraphy and medical technology.

'How Chaddesley Corbett changed the world' by David Hardwick
2024-12-04 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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The Role of the Potter family in the Industrial Revolution
The beginning of the Industrial Revolution is often traced back to 1712 when Thomas Newcomen built a mechanical pump that was not powered by wind, water, or human/animal power in Dudley. There are, however, many myths and mistakes in this traditional narrative, particularly regarding the role played by a small boy called Humphrey Potter in creating the first truly self-acting machine. The Potter family were from Chaddesley Corbett.
This talk looks at the facts around the earliest Newcomen Engines and what role the family played in changing the world.
About the Speaker
David Hardwick is a Chartered Building Surveyor specialising in historic properties and particularly in industrial archaeology. He is an experienced lecturer at colleges and universities in all aspects of construction and heritage, as well as giving talks to a wide range of local and national history organisations. It is his passion for industrial archaeology and, in particular, mining history and the development of the early Newcomen Engines, that results in his latest research.

'Drifting into Digital Dependence' by Vaughan Pomeroy
2025-02-05 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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Digital systems can be found in all sorts of unlikely, and arguably sometimes unnecessary, places that we increasingly depend on in modern life. Unlike most changes in technology where take-up follows a similar pathway from early adoption to market dominance, the digital revolution is more subtle. The distance between the operator or user and the ‘machine’ she controls becomes invaded by digital systems which have the seductive power to lull a sense of security whilst being an incomprehensible black box.
Using the modern merchant ship as the basis, the talk will consider the pathway towards adoption of new technology, the development of automation and the resulting impact on usability. When did we become dependent on digital systems without a manual work around? How should this sort of development be recorded for historical purposes to inform future generations? The speed of change is extraordinary, and the drivers for adoption are not always clear.
About the Speaker
Vaughan Pomeroy joined the British Aircraft Corporation at Weybridge from school in 1970 as an undergraduate apprentice. His daughter points out that it is now a museum! After graduating, Vaughan returned to Weybridge working on aircraft systems, particularly avionics. He joined the consulting engineers Mott, Hay and Anderson in 1974 working on a variety of infrastructure projects, before joining Lloyd's Register of Shipping in 1980.
Vaughan retired in 2010 as Technical Director, since when he has worked with Southampton University and with universities in Singapore.

'A Warwickshire Eclipse' by Mike Frost
2025-03-05 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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On February 18th 1737, there was an eclipse of the Sun visible from Warwickshire. It was one of an extraordinary series of British eclipses which occurred in the eighteenth century, and inspired a generation of astronomers and cartographers to produce ever-more elaborate charts and maps of the eclipse tracks.
Henry Beighton – surveyor, engineer, draftsman and mathematician, drew one such chart to illustrate the 1737 eclipse. Mike Frost found this chart in the papers of Roger Newdigate, a young aristocrat who lived in Arbury Hall, Nuneaton.
Mike uses the story of these two fascinating historical figures, and the map that connects them, to trace the flowering of mathematical talent in the wake of Newton, Halley and others. In the case of Beighton and Newdigate, these talents played a direct part in bringing the industrial revolution to Warwickshire.
About the Speaker
Warwickshire’s Mike Frost is a Systems Engineer working in the steel industry. In his spare time, Mike is an astronomer who chases eclipses and visits astronomical sites worldwide.
Mike is a member of the Coventry and Warwickshire Astonomy Society, The Society for the History of Astronomy, The British Astronomical Association and The Royal Astronomical Society. He also writes articles and gives talks to societies around the UK & beyond. In April 2010, Mike became director of the Historical Section of the British Astronomical Association.

