Academy’s largest funding scheme selects eight global visionaries

The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced that eight engineering academics at universities across the UK are to receive support from its largest research funding scheme—the Chairs in Emerging Technologies. A total of £22 million has been allocated to support these innovative researchers and global leaders in their fields whose projects made it through the rigorous selection process in the face of stiff competition.

Research being funded this year includes the development of electronic textiles; multifunctional composites that could revolutionise sectors from aerospace to portable electronic devices; and machine learning techniques that could improve the sustainability of the chemical industry and help to reduce the £20 billion of waste produced globally during the manufacture of medicines.

Other projects will use novel materials in semiconductors to improve energy efficiency; find new ways to deal with nuclear waste; and improve the delivery of clean drinking water and wastewater treatment in rural communities. Our future healthcare also stands to gain from the development of new biosensing technology platforms.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “When I see such exciting projects as these, I am genuinely heartened and optimistic about the engineering talent we have working in this country and the critical role our engineers can play in helping to tackle global challenges. These visionary engineers and the projects they will be working on are outstanding examples of why the Academy places such importance on supporting excellence in engineering as part of its strategy to achieve a sustainable society and inclusive economy that works for everyone. We expect great things of them all and I’m confident they will deliver results that will benefit the economy and society as a whole.”

The Chairs in Emerging Technologies scheme is made possible through funding from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The eight Chairs and their research projects are:

Professor Stephen Beeby, University of Southampton
Electronic textiles engineering: towards invisible and ubiquitous wearable technologies

Professor Beeby will develop electronic textiles into a practical platform technology for wearable applications and beyond. His research will exploit printed active materials, flexible circuit technologies and textile engineering to integrate sensing, electronic and energy harvesting/storage functionality within a single textile. This will create reliable e-textile systems that are invisible to the user and require minimal intervention for a range of health and work-related applications.

Professor Emile Greenhalgh, Imperial College London
Structural power and multifunctional structural materials

Professor Emile Greenhalgh will develop structural power composites, which are mechanically load-bearing materials that can also store and deliver electrical energy. These multifunctional composites are a completely new way of using structural materials, heralding an emerging technology that could revolutionise sectors such as aerospace, automotive, portable electronics and infrastructure. If successful, such ‘massless energy’ could ultimately consign conventional batteries to history.

Professor Jonathan Hirst, University of Nottingham
Machines learning chemistry

Professor Hirst will develop machine learning techniques to help chemical engineers and chemists make their manufacturing processes more sustainable. Working with scientists at the University of Nottingham’s Centre for Sustainable Chemistry, Professor Hirst aims to build interactive machine learning models of sustainability that can be used early in the discovery phase by researchers in the pharmaceutical sector and related chemical-based industries.

Professor Martin Kuball, University of Bristol
Ultra-wide bandgap emerging power electronics for a low-carbon economy

Professor Kuball wants to develop a new class of semiconductor power electronic devices using ultra-wide bandgap materials such as gallium oxide, boron nitride and aluminium nitride. Thanks to the outstanding properties of these materials, the new devices will be compact, highly versatile and energy efficient. This new generation of power electronics is the key to transforming a wide range of real-life applications from data centres and motor drives to electric vehicle chargers to smart grids.

Professor Bruno Merk, University of Liverpool
iMAGINE – a breakthrough technology to make more out of spent nuclear fuel

Professor Merk aims to develop an advanced nuclear technology to turn spent fuel, currently declared as nuclear waste, into an asset that can be used as fuel for future nuclear reactors without the expensive reprocessing technologies currently used at Sellafield. His innovative approach could significantly reduce the cost of nuclear energy, reduce the amount of nuclear waste for disposal and create a valuable net-zero energy resource for future generations. He will work with key industrial stakeholders and government institutions to develop this technology.

Professor Douglas Paul, University of Glasgow
Single-chip cold-atom systems: a quantum navigator in your mobile phone

Professor Paul aims to develop cold-atom atomic clocks, accelerometers and rotation sensors that can be manufactured on single silicon chips and used for navigation without relying on satellites. Laser light is already used to slow atoms down by quantum processes and reduce their temperature close to absolute zero, enabling accurate atomic clocks and quantum sensors. However, present systems are large, heavy and expensive and his research aims to develop chip-scale quantum navigators that can fit inside a mobile phone and could enable resilient position, navigation and timing systems for all forms of transport.

Professor William Sloan, University of Glasgow
Off-grid water biotechnologies

Professor Bill Sloan will develop new technologies to simultaneously tackle the most pressing global water problems and help decarbonise the water industry. Some 35% of the world’s population, most of whom live in rural communities, lack access to either improved sanitation or safe drinking water. The western, centralised model for water supply and treatment is too energy- and capital-intensive to deliver sustainable solutions. Professor Sloan will harness the bioprocessing power of microorganisms to deliver clean drinking water and treat wastewater in rural communities using low-energy, sustainable, off-grid technologies.

