Leon Henderson

Visits to automotive manufacturing sites McLaren Formula 1, Volkswagen and Bentley were all part of a day's work for Leon Henderson who is a graduate from the University of Waikato with a Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical with Honours.

Since graduating from Waikato, Leon has done further study at the University of Cambridge, working as a lead engineer at Volvo Trucks.

Initially his work with Volvo involved the development of a new braking system that takes a fifth of the stopping distance off an HGV (heavy goods vehicle), enabling better driving control.

"Alongside presenting my research to Volvo Trucks, I've also worked at vehicle testing facilities where prototype vehicles from companies such as Aston Martin, Jaguar and Bentley are tested. I've also visited some pretty cool automotive facilities - like McLaren Formula 1's research and development base, and production lines belonging to Volkswagen, Bentley and Hyundai."

Leon was inspired to study engineering after a visit to a University of Waikato Open Day and Science Summer School.

He has good memories from Waikato, from the class work he completed to the mentoring and support he received from his lecturers.

Leon says his undergraduate study at Waikato prepared him well for the challenges of a PhD project. "My final year of research and design projects, along with the work placements arranged by Waikato, gave me a really good foundation of knowledge for my PhD.