18
NEWS
RAILSTAFF MAY 2016
IRSE appoints next president At the Institution of Railway Signal Engineer’s AGM on 22 April, Andrew Simmons of Network Rail handed over the presidency of the Institution to Charles Page. Each president is elected for one year. Charles is the business development director of Siemens Rail Automation Australia and prior to that worked with its predecessors Invensys and Westinghouse. Before presenting his presidential address, Charles paid tribute to Andrew’s dedication over the past year in leading the IRSE, during which time the Institution’s new Strategy 2015-2020 has been developed and adopted. In his address, Charles spoke on the theme of ‘Inform, Discuss, Develop’ – an acknowledgement of the role of the IRSE - and other engineering institutions in supporting the professional development of engineers.
Thorrowgood Scholarship Tom Corker was announced as the winner of the Thorrowgood Scholarship 2015 and presented with his award. The award is made annually to a candidate who has excelled in the IRSE’s Professional Examination. The scholarship is awarded on the
basis that it should assist the development of young engineers employed in the field of train control and communications. The award must be used to fund a study tour by the winner, usually outside their country of residence. Tom Corker has been a graduate engineer with Balfour Beatty Rail in Derby since 2013, during which time he has worked on condition monitoring systems as well as gaining practical experience of signalling systems. He previously studied at the University of Cambridge, where his major project was to work on avionics for prototype hybrid aircraft. Tom delivered an outstanding performance in the 2015 IRSE Examinations, taking four modules and obtaining a distinction in one of them, a credit in two others and a pass in the fourth.
Dell Award Jane Power was presented with the Dell Award for 2016. This award is made annually to a member of the Institution employed by London Underground for achievement of a high standard in the science and application of railway signalling. The award consists of a plaque with a uniquely designed shield, engraved with Tom Corker with the outgoing President, Andrew Simmons.
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CHARLES PAGE IRSE PRESIDENT the recipient’s name. Jane joined London Underground’s signalling and electrical engineering department as a graduate trainee in January 1989. After successfully completing the twoyear scheme, her first substantive post was with the Central Line Project Team, then in the early stages of resignalling Britain’s busiest railway line. Jane Power with the outgoing President, Andrew Simmons.
Subsequently, she spent years as part of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation Signalling Engineering team responsible for approving designs, later returning to work in the UK on the Jubilee Line Extension Project. Most recently, she has been appointed to the role of system design authority for LUL’s Four Lines Modernisation (4LM) Programme.