Professor Molly Stevens FREng FRS, Imperial College London
Multidimensional Target-Agnostic Sensing (MTAS): the next generation of biosensors

The Stevens Group is very active in the development of bioengineering strategies for the biosensing and regenerative medicine fields. Professor Stevens aims to develop next-generation biosensing technology platforms, including a new MTAS platform. Working closely with clinical and industrial partners, her research will enable applications in point-of-care diagnostics, disease profiling and monitoring of biotech processes.

Notes for Editors

1. The Academy’s Chair in Emerging Technologies scheme aims to identify global research visionaries and provide them with long-term support to lead on developing emerging technology areas with high potential to deliver economic and social benefit to the UK.
    

For more information please contact: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. 020 7766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

Infrastructure, low-carbon energy and skills top priorities for investment

The government’s Spending Review should include support for innovation, especially to achieve the aims of net zero emissions, resilient infrastructure and nationwide digitalisation, according to recommendations published by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) today. The UK should aim to be not just a science superpower, but a science, engineering and innovation superpower, enabling it to deliver the maximum economic and social returns from its investment in science.

In a joint paper compiled by the NEPC, over 40 engineering organisations representing more than 450,000 UK engineers recommend that government invests in its proposed actions to help decarbonise the economy, and create a national workforce planning strategy to create jobs and spread opportunities more evenly across the nation. It says the UK could position itself as a market leader in low carbon technologies but achieving net zero carbon emissions depends on a resilient infrastructure system – the net zero and resilience agendas must be achieved together.

Read the paper here: Engineering a resilient and sustainable future

The 2020 Spending Review is one of the most important in a generation, coming at a time when the UK is in recession and the impact of the pandemic has increased inequality. Careful and considered decisions must be made now about physical and digital infrastructure in order to drive economic recovery and provide skilled jobs. The paper calls for long-term evidence-based infrastructure needs to be addressed, with individual regions being given the freedom to create infrastructure strategies. It also recommends building world-class digital connectivity and infrastructure that is fast, secure and resilient enough for an advanced digital economy.

Read our open letter to the Chancellor here

The COVID-19 crisis has hugely disrupted further and higher education and risks reducing the diversity of young people going into engineering. The paper highlights that the UK must now plan for its long–term engineering and technical skills needs, with an education system fit for the future and an ambitious plan for training, up-skilling and re-skilling. World-leading ambitions on net zero, infrastructure and digitalisation are threatened, it warns, if we do not have enough people with the engineering and technical skills to deliver them. 

Key actions for government recommended by the paper include:

• Education: Address the long-term UK skills challenges across all sectors through the creation of a national workforce planning strategy. Support this with a new evidence-based STEM education strategy to address issues such as chronic shortages of physics, mathematics, computing and technology teachers and diversity challenges in STEM subjects. 

• Education: Ensure long-term funding sustainability of high-cost, laboratory-based subjects in further and higher education. Boost the number of people completing higher technical qualifications and engineering apprenticeships, which have flatlined over the past five years. 

• Infrastructure: Incentivise offsite manufacturing for new projects and low-carbon retrofitting for existing buildings to improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.  

• Digital: Invest in broadband and 5G to support an advanced digital economy and expand the Made Smarter pilot to support small businesses across the UK to upskill, adopt digital technologies and create new supply chain opportunities.  

• Innovation: Make the UK more attractive for businesses to invest in R&D here through funding mechanisms and joint ventures between government and industry and increase Innovate UK’s budget and freedom on how they spend it.  

• Energy: Invest, at the scale needed to trigger transformational change, in low carbon heat technologies, carbon capture, usage and storage,  low-carbon hydrogen production and nuclear generation capacity.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:

“It is a crucial time for government to take practical actions to help the economy recover while addressing inequalities and reducing our carbon emissions. The actions proposed by the Academy and its partner organisations in the National Engineering Policy Centre reflect the level of UK engineering expertise available to address the challenges of developing the UK’s transport infrastructure, energy supply and digital networks to deliver an inclusive, sustainable economy. Done well, this will create more jobs and prosperity across the nation, addressing the needs of our future society.”

Notes for Editors

The National Engineering Policy Centre

We are a unified voice for 43 professional engineering organisations, representing 450,000 engineers, a partnership led by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

We give policymakers a single route to advice from across the engineering profession.

We inform and respond to policy issues of national importance, for the benefit of society.

