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Erik Mackay From Wick High School Wins Prestigious Science Award 
Erik Mackay a sixteen year old student from Wick, Caithness, has scooped a top science and engineering prize for a series of enterprising experiments. Erik, who is a student at Wick High School, won the Flipside Magazine award for his experiments involving radio technology. Erik was presented with a laptop for his achievements by TV personality Adam Hart-Davies.

Erik�s experiments ranged from calculating Earth-Moon distance by bouncing radio signals to ham radio contact with the International Space Station. Dickon Ross, editor of Flipside said �We have been extremely impressed with the standard of entries for this award. I am delighted to be presenting Erik with the Flipside award as he has demonstrated great enthusiasm and aptitude for science and technology and has made some outstanding achievements which are particularly impressive for his age.�

Erik�s teacher Mr Peter Darmady of Wick High School said �I have had the privilege of teaching Erik over the last four years. Erik�s forte is in radio work and over the last few years he has built up an impressive list of accomplishments�. The Flipside award is sponsored by the IET and forms part of the Institutions global Innovation in Engineering Awards.

The IET publishes a variety of engineering publications including Flipside which was created to promote an understanding and interest in science to teenagers by drawing on aspects of youngsters� lives and their enthusiasm for interesting facts.
The IET Innovation in Engineering Awards

There are 17 categories in the 2006 awards: Asset Management; Built Environment; Control, Instrumentation and Robotics; Electronics; Emerging technologies; Flipside; IT; Manufacturing; Power/Energy; Product Design; Project Team; Security; Software Design; Start-up; Sustainability; Telecommunications and Transport.

The awards are supported by the Department of Trade and Industry and sponsored by ABB; Anglia; Areva; ARM, BT, Cambridge Consultants; & Ftgroup; Hallcrow Yolles; Hyder Consulting; The MathWorks; Mentor Graphics; National Grid; National Instruments; RS Components Ltd; Siemens and Xerox.

The Flipside Award is presented to a young person aged 16 or under who has demonstrated talent in the area of science and technology and forms part of the IET Innovation in Engineering Awards.

The aims of the IET Innovation in Engineering Awards are to recognise and reward innovative organisations; to raise the profile and the importance of innovation; to recognise and reward successful innovation; and to provide an indirect method of improving business, by providing a framework to encourage organisations to invest in innovation.

The IET
The Institution of Engineering and Technology is the largest professional engineering society in Europe and reflects the interdisciplinary, global and inclusive nature of engineering and technology.

With a worldwide membership of more than 150,000, the Institution aims to lead in the advancement of engineering and technology by facilitating the exchange of knowledge and ideas at a local and global level and promoting best practice, ensuring that its members are thoroughly equipped to meet the needs of today's rapidly changing technological world.

Membership comprises of individuals from a diverse range of technical backgrounds including IT, communications technology, electronics, electrical, power engineering, software, control, informatics and manufacturing and range from students to leading figures in industry, research and development and education.

The IET was formed in 2006 by the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Institution of Incorporate Engineers

For more information about the IET please visit www.theiet.org