April 2019 Lecture Report
Mobile telecommunications 1G to 5G Evolution.
Laith Al Jabori - University of Suffolk

The lecture concerned mobile phone history and technology now and in the future.
Laith started by telling us that this presentation is normally delivered in sections to his students over a period of 15 hours, so he would do his best to condense it for our benefit this evening. Even so it turned out to be one of the longest presentations we have had for many years.
Many technical statistics were included however only a few are
record the key ones in this report.
The first true generation of mobile phones (1G) began with analogue technology in the late 1980s and rapidly progressed through 2G and 3G with digital technology into the 21st century.
Globally between 2014 and present day voice messaging revenue has grown from £1.1(T)rillion to £1.5T and data traffic has grown by 10 times in the period. Contribution by mobile tech to GDP is £3.9T and it carries about 15M jobs.
Young people live a great part of their lives on the internet due to social media and video files meant that companies had to develop much wider bandwidth with servers automatically communicating with each other to enable the technology to keep up with demand.
Laith predicts smart cities of the future maintaining themselves and growing more cleaver due to AI.
5G is now the next step and it is expected that mobile phone technology will eventually replace broadband with transmitters mounted on poles near your home, and that the next Olympics in 2020 in Japan for example will be broadcast in 8K.
Laith advised that it would be better at present to wait to upgrade your phone, 5G will be with us soon but 5G phones will cost between £800 and £1000 for a low end model.
Short sharp health and safety message :- don't carry your mobile phone in the L/H breast pocket of your shirt or jacket as the 30 second location, transmission bursts could affect the normal operation of your heart.
Due to the space available many fascinating facts have been excluded from this report but Laith advised that there are courses readily available for those who want to know more.
Our very knowledgeable lecturer was thanked in the usual way by the members with a hearty round of applause.

March 2019 Lecture Report
Longshop Museum - Past, Present and Future Leiston
Bill Halford

Bill is a volunteer at Longshops Museum and spoke about the first Garrett, Richard who started a forge in Leiston in 1778 making good quality farming tools. The Garretts first sons would be always be called Richard. The company thrived and in 1830s went into steam engines and threshers. Richard III would increase output 200 times and family was getting wealthy at this time they built Snape malting. They sponsored the Great Exhibition in London 1851 and took his workers there. Some of the Garrett's became famous in their own right, Elizabeth Garrett first woman Doctor and Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett suffragist.
The Longshop was the first built assembly line building in1852, the idea from Samuel Colt.  They produced numerous machinery including steam engines, steam pumps etc and exported about 80%. They had a gas works built so they could work 24 hour shift. There was a major fire at the works in 1914 and had to rebuild, at that time they had a peak of 2000 employees. In the First World War they made Ammunition and aeroplanes. During the First World war Garretts lost family and good engineers and were owed a lot of money by Russia which started their decline.
In the 1920s Garetts were making electric trolley buses and refuse carts but in 1932 the company was still using old techniques and collapsed and was bought by Beyer Peacock.  The company continued making peat harvesters, lathes, shapers etc.  Garretts was taken over several times and finally went out of business in 1980s. The work force was laid off and lost their pensions.
At the beginning of the 80s a trust was set up and the Longshop building saved. The rest of Garretts site was used for housing and offices. In 1983 the Longshop museum opened its doors and over the years has amassed a large collection of steam and numerous other machinery which Garrett's made. Bill showed an old short film of Garretts electric trolley busses and how manoeuvrable they were.
At present some of the previous work force and volunteers help to refurbish machines. They have events and reach out days such as steam punk and a Young Engineers club. For the future they have a full diary of events and new displays, for more information and opening times look up Longshop Museum Leiston.