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information please contact: Victoria Runcie at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. 0207 766 0620; email: victoria.runcie@raeng.org.uk

• The Hamilton Commission, set up by Lewis Hamilton at the beginning of the year, is aimed at improving the representation of Black people in UK motorsport

Six-Time Formula One™ World Champion, Lewis Hamilton MBE HonFREng and the Royal Academy of Engineering today announced the Board of Commissioners for The Hamilton Commission, a research project that will work to identify the key barriers to recruitment and progression of Black people in UK motorsport, and provide actionable recommendations to overcome them.

The Hamilton Commission will be co-chaired by Lewis Hamilton and Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering. The Board of Commissioners is an independent group made up of 14 experts and industry leaders from within the UK who represent a range of perspectives on the challenge. The Commissioners have been specially selected to represent a wide range of expertise spanning critical areas of influence including motorsport, engineering, schools, colleges and universities, community / youth groups, as well as major UK political parties.

Each of the Commissioners will bring valuable expertise, knowledge and experience from their respective fields to The Hamilton Commission. Their responsibilities will be to review and inform the research methodology; to examine the research findings and help identify the key challenges and opportunities facing young Black people entering STEM careers, particularly in UK motorsport; and to advise on the final actions and recommendations that result from the research. Following engagement and consultation with motorsport communities within the UK, the final evidence and recommendations will be published and taken directly to key stakeholders who can help implement change. Commissioners will also support this effort by applying their personal influence to champion the insights and recommendations from the project.

The Hamilton Commission

The Board of Commissioners for The Hamilton Commission include:

• KAREN CHOUHAN, Lead Equality Officer with a specialism in race policy for the National Education Union
• JEREMY CROOK OBE, Chief Executive of the Black Training and Enterprise Group
• TRACEY CROUCH MP, former Sports Minister and British Conservative Party politician
• DR NIKE FOLAYAN MBE, Co-founder and Chair of the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers, AFBE-UK
• PROFESSOR ALICE GAST FREng, President of Imperial College London
• MARK HAMLIN, Chair of Project 44
• DR ZUBAIDA HAQUE, Former Interim Director of the Runnymede Trust
• DR ANNE-MARIE IMAFIDON MBE, Co-founder of Stemettes and Trustee at the Institute for the Future of Work
• GEORGE IMAFIDON, Co-Founder of Motivez, One Young World Ambassador and Royal Academy of Engineering Scholar
• GLEN LAMBERT, Head of School of Construction, Science and Engineering at College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London
• PROFESSOR DAVID MBA, Pro-Vice Chancellor Research and Enterprise, and Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media at De Montfort University
• IZZY OBENG, Managing Director at Foundervine and Non-Executive Director for Capital Enterprise
• CHI ONWURAH MP, British Member of Parliament representing Newcastle upon Tyne Central and also Shadow Minister Digital, Science & Technology
• MARTIN WHITMARSH, Former CEO of the McLaren Formula One Team, Member of the Global Advisory Board of Formula E, Chair of the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership Limited and Chairman of BAR Technologies Limited

Lewis Hamilton said: “Since I began my professional racing career in Formula One, 14 years ago, I was the first driver of colour and to this day, sadly that is still the case. However, what is more concerning is that there are still very few people of colour across the sport as a whole. In F1, our teams are much bigger than the athletes that front them, but representation is insufficient across every skill set – from the garage to the engineers in the factories and design departments. Change isn’t coming quickly enough, and we need to know why. This is why I wanted to set up the Commission and I’m proud to be working with the Royal Academy of Engineering and our incredible Board of Commissioners to identify the barriers facing young Black people to take up STEM careers in motorsport. We are dedicated to this cause and together, we will make a change.”

Commission Co-Chair Dr Hayaatun Sillem said: “At the Royal Academy of Engineering, one of our priorities is to ensure that the UK has a world-leading and truly inclusive engineering workforce, something that we can only achieve if we boost the numbers and diversity of those choosing engineering careers. This is why we are so delighted to be partnering with Lewis in establishing The Hamilton Commission to improve the representation of Black people in UK motorsport. I was honoured to be asked to co-chair with Lewis our wonderful Board of Commissioners, who have each been carefully selected based on their experience, expertise and commitment to tackling racial injustice. This is a truly unique opportunity to drive transformational change on this crucial issue, and in the process to learn more about how we can enrich diversity in other parts of engineering and society.”

The first meeting of the Board of Commissioners took place earlier this month, where the Commissioners shared their initial insights and thoughts on the research plan with Lewis and Hayaatun. The Board will meet quarterly to discuss and inform the latest Commission research and explore how the Commissioners can advance agreed upon recommendations through their networks.

The Hamilton Commission will undertake a range of activities to help inform the research findings. These activities will include an initial data analysis, stakeholder mapping, a literature review in sport, education and employment, as well as in-depth surveying and analysis with youth focus groups and key stakeholders. At the end of the research project, The Hamilton Commission will aim to deliver recommendations about inclusive recruitment and progression practices that will benefit young Black people wishing to work in the sector in the UK, and perhaps internationally too, should the actions be replicable.

