2022 Team
Kieran Dodds
Team Principal
Adam Wales
Propulsions Lead
Erika Dempsey
Financial Manager
Our Team
The MEng students on the team are responsible for the management of the HudRail project and overall team. Click each profile below to learn about each individual on the HudRail team.
Kieran Dodds
Age: 23
Role in team: Team Principal
Course title: MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering(5th Year)
Bio: Hi! I'm Kieran, the Team Principal and Technical Director for HudRail 2022! I'm eager to compete in the railway challenge for the second year running, and lead the team to their 3rd railway challenge win. I plan to use the knowledge I have gained from university and my placement at David Brown Santasalo to achieve this.
Adam Wales
Age: 22
Role in team: Project Manager
Course title: MEng Mechanical Engineering (5th year)
Bio: Hi! I'm Adam, the Project Manager for HudRail 2022! This year I will be in charge of designing a new locomotive body, and the integration of components within. I believe that my experience at university, and placement at Cummins Turbo Technologies will help with this.
Erika Dempsey
Age: 22
Role in team: Finacial Manager
Course title: MEng Mechanical Engineering (5th Year)
Bio: I’m Erika! I am the Financial Lead for the HudRail 2022 project. I will also be overseeing the quality and manufacturing aspects of this project, utilising the key knowledge and skills I have developed over my time both on placement at Cummins Turbo Technologies and at university. The main design objective I will be working towards is to improve the human machine interface of the locomotive, and ensure the innovations made this year are correctly integrated into the control system.
Bradley Hopkins
Age: 28
Role in team: Energy Recovery
Course title: MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering(5th Year)
Bio: I worked as a mobile phone salesperson for over 10 years before deciding to study Mechanical Engineering at University. I completed a year in industry at David Brown Santasalo, where I hope to continue working as a graduate engineer.
Anish Kumar
Age: 25
Role in team: Autoshop
Course title: MSc Mechanical Engineering
Bio: Hi I'm Anish, a Hudrail 2022 team member working on the locomotive's Autostop system. I believe I can help the team with my knowledge from working as a project field engineer in the structural industry, but also believe I can gain new knowledge and experience from this event.
James Armstrong
Age: 22
Role in team: Braking Specialist
Course title: Automotive and Motorsport Engineering
Bio: Hi! I'm James and I am the HudRail 2022 Braking Specialist! This year I am focusing on redesigning and improving upon the current braking system. I believe that my experience on placement will help me greatly, and I'm very excited to be part of the team!
Shauna Medley
Age: 21
Role in team: Transmissions
Course title: Mechanical Engineering
Bio: Graduated from University of Huddersfield with a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Industrial experience working on cherry pickers and scissor lifts for Height for Hire. Aspiring to become a Chartered Engineer whilst working on a wide variety of projects for the Institute of Railway Research.
Suokun Zhang
Age: 20
Role in team: Prime Mover
Course title: Electrical Engineering
Bio: Hi! I’m Suokun. This year I will be designing a new electric power system to replace the old petrol engine. So far, I have learned a lot about locomotive power system design. I hope the experience I accumulate in this project will support my future study and research.
Ziran Chen
Age: 21
Role in team: Last Mile Power Supply
Course title: Electrical Engineering
Bio: Hi, I am Ziran Chen. My project is to design and simulate a backup power supply. I believe my university experience will help me to complete it.