February 2019 Lecture Report
Cyber Security and Protection, and Modern Cyber Warfare.
Lieutenant Colonel Rodrick Sutherland and Captain Paul Maskall

Rodrick presented the first part of the lecture, he said that he and Paul were connected to 254 Signal Squadron which is made up of officers recruited from within various military agencies, he described themselves as ‘honest hackers’. Their customers are commercial companies and organisations such as BT, Suffolk New College, Microsoft and many other potentially vulnerable professional groups. The greatest threat in modern domestic and international cyber warfare is the infiltration of computer systems, mobile phones and electronic systems in banks, traffic control systems and National health services.
Rodrick went on to scare us all by talking about evidence gained involving Russia, Ukraine and North Korea whereby small groups of hackers are using ransomware to elicit millions of pounds from companies and individuals with very little chance of being caught. A known group in NK is Lazarus. This type of cyber crime has been shown to have the potential to cripple essential systems across Europe and the free world. One example was the cyber theft of £81M from the Bangladeshi Bank. In the UK The National Cyber Security Centre operates from GCHQ and runs intense courses with young, bright people with the intention of building super teams to combat this type of crime.
Paul carried out the second part of the presentation and concentrated on what we can all do to combat and protect against Cyber crime. He talked about the need to make passwords as complex as possible and to change or manage them on a regular basis. Paul said that phishing emails and their consequences make up 98% of all domestic and commercial cybercrime. He advised us not to click on links within suspicious emails or to open attached files. He also advised the locking of personal devices at all times and to use a VPN network when using portable devices on open, free Wi-Fi networks.
A further worrying fact is that it is estimated that 35% of the worlds population is on Facebook and that while people believe they are guarding their personal profile and linked information, it is very easy for a determined hacker to eventually pull all the information they need to create false identities or access bank details via the Facebook accounts.
Finally we were all encouraged to report anything we suspected of being suspicious activity when using computers, tablets or smart phones to Action Fraud.
Following questions Rodrick and Paul were then thanked for a very informative, albeit a concerning presentation.

January 2019  President's Evening Lecture Report
75th Anniversary. D Day Technology.
IDEA President Steve Chicken

Steve started by explaining that a great deal of the success achieved during the invasion in June 1944 can be attributed, not just to the very brave soldiers, sailors and airmen who took part but also to the ingenious equipment designed and created for them to use.
D Day is arguably the biggest military operation in history and it had to be planned very well in advance, much of the British approach and preparation was learned from the earlier problems encountered with the raid at Dieppe where they found that it was not a good idea to directly attack a port.
Many clever items of equipment and constructions contributed to the success of the landings and subsequent advances inland. Examples such as multiple off shore rocket launchers, fire engine ladders mounted on DUKW amphibious craft, floating tanks, plus the ability and creativity to modify vehicles and equipment in the field.
Deceptions were used such as dummy paratroops, inflatable tanks and wooden planes and boats which when seen from the air or at a distance caused confusion amongst the Germans. The Germans also had their own innovations such as one man mini submarines based on standard torpedoes.
One of the biggest constructions and probably the mainstay of the invasion was Mulberry Harbour. This complete fully functioning harbour was built from materials and vessels purposely floated across the channel and put in place to facilitate troop and armour movement during the entire operation. Block ships were sunk to form the harbour wall and massive concrete caissons were sunk further out as breakwaters. Various types of long, serviceable piers were also constructed to enable vehicle and troop landings.
Steve summarised by saying that there are many very good museums well worth a visit in the vicinity of
the landing beaches.
After a few questions and answers Steve was thanked by the chairman for an excellent presentation
and the members thanked him with a warm round of applause.