'History of research in British Gas' by Chris Hodrien
2025-04-02 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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The British gas industry has a long and proud history of technical innovation, but very little is known or appreciated by the general public.
Town gas production technology for gas lighting by the carbonisation (destructive heating) of coal was invented by William Murdoch in Redruth in 1793 and subsequently developed by him in Boulton & Watt’s Soho Foundry in Smethwick during 1995-1805, initially for the gas lighting of factories and mills. This was the first industrial scale example of what is nowadays termed the Process Industry, and long predated the better-known chemical industry.
The basic production technology remained unchanged into the 1950s, with gradual evolutionary equipment improvements, but formal R&D on both production and utilisation was considerably accelerated first during WorldWar 2, then by the nationalisation of the industry in 1948 and again with the formation of British Gas Corporation in 1973, forming a powerful fully vertically-integrated organisation covering all aspects of gas technology. This led to two successive and very successful total technical revolutions, from coal carbonisation to steam reforming of light oils in the 1960s-70s followed immediately by the conversion to North Sea natural gas in the 1970s-80s.
By the time of the privatisation in the early 1990s , British Gas was one of the most powerful, modern, technically advanced and profitable industries in the UK, with an R&D budget of c. £55M/year and a long term 25-year R&D strategy.
About the Speaker
Chris Hodrien is the son of two industrial chemists who met in the laboratory. He formed an intent to become an industrial Chemical Engineer at about age 11 and had by far the largest home chemistry set in the neighbourhood! Chris graduated with an M.A. in Chemical Engineering from Pembroke College, University of Cambridge in 1973 and went straight to work in cutting-edge world-class gas production R&D at Midlands Research Station, Solihull.
One important role (1974) was the introduction of brand-new computer-aided gasification process simulation methods, another (1980-83) was as team leader of the initial pilot plant for the world’s highest efficiency coal gasification process. A project for advanced low-cost drying of natural gas (1996-2000) won an internal Chairman’s Award for Chris.
Subsequently, the work was relocated to a new integrated national Gas Research Centre at Loughborough after privatisation in 1993, under the new banner of Advantica plc.
Chris is a visiting industrial tutor on biotechnology scale-up, industrial design and costing, bioenergy and process egineering for the University of Warwick.

'From craftsman’s bench to factory floor: the Birmingham Rule Trade 1750-1920' by David Bryden
2025-05-07 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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During the 19th century, there was a marked change in the structure and form of the rule-making trade in Birmingham and Wolverhampton. Making rules for tradesmen across the UK and abroad to measure, lay-out and calculate, effectively vanished from Wolverhampton. Established craft skills, practiced in small Birmingham workshops by a skilled master, assisted by trained journeymen using techniques passed onto apprentices, were swept aside by mechanisation.
Despite the active opposition of time-served journeymen, unskilled young operatives of both genders came to dominate a growing workforce, along with a decline in the number of employers and the emergence of a few large manufacturing units – the rule factory. A leading activist in this change was the entrepreneurial John Rabone II (1820-1892).
Informal and formal records kept by the Rabone business and preserved in Sheffield and Birmingham, together with data drawn from Census returns, the local press, and publications by or for the rule manufacturers, have been examined for the first time.
About the Speaker
David J. Bryden BSc MA PhD FSA took a degree in engineering at Leicester in 1964 followed by a year taking a taught course in the history and philosophy of science at Oxford.
David was then employed for nearly four decades in various national and university museums. His PhD (Cambridge 1993) was awarded on the basis of publications on early scientific instruments and the British instrument making trade.
Retiring to the West Midlands, David has continued to research and publish.

'The Hallmarking of Silver and Gold' by Dr Jim Andrew
2025-10-01 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
Photo Credit: Rodolph at the English-language Wikipedia
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This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
The UK’s consumer protection started some seven centuries ago with the marking of gold and silver products to show purity, date tested and the maker. The method of establishing the purity of silver products evolved over many years with a need for both accuracy and the time taken to test items submitted for assaying, particularly in busy assay offices.
Jim Andrew will explain the system and how to access the details of date and maker, with examples from the last two centuries.
About the Speaker
Dr Jim Andrew is a former museum manager at Birmingham Science Museum, and is currently Chairman of Newcomen Midlands.

