NEWS 10 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS February 2026 www.hpmag.co.uk language to solve a maze challenge with a robot. I very much enjoyed being part of the University robot demonstration: Harold the humanoid and Skye the dog showed off their dancing and acrobatics skills, and we all had selfies with them at the end. “The theme of the day draws together the increasingly important skill of computer coding or scripting with robotics. Together, these skills will ultimately help solve some of the “Grand Challenges” that face us, including supporting our ageing population to have a long and healthy life in their own homes. “Young STEM learners who are developing these skills today will be the graduate Engineers, Mathematicians and Computer Scientists of tomorrow, and some of them may even be graduates of Huddersfield.” The Science and Technology Challenge Days are run by MCS Projects across the UK for high-achieving Year 8 and 9 students to encourage take-up of STEM subjects. Those involved undertake practical activities led by a team of students recruited from local universities, and are also able to find out more about studying Science and Technology subjects at Higher Education level. For the Finals held recently at the University of Huddersfield’s Queensgate Campus, the young people were asked to programme Lego Mindstorm Robots to navigate around a 3D maze using colour and infrared sensors, with prizes awarded to first, second and third-placed teams. The schools involved in the Huddersfield-based Finals were: East Yorks & North Lincs and Leeds & Bradford (2024 winners) – Withernsea High School and Cockburn School East Yorks & North Lincs – Kingswood Academy and Ryedale School Leicestershire – Newbridge School and Priory Belvoir Academy Sheffield and Rotherham – Hall Cross Academy Huddersfield and Teesside – Brooksbank School and Conyers School Tyne and Wear – Seaham High School and North Durham Academy The winning team was from the East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Challenge Day, with students from Kingswood Academy and Ryedale School working together, and Dr Walton presented prizes to the students. Last summer, MCS Projects held a total of 28 Science and Technology Challenge Days, which involved around 182 schools and 2184 students. In the Northeast, there were seven events, involving 38 schools and around 456 young people. John Waterworth, Project Manager for Science and Technology Challenge Days at MCS Projects, commented: “I was really impressed by all of the young people’s excellent teamwork and the commitment that they showed throughout the day. These skills will be a great asset to them going forward in their education and into a career.” The University of Huddersfield’s School of Computing and Engineering includes two Departments covering Computing, Cyber Security and Intelligent systems, Information Systems, Games Development, as well as Civil Engineering, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical and Automotive Engineering. 50 Years of dry gas seals In 2026, John Crane is marking 50 years since a breakthrough that changed gas compression sealing. In 1976, the introduction of the Type 28 dry gas seal transformed compressor reliability and set a new global benchmark for sealing performance, safety and efficiency. While pioneering work on noncontacting spiral-groove technology began in 1968, and the first commercially installation was achieved in 1975, it was the introduction of the Type 28 dry gas seal in 1976 that created a true turning point for the industry. Since then, dry gas seals have become essential components in centrifugal compressors across applications such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, power generation and, increasingly, hydrogen and carbon-capture applications. Over the past five decades, continuous innovation has extended sealing performance into new pressures,
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