November 2018 Lecture Report
St Joseph’s College  School Chapel
Ms Judith Scott

Ms Judith Scott had previously been the librarian at St Joseph’s College Ipswich since 2007 in the grounds of Birkfield House.
Judith told us that St Joseph’s College was founded in 1937 and whilst it operates under the Roman Catholic order that founded it the school did not originally have a separate chapel.  Funding for the chapel was sought during the late 1950s but planning only started in 1964. The concept went through many changes with the eventual modernistic shape and layout being finally agreed the following year. The chapel was completed in 1967.
The aim of the design was tradition and modernity which the controversial tent shape and circular layout successfully achieved. The original cost estimate was £55k and this would be funded from school fees, however the final cost was £59k.  Internally the furniture consisted of light oak pews or benches which then cost more than £3k, a brand new pipe organ was installed at height above the alter supported almost invisibly in a single arch due to clever design. This organ had an electronic console which was almost unheard of at the time. The general and effect lighting also incorporated the latest technology. Although stain glass was used for the windows they were of a modernistic design suited to the building. The roof was originally clad in bright copper panels which have now aged to green.
At this present time the chapel is closed for safety reasons but efforts are being made to raise funds to refurbish it at probably many times its original build cost. It is then not intended to use it as a chapel but as an auditory space for theatrical or presentation purposes.
Judith answered questions from the members and was then thanked in the usual way with a round of applause.

October 2018 Lecture Report
Makerspace Ipswich
Steve Chalkley

Steve is the administrator and gave a PowerPoint presentation in which he first introduced the Organisation, hardware and software they used. The equipment they have and what they have achieved and the future.
The Organisation is a group of like minded people, who came together and starting from nothing to craft and build tech based robotics and anything computer based in a shared workplace. They meet regularly in Dove Street, Ipswich.
The hardware they use to make their projects is called Raspberry Pi and Ardiuno. These are programmable computer boards but you need interface controller boards and other add ons such as cameras, motors, etc.
The software can be downloaded for free software, called Linux, to run the Raspberry Pi. This software has to be adapted for the tasks required when programming the Raspberry Pi. There are groups on the Internet that can help if you get into difficulty.
The equipment they also have are: laser cutters for cutting and marking material, 3D printers, saws, router, drills, soldering equipment etc.
The MakerspaceIpswich has been successful in entering and winning competitions such as Pi wars.  They have also helped local organisations including the Library and museums.
They also hope to expand by renting the ground floor of their unit. The Lecture was very interesting and there were several items on view including a 3d printer, a members asked questions about software and Steve was thanked by the members in the usual way with a round of applause.
If you wish to know more please visit there Webb site :  https://ipswichmakerspace.com/

September 2018 Lecture Report
NHS The Next 70 Years
Mr Nick Hulme – Chief Executive Officer of The Ipswich and Colchester NHS Hospital Trust

Me Hume began by telling us that he had been with the NHS for 38 years, prior to that he had sold dolls houses and menswear in Oxford Street.
Mr Hulme moved into NHS management about 20 years ago and has been in his role at Ipswich for the past 6 years. He said Ipswich is a good hospital with high standards and a committed work force consisting of hundreds of different disciplines. He was asked by the HM government minister for health if he would also like to take on the management of the worst performing hospital in the country (Colchester), the hospital had been in special measures for four years at the time.  Nick said he couldn't say no, as this would probably not have be his best career move. The average term for a NHS CEO is 18 months so he considers he is not doing too badly.
Nick went on to say that the NHS is a precious asset to the UK. The NHS is not free but no other country has such an encompassing health organisation protecting its citizens with the funding provided through taxes and central government. As an example he sited the USA where a normal member of the public could go bankrupt in the effort of providing health care for their family. 20 million people in America have no health insurance and care is not automatically provided.
Mr Hulme said he is dedicated to the NHS and will always fight for it even though in its present state it is nowhere near perfect. The NHS needs to change but successive governments are reluctant to impose tax increases to enable it to do so properly. He made no secret of the fact that he believed Brexit would cause problems and serious expense for the NHS.
The future will bring changes through natural evolution mainly driven by technology. Letters will eventually be a thing of the past with all communications being delivered electronically. Surgery will become progressively more robotic and A.I. will play a major part in medical decisions, and personally tailored treatment based on DNA will become normal.
Various questions were posed regarding overqualified nurses, end of life processes and decisions and organ donation, which Nick passionately believes in. He answered all questions accurately and with good humour.
The chairman thanked Nick Hulme for sparing the time to come and talk to the asociation and asked the members to show their appreciation in the usual way.