Greenpower June 2018
In 2018 Luke lead the initiative to increase the Greenpower presence and efforts at the school and expand its influence, this resulted in the school getting three teams to the Croft regional heat, including an all girls team. Luke received the following positive feedback from the school:
We have been working with Luke and Cummins now for four years on Greenpower. We had just introduced engineering to the curriculum, and I wanted a project we could run so the students could work with people from industry. In this time, we have gone from 16 students studying engineering to 61 and this year with the introduction of the girl’s team we now have 12 female engineering students (up from 1). Engineering now has the best results in the school (second year running) and we have more students wanting to take engineering as a future job. The school leadership team now have more focus on STEM because of the success we are having and more people in the school are wanting to build upon links made.
Greenpower June 2017
At the regional heat hosted by Croft racing circuit in June 2017, the school team Luke lead came third overall in the first race, first place in the kit car class, first place in the second race and overall winners on the day. They went to the national finals at Rockingham Motor Speedway in Oct 2017. What makes this achievement even better is that the team used a standard kit car made of steel and by understanding gearing and batteries outclassed the custom designed and built cars made from aluminium and carbon fibre. At Rockingham Luke was overjoyed to see all his coaching and mentoring come to fruition as the team really took ownership of the car, calculated lap times and battery life, decided which gearing to use and make those changes to the car, this resulted in the team coming 11 out of 46, a remarkable achievements the students and Luke were very proud of.
Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) – 2014
While working for Cummins Generator Technology Luke lead a design team that developed an Integrated Starter Generator for hybrid bus and truck applications. Luke came up with the design concept that allowed the delivery of the initial prototype machine in a very demanding time scale, that had previously been though to be impossible.
Mixer Seal – 2012
When Luke joined Baker Perkins a particular seal and bearing housing had been a problem for over seven years and cost over £500,000 [2012] in warranty claims, with the most problematic machines failing every 4 to 12 weeks. Working with numerous suppliers and eventually combining parts from different suppliers, Luke designed, tested and implemented a new seal and bearing housing that solved the problem and gave the customers reliable service intervals of 6 to 9 months.
Rollover for 4.5 Tonne Mould – 2006
While at Omega Foundry Machinery Luke introduced a whole new range of automated mould handling equipment to the company portfolio, Luke is particularly proud of the largest Rollover which he personally designed for a site in China – the Rollover automatically conveys, inverts and strips sand moulds weighing up to 4.5 tonnes.
Test Engine Running Below Atmospheric Pressure – 1995
While at the University of Illinois Luke redesigned and rebuilt a test engine facility for USDA fuels trials. The most challenging part was to make the engine run at below atmospheric pressure, using a Roots Blower to scavenge the exhaust and control and slave values to regulate the air pressure and volume coming into the engine.
City & Guilds Silver Medal – 1990
While at Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture & Horticulture Luke received a City & Guilds Silver Medal for achieving the highest score in the country for the Agricultural Mechanics, Mechanic Electrics Exam. He will always be grateful to his lecturer Saba Harris who helped him and all the class to do their best.
