Ship Science: Find your sea legs

More than 70 per cent of the Earth's surface is covered in water, so it's no surprise that rivers, lakes and oceans have been the focus of human endeavour for thousands of years. They are rich in minerals and food, and are highways for transporting people and produce between continents. The maritime environment is harsh though, so engineers must use all their ingenuity to design vehicles and structures that can survive while performing at the highest level.

JIBE AND TACK

The America's Cup highlights the challenges faced by yacht designers, who need to create sturdy vessels that can reach high speeds. Designed using space-age technology and raced in all weather conditions, these sleek yachts combine lightweight carbon-fibre structures with sails and hulls designed in wind tunnels and on computers. They are engineering masterpieces. Racing on the high seas has never been so exciting; it's Formula One on water!

SEA THE FUTURE

Sail power has been harnessed for centuries, but for larger, fossil-fuelled vessels the future is uncertain amid concerns about climate change. Hydrogen power promises to be one of the most environmentally friendly solutions to the world's energy needs. This requires radical thinking, but the designs are already on the drawing board.

The School of Engineering Sciences at Southampton is developing high-speed container vessels almost 15 times smaller than current container ships. Still capable of carrying around 600 shipping containers, these enviro-ships would produce almost no carbon dioxide and travel at more than 65 knots, two-and-a-half-times faster than anything currently on the seas. The Hydrogen Oceanjet 600 is a research project now, but we may see them sailing from Southampton to Sydney in the not-so-distant future.

SAVING LIVES

The sea is not always a hospitable place, and hundreds of people run into trouble every year. It is usually the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) lifeboats that are called upon to rescue sailors, often in the most treacherous conditions. These lifeboats, which include small, high-speed Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs), must be designed to withstand the most severe sea states. This provides tough engineering challenges to lifeboat designers, who use the latest advances in materials, mathematical modelling, simulation and hydrodynamics to help them.

In order to stay on top of the latest developments, the RNLI has formed a strategic Advanced Technology Partnership with the School of Engineering Sciences at Southampton. This provides lots of opportunities for students to get involved, as they try out new ideas for saving lives at sea.

Engineers in the Wolfson Unit for Marine Technology and Industrial Aerodynamics (www.wumtia.com) have been working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to develop safety guidance for fishing vessels. Although designed for the UK fleet, the information is relevant to the worldwide fishing industry, and should help to address the very poor safety record within fleets of small vessels in developing countries.

DEEP SEA

As most of the earth's surface is covered with water, we know very little about what lies under the surface. Deep-sea submersibles (vessels that operate underwater), such as Autosub, can discover new species of sea life and reveal many of the ocean's secrets. You will undoubtedly have seen film from these missions on television, but have you ever thought about how those films were shot? These submarines require space-age technology to operate on their own, sometimes 1.6km underwater, for days at a time. Most recently, Autosub has been exploring the oceans underneath the floating ice sheets in Antarctica to help us to further understand how these affect climate change.

So, whatever floats your boat, be it windsurfers or warships, canoes or cruise liners, ship science provides the ideal opportunity to combine passion with performance for anyone who loves the water.

Dr Kenji Takeda is a lecturer in the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Southampton. For more information visit www.ship.soton.ac.uk

JUST REWARDS

Holly Phillips is an engineer based at the RNLI's headquarters in poole

We are responsible for the engineering aspects of the new and existing fleet of all-weather lifeboats, inshore lifeboats, launch and recovery equipment and boat equipment.

I work with great people who all have a common interest in, and enthusiasm for, boats. I am particularly lucky to work for such a worthwhile organisation, which saves lives. I have always enjoyed challenges, and figuring out logical, engineering solutions to them is very rewarding, particularly when I can see the results first hand.

My advice to anyone who wants to get into engineering is to seek guidance about the different paths into the career to find out which suit their individual capabilities and interests. Always try to keep an open mind and never be afraid to ask questions.