The Power Industries Division awarded Gerald Muller and Branislav Meres the 2023 Edwin Walker Prize for their paper on "Assessment of the Newcomen engine’s development potential as heat engine for low temperature waste heat”.
Dr Gerald Muller is an Associate Professor for Hydraulic Engineering at Southampton University. His research is focussed on theoretical hydraulics, and on the development of renewable technology solutions for power conversion. This includes low-head hydropower, solar thermal power, and low-temperature heat engines and has already led to the development of several new power conversion technologies.
Dr Branislav Mereš, from Bratislava, Slovakia, is a designer and mechanical engineer specialising in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and district heating projects. As a Board Member of the Althandel civic association, he also researches the history of the "fire engine," the first steam engine installed in continental Europe in 1722 in Nová Baňa, Slovakia. His work involves designing and constructing models of Newcomen engines.