A SUFFOLK-educated student will today return to his former school to tell its current crop of budding scientists about his work on a brain-controlled wheelchair.

The project in which Dr Tom Carlson is involved is being carried out at the world famous Ecole Polytchnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Dr Carlson, a former pupil at King Edward VI School in Bury St Edmunds, is a key part in the institution’s Non-Invasive Brain-Machine Interface department.

Today he will be back at the school – where a third of sixth form students are currently studying science – to talk about his work.

Prior to his visit, school headteacher Geoff Barton said: “The UK needs brilliant scientists more than ever.

“We are delighted that former student Tom will be coming back from his ground-breaking research work in Switzerland to share his insights with our students.

“Science is very important to us at King Edward and this gives our students a chance to see its impact at the cutting edge and to see the difference to society students can make.”

Dr Carlson told how he had left the Bury school in 2002 and had gone to complete an engineering masters and doctorate at Imperial College, London.

“One of the main projects I am working on,” he said, “is the development of a brain-controlled wheelchair.”