The Hamilton Commission has been in development since December 2019 but publicly launched in June 2020 to coincide with the heightened media and public interest in the Black Lives Matter movement, and greater scrutiny of race inequality in society. The Commission will run for nine months and officially began on September 1st, 2020.

Notes to editors

Please contact hamiltoncommission@freuds.com with any requests or questions.

Please visit www.hamiltoncommission.squarespace.com for more information.

For the Board of Commissioners headshots and bios, click here: https://hamiltoncommission.squarespace.com/board-of-commissioners

Fifty-three leading engineers from the UK and around the world have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession. They join an Academy on a mission to use the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and create an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

All the new Fellows will be formally admitted to Fellowship at the Academy’s online AGM on Tuesday 22 September, and they will add their expertise to a Fellowship of almost 1,600 eminent engineers from both industry and academia.

Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “As the UK’s National Academy for engineering and technology, we bring together an unrivalled community of leading business people and industrialists, entrepreneurs, innovators and academics from every part of engineering and technology.

“The new Fellows who join us today are among the most talented and successful engineers working in the field today, leaders in areas from transport and our essential data infrastructure to lifesaving developments in medical research. We look forward to working with them and benefiting from their ideas and insight as we strive to inform public debate and provide workable solutions to our shared national and global challenges.”

The complete list of Fellows elected in 2020 is as follows, and full details can be found here:

New Fellows 2020

Fellows

Dr Rajapillai Ahilan
Group Chief Executive Officer, LOC Group

Professor Philip Blythe
Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Transport; Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems, Newcastle University

Philip Bond
Professor of Creativity and Innovation, University of Manchester

Billy Boyle
Co-founder and Director, Owlstone Medical

Dr Julie Bregulla
Director, Fire and Building Technology Group, Building Research Establishment

Andrew Bud CBE
Founder and CEO, iProov Limited

Professor Edmund Burke
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Leicester

Professor James Busfield
Professor of Materials and Director of Industrial Engagement, Queen Mary University of London

Professor Jon Carrotte
Rolls-Royce/RAEng Professor of Aerothermal Technology, Loughborough University

Dawn Childs
UK Change Director, National Grid

Craig Clark MBE
Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, AAC Clyde Space

Paul Clarke CBE
Chief Technology Officer, Ocado Ltd

Professor Trevor Cross
VP Innovation, Space and Quantum, Teledyne e2v

Professor Yulong Ding
Founding J. Chamberlain Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham

Professor William Drury
Independent Consultant

David Edwards
Operational Excellence Manager, Thames Water

Richard Elsy CBE
CEO, High Value Manufacturing Catapult

Professor Leroy Gardner
Professor of Structural Engineering, Imperial College London

Professor Philippa Gardner
Professor of Theoretical Computer Science, Imperial College London

Professor Deborah Greaves OBE
Head of School of Engineering, Mathematics and Computing, and Professor of Ocean Engineering, University of Plymouth

Professor Joseph Hajnal
Professor of Imaging Science, King’s College London

Professor Yang Hao
Professor in Antennas and Electromagnetics, Queen Mary University of London

Professor Mark Harman
Engineering Manager, Facebook

Richard Hopkins
IBM Distinguished Engineer and President, the IBM Academy of Technology, IBM

Professor Kirill Horoshenkov
Professor of Acoustics, University of Sheffield

Dr Bryn Hughes
Head of Science and Engineering Profession, and Senior Technical Fellow, Dstl

Professor Naeem Hussain
Director, Arup Fellow: Global Bridge Design Leader, Arup

Air Marshall Richard Knighton CB
Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Capability), Ministry of Defence

Professor David Larbalestier
Chief Materials Scientist, National High Magnetic Field Lab & Francis Eppes Professor, Florida State University (USA)

Professor Peter Lee
Professor of Materials Science, University College London

Professor Kai Hong Luo
Chair of Energy Systems, University College London

Professor Stuart Lyon
AkzoNobel Chair in Corrosion Control, University of Manchester

Professor Cav Sandro Macchietto
Professor of Process Systems Engineering, Imperial College London

Professor Omar Matar
RAEng/PETRONAS Research Chair in Multiphase Fluid Dynamics, Imperial College London

Professor Charles Wang-Wai Ng
CLP Holdings Professor of Sustainability, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region)

Tony O’Brien
Global Practice Leader, Geotechnics, Mott Macdonald

Professor Eann Patterson
A.A. Griffith Chair of Structural Materials and Mechanics, The University of Liverpool

Colin Paynter
Managing Director, Airbus Defence and Space UK

Professor John Robertson FRS
Director of Research, University of Cambridge

Professor Esther Rodriguez-Villegas
Professor of Low Power Electronics and Director of the Wearable Technologies Lab, Imperial College London

