The appliance of science: engineering photo contest winners

The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) holds an annual photography competition, supported by Amateur Photographer. At its heart, the competition aims to challenge existing misconceptions about engineering – of it being all about hard hats, high-vis bibs and oily boiler suits – and encourage more young people, and especially women, to consider a scientific career.

Launched earlier in the year the contest was open to any photograph of an engineering-related subject that captures the dynamic, creative and progressive face of engineering and engineers today. A panel of judges, fronted by The Gadget Show’s Georgie Barrat and including AP Editor Nigel Atherton, assessed more than 400 photos entered into 11 categories.

Here are the winning entries, along with a selection of our favourite commended ones.

Nikon D7000, 16-85mm, 1/30sec at f/4.5, ISO 125. Credit: Callum Woodford

Winner, Digital – Callum Woodford

This photo, taken at the University of Sheffield, shows a girl using a virtual reality (VR) headset to explore an architectural environment. ‘Architectural design is being radically reformed by immersive virtual environments allowing for rapid prototyping and real-time feedback,’ explains Callum.

Overall winner and winner, Environment and Energy – Mike Glendenning

This shows an engineer in the environmental testing facility at Leonardo in Edinburgh. The facility provides extreme environmental testing on complex electronic systems. ‘Modern, sophisticated electronic systems can fail due to the extreme conditions they are used in,’ explains Mike, ‘and where failure is not an option someone needs to be able to create real-world conditions to ensure failure is minimised. That’s what professional environmental engineers do.’

Sony Alpha 7, 28-70mm, 1/125sec at f/11, ISO 100. Credit: IET James Birchall

Winner, Structure – James Birchall

Above the clouds on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, the Subaru Infrared Telescope will spend a night of star gazing once the sun sets.

Canon EOS 70D, 18-135mm, 1/200sec at f/9, ISO 400. Credit: Peter Thomas

Winner, Transport – Peter Thomas

Peter is an aircraft mechanic working at British Airways Maintenance Cardiff and a keen amateur photographer. ‘Early one morning we had a visit from a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner for a trial fit in one of our maintenance bays,’ he recalls. ‘It was a beautiful morning with the onset of sunrise so I took the opportunity to take some images of the aircraft being towed into the hanger with a full complement of observers and two zip-ups [moveable platforms] – one to each wing while the aircraft was being docked.’

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, 16-35mm, 1/160sec at f/5.0, ISO 1600. Credit: Kathryn Graham

Winner, Design and Production – Kathryn Graham

‘I was asked to photograph the team who built the LVP1 satellite at SSTL [Surrey Satellite Technology],’ says Kathryn. ‘As they were gathering for the shot in the clean room, I took some natural shots around the spacecraft and noticed the team’s reflections on the satellite. I thought it would make an interesting picture.’