Meet some of our members

I’m a PhD student at the University of Cambridge. My research focuses on applying machine learning to predicting alpine precipitation. I joined WCSIM in 2016 as a first-year undergraduate. The company has been a cornerstone in my career development. In particular, WCSIM supported my travel to my first international academic conference. The member’s advice and network has been invaluable on a professional but also personal level. It’s been a genuine pleasure attending events, making lifelong friends and contributing to a community of like-minded people.

I became a Liveryman at the age of 34, joined the Court a few years ago and am now Senior Warden. I hope to become Master in the Autumn of 2021.  My father was already a SIM Liveryman, and formal dinners were a great way of seeing and catching up with my parents in convivial surroundings.  The livery’s social activities were also really good for meeting people involved in all sorts of Instrumentation work and interests, and they were always open to helping with advice and suggestions.  Indeed, the speaker at one of our events was the Chairman of Oxford Instruments, and as a result of his encouragement and support I ended up working there for almost 20 years and became a Main Board Director of the business.

Our Livery motto is ‘Moving forwards, giving back’.  Now, many years since starting as a young Liveryman, I have gradually transitioned into the second part of the motto and enjoy giving back.  Our Charity funds the STEM agenda and gives grants to young members, and we give our time, knowledge and connections to encourage local schools and teachers, and support our Apprentices, Scholars and Freemen on their paths to success.  Working with wonderfully talented young people is hugely worthwhile.

During my postgraduate studies at UCL I was made aware of the WCSIM Sir Ivor Cohen grant for dissertation research and as a successful recipient I was invited to become a SIM Scholar. This was my introduction to the WCSIM, having had no knowledge of the livery or its activities previously. Soon after joining, attending the Education Trust Supper event was a great opportunity to visit the livery hall and meet members in an informal setting.  

I have found my association to date with the livery extremely beneficial both on a professional and personal level. Reaching out to the Scholar Warden and receiving advice regarding advancing a career in industry vs. academia was incredibly valuable and helped weigh up this decision for me at the time. During presentations where younger members shared their activities with older liverymen, I had discussions with livery members regarding engineering topics that I was interested in but were outside my area of direct professional experience. Being encouraged by these and further talks I felt confident to switch career paths.  

These experiences highlight some fantastic benefits of joining the livery as it opens opportunities for engagement with likeminded individuals that have deep experience across a range of scientific and engineering sectors and the talks by industry leaders at the events arranged are always interesting. I have been delighted to have been recently admitted as a Freeman look forward to a long association with the livery. 

Liveryman Joanna Migdal has been a sundial designer for 3 decades and she created the Company’s Millennium Measure. This is a glass and stainless steel obelisk located under the Millennium Bridge by St Paul’s Cathedral. It is two meters high, with each millimetre representing one year over the past 2,000 years. It bears the initial ‘MM’ which stand for ‘Millennium Measure’, ‘millimetre’ and also the number 2,000 in Roman numerals. The glass is etched by hand using a technique called ‘brilliant cut’. It was a gift given by the Company to the City of London to commemorate the turn of the millennium.

Each of the three faces portrays something different. One shows the key developments within the history of science and scientific instruments over the past two thousand years; another illustrates the major milestones in religion; and the third represents the significant events that have taken place in the City of London during that time.

My journey with SIM started when I wrote a letter to The Times back in the ‘90s. The paper had been running a series of short letters where people described their trade or profession with a play on words. I said: "Without a shadow of a doubt, my trade puts all others in the shade". SIM’s Master at the time was Bill Lyons who saw my letter and contacted me. He was looking for a Master’s gift to give his wife and decided to commission a sundial for their Norfolk garden. After I had delivered this, I was invited to attend a function at SIM and they asked me if I’d like to join.

Hi! My name is Ukendar and I am currently a Year 13 student looking to study mechanical engineering at Imperial College London in autumn. I’m a big robotics, CAD and 3D printing enthusiast, and away from engineering, I love playing cricket and water polo, as well as a bit of photography.

Having spent over 40 years working in technology based businesses and wanting to continue to contribute, joining WCSIM has enabled me to stay involved in encouraging young people to develop their skills and knowledge in this area. Through our apprenticeship and scholarship schemes we can help students to pursue careers – both academic and commercial – and support the STEM agenda generally. The social side of the Livery is also attractive, representing a unique opportunity to mix with a wide range of people who have similar interests and to make a connection with people who are members of other Livery Companies. In summary, an opportunity to ‘put something back’ and have some fun doing it!