Dr Lucy Rogers
Director, Makertorium Ltd; VP of Creativity and Communication, Brunel University

Dr Antony Rowstron
Deputy Lab Director and Distinguished Engineer, Microsoft Research

Dr Norman Smith
Chief Executive Officer, Vision RT Ltd

Professor Richard Stone
Professor of Engineering Science, University of Oxford

Professor Tong Sun MBE
Professor of Sensor Engineering, City University London

Professor Rahim Tafazolli
Regius Professor of Electronic Engineering & Founder/Director of 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC), University of Surrey

Dr Alison Vincent
Non-Executive Director: Synectics Plc, Telesoft Ltd, Connected Places Catapult, uMotif, Cybertonica, Arqit

Roger Wells
Head of Technology (Industrial Turbomachinery) & Innovation Manager (Power Generation)
Siemens UK

Dr Charles Woodburn
Group Chief Executive Officer, BAE Systems plc

Professor Yong Yan
Professor of Electronic Instrumentation and Director of Innovation, School of Engineering and Digital Arts, University of Kent

International Fellows

Professor Pan Hui (Finland)
Nokia Chair in Data Science, University of Helsinki; Director of HKUST-DT Systems and Media Lab, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Dr Asad Madni (USA)
Distinguished Adjunct Professor & Distinguished Scientist, UCLA

Kunasingham Sittampalam (Malaysia)
Executive Vice Chairman, HSS Engineers Berhad

Notes for Editors

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information please contact: Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. 0207 766 0636; email: jane.sutton@raeng.org.uk

The Royal Academy of Engineering welcomes its third cohort of Policy Fellows

Following a highly competitive selection process, the Academy is delighted to announce the names of nine successful applicants who will join cohort three of its prestigious Policy Fellowships programme:

• Simon Gallagher, Director Planning, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Claire Hancock, Deputy CSA for National Security
• Ragne Low, Head of Heat Planning Team, Scottish Government
• Rhona McDonald, Assistant Director, Science, Research and Innovation Directorate, BEIS
• Susan Postlethwaite, Senior Tutor Research, Royal College of Art
• Hannah Pullen, Senior Policy Advisor (Infrastructure, Enterprise and Growth), Infrastructure and Projects Authority
• Patsy Richards, Decant Director, House of Commons
• Sripriya Sudhakar, Head of Regeneration, Tower Hamlet Council
• Cheryl W, Senior Policy Advisor, UK HMG

We look forward to officially welcoming Policy Fellows when they join us for the programme, which will take place virtually between October and December. Collectively they will meet over 90 leading engineers handpicked from the Academy’s UK and international networks. They will take part in a series of one-to-one meetings with experts, coaching and group workshops, to help them make rapid progress on their chosen policy challenge.  They will learn first-hand how engineers solve problems using techniques such as systems thinking and have an opportunity to expand their personal networks with the Academy’s community of innovators and leaders.

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:

The Academy’s Policy Fellowships programme has been going from strength to strength and we are very pleased to invite new applicants to join what promises to be another highly stimulating programme. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how critical engineering expertise can be in solving some of the biggest problems facing the world. We really hope the next cohort of Policy Fellows will be inspired to apply what they learn as a Policy Fellow to the global challenges of the future.

Policy Fellowships: a network of policymakers connected with the nation’s leading engineers

The Policy Fellowships programme has a growing influence on policymaking practice. It now counts a peer-network of 19 alumni, including:

• Benjamin Jones, Head of Innovation, Aviation Security Policy, Department for Transport
• Chris Moore-Bick, Head of Policy, Strategic Research & International Engagement, Defence Science & Technology (DST) Ministry of Defence
• Hannah Tooze, Head of Land Transport Security, Department for Transport
• Louise Dunsby, Deputy Director Innovation, BEIS
• Madalina Ursu, Head of Infrastructure, Greater London Authority
• Alex Holmes, formerly Deputy Director – Cyber Security, Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, now Amazon Global Business Development
• Katie Black, Director of Policy, National Infrastructure Commission
• Louise Owen, Head of National Security Tech and Innovation Exchange at UK Civil Service
• Matt Crossman, Team Leader, National Infrastructure Commission
• Siobhan Campbell, Head of Central Research Team and Deputy Chief Scientific Advisor, Department for Transport

Next cohort: applications open until 15 October 2020

The next cohort of Policy Fellows will start in January 2021. Applications are now open and will close on 15 October 2020. For more information and download the application form please visit www.raeng.org.uk/policyfellowships or email policyfellowships@raeng.org.uk.

Testimonials

Louise Dunsby, Deputy Director Innovation at BEIS, Royal Academy of Engineering Policy Fellow, said: “The Policy Fellowship is transformative. Working with a fantastic cohort and team at the Royal Academy, I delved into an issue I care about and found new and exciting ways to approach problem-solving.”

