Meet William, a PhD student in Electrical Engineering and the first recipient of the Donald Ewart Ashworth Electrical Engineering Studentship, awarded this July.
This remarkable studentship was made possible by the generous legacy of engineering alumnus Donald Ewart Ashworth (1925–2022), BEng (Hons) 1946, MEng 1948, who continued his story at the University of Liverpool through his lasting gift. Donald’s kindness will support students like William to progress their engineering research and pursue advancements in their field.
William has kindly shared his project’s focus, and how Donald’s kindness generosity will make a difference to his PhD. We hope you find his student story a heart warming read.
"The title of my PhD project is “Integrating Flexible Technologies with Biologically Inspired Swarms for Exploration of Low-Gravity Environments." As such, my focus is the development of a flexible substrate swarm of simple robots for the exploration and prospecting of low-gravity bodies, such as asteroids. This research originates with the development of electrostatic actuators and electro-adhesive pads to capture the locomotive abilities of real-life creatures like caterpillars and jellyfish while remaining safely attached to the surface of the far away asteroids. For prospecting, I will be looking at using and developing algorithms for image reconstruction of Radio-frequency Tomographic Imaging to map the space between the robots as they traverse the alien terrain in order to capture the complex and little-known constitution of the asteroids.
It is a profound honour to be a recipient of the Ashworth Electrical Engineering Studentship, Mr Ashworth’s exceptional generosity and commitment to the advancement of technology have not only provided essential financial support but have also granted me the freedom to focus on this challenging and exciting project—one that I am deeply proud to be working on.
Although I was not fortunate enough to have met Donald, learning about his long-standing dedication to helping others through his involvement with REMAP—a charity that designs and makes technical equipment for disabled people—has been truly inspiring. Mr Ashworth’s commitment to engineering solutions that improve people’s lives resonates strongly with my own aspirations for this project. His legacy serves as a powerful reminder of the profound impact that engineering can have, not only in space exploration but also in enhancing the quality of life here on Earth.
I am extremely grateful to Donald and the Ashworth family for this opportunity. Their support is immeasurable in enabling me to pursue a research path that I hope will lead to significant advancements in both the field of electrical engineering and our understanding of space—an endeavour that I hope would have excited Donald as much as it does me.”
Are you inspired to make a difference like Donald has? If so, I’d love to hear from you - please feel free to drop me an email at: carolyn.jones@liverpool.ac.uk
Let’s make brilliant things happen together!
#YourLiverpoolLegacy