By Alun Williams 15th August 2022

Now in its fifth year of awards, EW BrightSparks sees Electronics Weekly partner with RS Grass Roots to highlight the brightest and most talented young engineers in the UK today.

Here, in our series on the latest EW BrightSparks of 2022, we highlight Callum Middleton, a Senior Packaging Materials Engineer at the CSA Catapult.

Callum joined the Catapult two years ago as a Materials Engineer following a PhD at Bristol University, and he has worked on seven high-profile projects, we learned.

He has applied his material expertise to subjects as diverse as quantum sensing, power electronic converters for electric vehicles and diamond thermal management. In recognition of his achievements, he was promoted to Senior Materials Engineer in 2021.

His nominator told us that he has already made a big impact.

“During this time, Callum has been an example of professionalism and made exceptional contributions to the projects he has worked on, displaying a ‘can do’ attitude. Callum has taken the technical lead on four projects, managing complex requirements across multiple areas within the Catapult, delivering to the highest standards.”

“Callum is an excellent team member and held in the highest regard by both his peers and customers. He is respected as a technical authority in the subject of thermal measurement and modelling, building on his PhD research.”

The projects for which Callum has played a central role comprise: Element 6 (an RF GaN diamond demonstrator), SpaceForge (growing crystalline diamond on silicon substrates), SNORQL (a high-reliability optical source for space-based quantum sensing), SiCTAA (an aerospace power module), ASIT (power inverter module for electric vehicles), COMPass (low-cost RADAR project) and Die on heatsink (a power module for automotive applications).

For the first of those projects, for example, Callum led a team of engineers to model and predict the thermal behaviour of RF gallium nitride (GaN) devices mounted on a diamond substrate. They were creating virtual replicas of the material to model its properties and effectiveness. And as a result of this work, the customer optimised their manufacturing process, leading to early products which are now on the market.

For the second project, SpaceForge approached the Catapult for advice on growing diamond crystals on silicon substrates in order to exploit diamond’s excellent heat transfer properties as part of a National Space Innovation Programme.

Callum led the project, which developed a process for ‘seeding’ diamond crystals on the silicon substrate, characterising the crystal surface using Nanoscope software. This project perfected a seeding process, delivering a set of recommendations to create the highest quality diamond crystal growth on silicon substrates for the customer.

Finally, the SNORQL project required a rugged, high-reliability, high power optical source for space-based quantum sensors. In this case, the Catapult devised a micro-bench to align and attach glass inserts with an optical crystal and a thermoelectric cooler.

The result was described as a highly compact and rugged optical source suitable for industrial applications in space.

In summary, Callum has not only produced work of international standing but also demonstrated his passion for working with the Catapult’s customers. Furthermore he is a very capable communicator both with his peers and customers

In recognition of his expertise, Callum was invited to address the International Microelectronic Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS) in November 2019.

Another reference for Callum described him as “an outstanding and mature young Scientist/Engineer who has already made significant contributions to his field. His theoretical as well as practical skills combined with natural team skills makes him really stand out”.

In terms of community or STEM outreach work, Callum has been involved in designing a educational toolkit that will be used to educate school kids about electronics.

In particular, the kit is designed to teach the medical applications of electronics. This allows it to be used in biology lessons and could potentially broaden interest in electronics beyond traditional engineering and physics fields.

Callum has also presented a stall at the Cheltenham Science Festival showing how temperature is measured in electronics. And he was also part of a team that gave a public lecture on diamond as a super material at the University of Warwick, which was attended by around 200 people.

We are very grateful to the companies and organisations that help support the EW BrightSparks programme, and make it possible. Special thanks to: TE Connectivity and the UK Electronics Skills Foundation.

TE Connectivity is a global industrial technology leader creating a safer, sustainable, productive, and connected future. Our broad range of connectivity and sensor solutions, proven in the harshest environments, enable advancements in transportation, industrial applications, medical technology, energy, data communications, and the home. With more than 85,000 employees, including over 8,000 engineers, working alongside customers in approximately 140 countries, TE ensures that EVERY CONNECTION COUNTS. We are delighted to be involved in the Bright Sparks initiative which allows TE Connectivity to learn from and inspire the next generation of engineers. Learn more at www.te.com and on LinkedIn, Facebook, WeChat and Twitter.

The UKESF’s mission is to encourage more young people to study Electronics and to pursue careers in the sector. In the UK, the Electronics sector is big, valuable and growing; however, the demand for capable, employable graduates is currently outstripping supply. We are an educational charity, launched in 2010, with both public and private seed-corn funding. We operate collaboratively with major companies, leading universities and other organisations to tackle the skills shortage in the Electronics sector.

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Electronics Weekly teams up with RS Grass Roots to highlight the brightest young electronic engineers in the UK today.

Read our special supplement celebrating 60 years of Electronics Weekly and looking ahead to the future of the industry.

Read the Electronics Weekly @ 60 supplement »

Read the first ever Electronics Weekly online: 7th September 1960. We've scanned the very first edition so you can enjoy it.

Read the very first edition »

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