Louise Owen, Head of National Security Tech and Innovation Exchange at UK Civil Service, Royal Academy of Engineering Policy Fellow, said: “I was blown away by the quality of the experts I was able to share my challenges with. Their openness to help identify and talk through new ideas has been invaluable.”

Matt Crossman, Team Leader, National Infrastructure Commission, Royal Academy of Engineering Policy Fellow, said: “I wanted to reach beyond the NIC’s usual pool of stakeholders, learn from other sectors how they analyse and manage risk across complex systems, and enable government to learn from the private sector. I was able to successfully use the valuable insights from my Policy Fellowship to inform the analysis of systemic resilience and vulnerability, which underpinned the NIC’s 2019 Scoping Report for the Resilience Study.”

Alex Holmes, formerly DCMS, now Amazon Global Business Development, Royal Academy of Engineering Policy Fellow, said: “I got so much from my Policy Fellowship…  it really helped me solve a particular knotty policy challenge. It provided me with generous access to a set of experts, which allowed me to work through my team’s ideas and tap into their years of experience. It gave us a completely different perspective that we would not have otherwise had.”

Notes to editors

1. About the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Policy Fellowships

The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Policy Fellowship is an intensive professional development programme open to civil and public servants with responsibility for policy design in any sector. The programme connects policymakers with the nation’s leading engineers. It offers policymakers a unique opportunity to make rapid progress on a chosen policy challenge, to expand their personal networks with the Academy’s community of innovators and leaders, and to learn first-hand how engineers solve problems using techniques such as systems thinking.

As the UK’s national academy for engineering and technology, the Royal Academy of Engineering brings together the most talented and successful engineers, finest systems thinkers and outstanding talent in technology for the benefit of society.

The next cohort will run from January 2021. Applications are now open and will close on 15 October 2020.

For more information and download the application form please visit www.raeng.org.uk/policyfellowships or email policyfellowships@raeng.org.uk.

2. About the Royal Academy of Engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information, please contact Victoria Runcie at the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Tel: 0207 766 0620

Email: victoria.runcie@raeng.org.uk

The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced 16 winners of its 2020 medals and awards

Professor Dame Julia Higgins DBE FREng FRS is awarded the Sir Frank Whittle Medal for her sustained excellence in designing, analysing and modifying polymer materials. She is internationally recognised as one of the preeminent polymer engineers of her generation. Julia Higgins’ work has provided some of the tools to help design processes and control properties for these difficult to mix materials.  Her work is also very relevant to the current problems of recycling plastics and why so much effort has been put into separating the different plastic materials in our waste bins.

Awards given by the Royal Academy of Engineering celebrate engineering excellence and seek to recognise and reward the very best of engineering talent, from those whose achievements have a huge impact on society to early career engineers disrupting their fields of expertise.

Recognised for demonstrating excellence early in his career, Sorin Popa, CEO of Pathfinder Medical, is awarded the Sir George Macfarlane Medal for inventing and developing a novel device to allow haemodialysis and even arterial bypasses to be performed without invasive surgery.

The winners

The full list of medal and award winners announced today are:

Prince Philip Medal, awarded to an engineer who has made an exceptional contribution to engineering as a whole through practice, management or education

• Bob Stuart, Founder, MQA Ltd

Prince Philip Medal

President’s Medal, awarded to an Academy Fellow who has greatly contributed to the Academy’s work and aims

• Dervilla Mitchell CBE FREng, UKIMEA Chair, Arup

President’s Medal

Silver Medals, awarded for an outstanding personal contribution to UK engineering by an early to mid-career engineer resulting in market exploitation

• Dr Marko Bacic, Engineering Associate Fellow – Control Systems & Gas Turbine Functionality, Rolls-Royce
• Michael Bronstein, Chair in Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition, Imperial College London & Head of Graph Learning Research, Twitter
• Esther Rodriguez-Villegas, Professor of Low Power Electronics, Imperial College London
• Jamie Shotton, Partner Director of Science, Microsoft

Silver Medals

Colin Campbell Mitchell Award, awarded to engineers who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of any field of UK engineering

• The team from Reaction Engines for the hot heat exchanger test programme for the SABRE engine

Colin Campbell Mitchell Award

Rooke Award, awarded for the public promotion of engineering

• Susan Scurlock MBE, CEO and Founder, Primary Engineer

Rooke Award

Major Project Award

• For the Queensferry Crossing: Iain Murray, Managing Director BEAR Scotland, Jacobs; Peter Curran, Project Director, Ramboll; Mike Glover OBE FREng and Richard Hornby, Directors, Arup; and Lawrence Shackman, Head of Rail Projects, Transport Scotland

Major Project Award

Sir Frank Whittle Medal, awarded for outstanding and sustained achievement in any engineering discipline

