It was a real pleasure to welcome OC Andrew Murdoch (8149), Senior Performance Engineer at Williams F1, back to Campbell College on Monday.

Presenting to upwards of 100 students, ranging in Years from 10-14 with the majority studying STEM subjects, Andrew gave the students an insight into Williams F1, highlighting just how important innovation is to their business, working as he does in an exciting environment that sees "technology underpinned by constant innovation".

Drawing out for the students the factors affecting performance of a F1 car, Andrew’s presentation focused in on the key areas of aerodynamics; structure & materials; suspension; transmission; power unit; systems; tyres and of course the drivers themselves!

It was fascinating to hear from Andrew about what is differentiating the graduates entering their business now, highlighting as he did the big skill set difference being coding expertise and game theory.

Andrew spoke to the Campbellians about his experiences at the College, remembering how much he enjoyed Technology, given the marriage of the academic and the practical and especially when competitions with other schools were involved.

He talked to the boys of the value of getting involved practically in design and taking opportunities for experience where they may arise within Industry.

He recalled enjoying Archery, Shooting, Rugby whilst at Campbell; coupled, out of school, with his love of motorbikes, “I used to race motorbikes when I was younger and I enjoyed working on the bikes more than I enjoyed racing. I liked the racing but I preferred maintaining and improving the performance of the bikes -- I used to enjoy doing that quite a bit, and so always sort of had a leaning in that direction.”

The session ended with an enthusiastic Q&A session with Campbellians grilling Andrew on everything from the next World Championship title; drivers' weight; analytics; wind tunnels; gearbox failure; Lewis Hamilton; car design; engineering courses and more specifically, aerodynamic modules, given aerodynamics was identified by Andrew in his presentation as being an ongoing key development area.
 

http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/about/our-people/andrew-murdoch

#InspiringCampbellians

#InspiringConnections
#ConnectingCampbell