'History of Research in British Gas - Part 2' by Chris Hodrien
2025-11-05 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
Photo Credit: Random Group
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This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
In April 2025, Chris Hodrien gave the first part of his account of the history of research in British Gas, including an introduction to the gas industry in the United Kingdom, and the consolidation and nationalisation of the industry in the mid-20th-century.
The basic production technology remained unchanged into the 1950s, with gradual evolutionary equipment improvements, but formal R&D on both production and utilisation was considerably accelerated first during WorldWar 2, then by the nationalisation of the industry in 1948 and again with the formation of British Gas Corporation in 1973, forming a powerful fully vertically-integrated organisation covering all aspects of gas technology. This led to two successive and very successful total technical revolutions, from coal carbonisation to steam reforming of light oils in the 1960s-70s followed immediately by the conversion to North Sea natural gas in the 1970s-80s.
By the time of the privatisation in the early 1990s, British Gas was one of the most powerful, modern, technically advanced and profitable industries in the UK, with an R&D budget of c. £55M/year and a long term 25-year R&D strategy.
In part 2 of his talk, Chris covers the later technical developments that resulted from the world-class research that he was involved in.
About the Speaker
Chris Hodrien is the son of two industrial chemists who met in the laboratory. He formed an intent to become an industrial Chemical Engineer at about age 11 and had by far the largest home chemistry set in the neighbourhood! Chris graduated with an M.A. in Chemical Engineering from Pembroke College, University of Cambridge in 1973 and went straight to work in cutting-edge world-class gas production R&D at Midlands Research Station, Solihull.
One important role (1974) was the introduction of brand-new computer-aided gasification process simulation methods, another (1980-83) was as team leader of the initial pilot plant for the world’s highest efficiency coal gasification process. A project for advanced low-cost drying of natural gas (1996-2000) won an internal Chairman’s Award for Chris.
Subsequently, the work was relocated to a new integrated national Gas Research Centre at Loughborough after privatisation in 1993, under the new banner of Advantica plc.

'The History of Measurement of Oxygen in Medicine' by Dr. John Moyle
2025-12-03 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
Photo Credit: Uusi Ajaja Creative Commons
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This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
Of the gases involved in life, oxygen is the most important!

This lecture relates the history of measurement of oxygen in medicine, as a gas, in solution in bodily fluids and on haemoglobin; from the Haldane apparatus to Pulse Oximetry.
As a gas:

Haldane
Paramagnetic
(Raman spectroscopy)*
(Mass spectroscopy)*
Acoustic
Fuel Cell

Dissolved in Plama:

Clark electrode

Attached to Haemoglobin:

Non-invasive “Oximetry”
Pulse Oximetry

*Research only
About the Speaker
Dr John Moyle is a Chartered Engineer, retired physician & anaesthetist plus historian with a particular interest in telegraphy and medical technology.

'A short version of the long history of automation on the railways' by Felix Schmid
2026-01-07 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
Photo Credit: Benutzer:Bukk
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This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
This lecture was originally given as the Presidential Address to the Newcomen Society in London in 2025.
The presentation will commence by introducing very early mechanical systems, including some that were used on waggonways 300 years ago. These were quite primitive but reduced the labour requirement, e.g. by automating passing loops on tramways.
The automatic systems that came about in response to the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which made the railway much safer and also improved its economy, will be discussed, followed by the origins of the train stop and warning systems that came into operation in the early 20th century. The electronic safety and operational management systems instigated by computerisation, where British Rail had a leading role, will be reviewed.
The presentation will finish with some reflections on fully automated railways and the role of machine learning and what is often termed artificial intelligence. Throughout the talk, the speaker will comment on the importance of including human skill and perception in automated systems for the railway.
About the Speaker
Felix Schmid is an Emeritus Professor of Railway Systems Engineering at the University of Birmingham and, currently, serves as the President of the Newcomen Society.
He has had a long-standing interest in railway systems and, more particularly, the automation of activities necessary for the safe and efficient operation of railways. Some automated systems support the work of people, others are carrying out tasks without regular interactions with humans.