• Professor Dame Julia Higgins DBE FREng FRS, Senior Research Fellow, Imperial College London

Sir Frank Whittle Medal

Sir George Macfarlane Medal, awarded to a UK engineer who has demonstrated excellence in the early stage of their career

• Sorin Popa, CEO, Pathfinder Medical

Sir George Macfarlane Medal

RAEng Engineers Trust Young Engineers of the Year, supported by the Worshipful Company of Engineers

• Andrea De Luca, CEO, Flusso
• Dr Richard Colchester, Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow, University College London
• Sorin Popa, CEO, Pathfinder Medical
• Dr Boyang Shen, Research Fellow, University of Cambridge
• Amy Wright, Senior Civil Infrastructure Engineer, Design ID

RAEng Engineers Trust Young Engineers of the Year

Professor Raffaella Ocone OBE FREng FRSE, Chair of the Academy’s Awards Committee, says:

“Engineering underpins our daily lives, and these awards acknowledge and celebrate engineers and engineering achievements that are often hidden from public view.

These engineers help to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges in fields spanning medical, civil, digital, and materials, and deserve to be celebrated for the work they do.”

Note to editors

For more information, please contact Victoria Runcie at the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Royal Academy of Engineering has today announced the appointment of four new Research Chairs and two Senior Research Fellows at universities across the UK who will spend the next five years working with some of the world’s largest companies to tackle a broad spectrum of engineering challenges.

Rolls-Royce PLC, Nokia Bell Labs, GSK, J.P. Morgan, Howden Compressors and Fraunhofer UK will work with the academics to establish world-leading research teams to study problems including antimicrobial resistance, reducing energy use and emissions from compressors, improving the reliability of mobile devices and developing AI-powered dialogue systems.

Professor Karen Holford FREng CBE FLSW, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Cardiff University and Chair of the Academy’s Research Committee, says: “Engineers are influential agents of change in our drive towards a more sustainable society and an inclusive economy. The Royal Academy of Engineering has an important role to play in promoting engineering excellence and working with industry to help achieve these goals. Over the past 20 years our Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellows have developed numerous internationally renowned centres of research excellence and I am sure our new appointees will achieve even more.”

The Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships appointments are as follows:

Research Chairs

Professor Trung Q. Duong, Queen’s University Belfast
Nokia Bell Labs / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Towards Massive Connectivity to enable Ultra-Reliable and Near Zero-Latency Communications

Wireless communications and associated digital technologies have been shaping our planet in an unprecedented way – not least in the current battle against COVID-19. Increasingly, we live in an interconnected, smart, globalised society in which the physical and information worlds are inextricably linked. The ever-increasing number of wireless and mobile devices requiring ultra-reliable and low-latency functionality is generating an exponential growth in data traffic – a 10,000-fold growth is predicted to occur by 2030.

Professor Duong believes that unlike previous generations of cellular communications, 6G will focus not only on faster data speeds for traditional services, but also on a massive interconnection of autonomous machines. 6G networks will address the specific needs of IoT (internet of things) devices by achieving two conflicting targets: maintaining the ultra-reliability (99.999%) of 5G and reducing latency (time between data transmission and reception – currently around 1ms for 5G) to near-zero.

Professor Duong’s research will provide an opportunity to go beyond 5G and towards 6G in a number of important respects to harmonise and integrate wireless communications, data transfer, radar, and imaging, where high bandwidth and near zero latency is crucial.

He says: “Our rapidly changing world is currently undergoing a ‘fourth industrial revolution’ that is currently being driven by 5G communications and cyber-physical systems. My driving passion is to take that revolution forward into the next decade and for 6G to enable a future that benefits all of society – e.g., remote medical diagnosis and surgery, autonomous self-driving vehicles, virtual and augmented reality for education, healthcare and entertainment and all within smart, safe cities, and disaster management.

It has been a wonderful journey that has taken a young child in Vietnam, who liked to play with walkie-talkies, all the way to a prestigious Research Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering!”

Professor Paul Hoskisson, University of Strathclyde
GSK / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Engineering Biology of Antibiotic Production

Professor Hoskisson’s research is tackling antimicrobial resistance, one of the greatest threats to global health. It has been suggested that without intervention, global deaths attributable to antimicrobial resistant infections could reach 10 million annually by 2050. This global health crisis requires multidisciplinary approaches to tackle the problem, developing more efficient industrial processes as well as new drugs and therapies. This research project focuses on applying engineering principles to improve the Streptomyces cell factories used to produce antibiotics, enabling more rapid improvements in production than were previously possible.

In partnership with GSK, Professor Hoskisson’s research will combine recent synthetic biology advances to develop biological parts and tools applicable to antibiotic production, with industrial engineering. This will enable step-change improvements in fermentation processes and improve the sustainability of antimicrobial production. Engineering Biology is a priority area for growth that will help to accelerate antibiotic production as it matures.

