The SAMPE UK & Ireland Chapter (SAMPE UKIC) proudly hosted its annual YES (Young Engineers and Students) Seminar Competition on Thursday, 22 May 2025, at the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK at the University of Warwick.

Now in its 26th year, the YES Seminar Competition continues to champion the next generation of engineers and materials scientists. This year’s event brought together nine postgraduate students (eight PhD and one MSc) from five leading UK universities to present their research to a panel of industry and academic experts.

After a closely scored and highly competitive day of presentations, two winners were selected to represent SAMPE UKIC at the SAMPE Europe Conference in Amsterdam this October:

  • Casilda Serrano Villalobos (University of Warwick, WMG):
    “Influence of Processing and Material Parameters on the Interfacial Strength in Overmoulded Thermoplastic Composite Parts”
  • Bruno Pereira Santos (Imperial College London):
    “Arrest of Unstable Compressive Cracks in Carbon-Fibre Reinforced Polymers Using Local Ply-Discontinuity”

Both students will receive an expenses-paid trip to the SAMPE Europe Students’ Seminar in Amsterdam, held on 6–7 October 2025, where they will compete against peers from across Europe.

The full line-up of participants included:
Bruno Pereira Santos (Imperial College London), Sutharsanan Navaratnarajah (University of Bristol), Edison Omo (Wrexham University), Casilda Serrano Villalobos (University of Warwick), Axel Wowogno (University of Bristol), Mounika Karlapudi (University of Bristol), Yushen Wang (University of Warwick), Yilong Li (University of Cambridge), and Yansong Li (University of Warwick).

SAMPE UKIC sincerely thanks this year’s judging panel: Andrew Mills, Lee Harper, Nicolas Darras, and Sophie Cozien-Cazuc, for their expert evaluation and support.

The YES Seminar Competition forms part of SAMPE’s ongoing commitment to mentoring and supporting young engineers in advanced materials and processes. Through this initiative, students gain critical experience presenting to technical audiences while benefiting from professional feedback and career-building opportunities.