TV star Johnny Ball highlighted the achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel on the 200th anniversary of his birth during REACT’s Into Engineering™ week.

The star of iconic programmes such as Play School and Think of a Number spoke to students from a number of schools in West Cumbria. His special appearance was a fitting finale to our Into Engineering™ week 2006 - an annual event that encourages young people to consider careers in engineering. Johnny said he hoped his enthusiasm for maths and science would rub off and inpsire the youngsters into the engineering proffession. Belying his screen image as a slightly eccentric TV children’s presenter, Johnny Ball is a highly-decorated scientist in his own right with doctorates from Glasgow, Sheffield and Salford Universities. He has devoted much of his career to making science and related subjects accessible to young people. Pete Woolaghan, Director of REACT Engineering Ltd, said: “Johnny Ball is a superb public speaker and very well-respected in his field. “He has delivered lectures to the Oxford Union and other leading universities, as well as blue chip companies such as Airbus UK, IBM and Rolls Royce. “We are thrilled that he took part in this year’s Into Engineering™ which gets more and more popular each year.” There was an IMechE hosted lecture on Brunel sponsored by REACT Engineering, NDA and UKAEA in the evening.