He says: “The antimicrobials industry is an area in biology where we get to investigate all scales – we get to use large-scale engineering processes to develop fermentations using microscopic organisms – and this project allows me to combine both! Working closely with GSK enables me to translate my work into real world scenarios. I am inspired by the way we can rationally design genetic tools and circuits to function and to perform useful tasks for the benefit of humankind. This current project will enable me to bring several strands of my work over the last 10 years or so together and really make an impact in the area of industrial production of antimicrobials.

“The recent ‘Engineering Biology’ report from The Royal Academy of Engineering recognises the emerging technologies of engineering biology as a means to deliver economic and social benefit. Given the global importance of the antimicrobial resistance crisis, it is fantastic to have the support of the Academy to enable me to contribute to the global effort to address this problem.”

Professor Ahmed Kovacevic, City, University of London
Howden / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Compressor Technology

Compressors consume 20% of the electrical energy generated worldwide, and 83% of all screw compressors are oil injected. Professor Kovacevic aims to improve the reliability and efficiency of compression technology, working to reduce leakages in rotating machinery by 20% and improve the efficiency of oil-free screw machines by 2%, thereby saving more than 5 billion Euros and reducing CO₂ emissions by 600 megatons per annum.

Professor Kovacevic will explore novel methods for understanding the flow, heat, and solid interaction in leakage gaps of rotating machines using experimental optical techniques at the state-of-the-art laboratories at City, University of London. This project aims to develop a commercial prototype, paving the way to the future of oil-free screw compression technology.

He says: “With this project I have an opportunity to revolutionise the field of rotating machines. This interaction of flow and heat in microscopic clearances is fascinating and unexplored and I am delighted to lead a path to understand and utilise it.

“I am proud to have collaborated closely with Howden for more than 12 years, jointly introducing new rotor profiles, new compressors and continuing to provide world with better and ever more efficient machines. The Centre for Compressor Technology, which I direct at City, University of London, is world leading research institute for these types of machines and together with the support from Howden and the Royal Academy of Engineering, this project is destined to result in new, more efficient and reliable oil-free machines. I am very excited about this opportunity.”

Calculation (left) and thermographic measurements (right) of temperature distribution in a screw compressor

Professor Francesca Toni, Imperial College London
J.P. Morgan / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Argumentation for Interactive Explainable AI

Professor Toni is working alongside J.P. Morgan, focusing on developing forms of interactive explainable AI that can help explain how AI systems work by providing justifications for system decisions. It is widely acknowledged that the difficulty of explaining AI is a barrier to uptake. Existing efforts towards explainable AI envisage static ‘one-way’ (machine to human) interactions. This Research Chair will deliver machines, powered by a variety of AI methods, that can engage with humans in two-way explanatory dialogues. The machines will explain their recommendations and humans will question their explanations and provide feedback. Such machines will be able to work in synergy with humans within a human-centred but AI-supported society.

This ambitious research vision will be realised using computational argumentation based on symbolic AI. Professor Toni will define argumentative abstractions for a variety of AI methods from which various types of explanations can be drawn to generate argumentative dialogues between humans and machines.

She says: “I have always been intrigued by the challenges posed by the AI vision: how to design and build machines that think or act like humans, and that can join forces with humans to benefit society? The Research Chair will provide a unique opportunity to bring together the strengths of the Department of Computing at Imperial College London, J.P. Morgan and the Royal Academy of Engineering, to address explainability challenges for AI in general and particularly in the financial sector where a lack of understanding of the products on the part of clients and regulators is posing crucial barriers to the adoption of AI.”

Figure 1 – Envisaged pipeline:
from data-centric systems (built from data) to influences to argumentative abstractions and then from there to explanatory dialogues with users, accommodating their feedback by using wrappers.

Figure 2 – A schematic view of the Chair’s vision of explanatory dialogues between humans and (AI-empowered) machines

Figure 3 – Computational Logic and Argumentation group logo

Senior Research Fellows

Dr Giuliano Allegri, University of Bristol
Rolls-Royce PLC / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Physically Based Modelling of Fatigue in Composites

Dr Allegri’s research is focused on the characterisation and prediction of fatigue damage in composite materials, aiming to introduce new strategies to ensure the durability of these materials in engineering applications. Polymer-based composites are key enablers for reducing structural weight and hence reducing CO2 emissions in the transportation sector. Lightweighting is critical to achieving a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, as stipulated by the 2015 Paris agreement. Therefore, understanding and predicting fatigue damage in composites is vital to ensuring the long-term reliability and safety of key components in hybrid-electric propulsion and working towards carbon-neutral aviation.

Mitigating fatigue damage in composite structures is very complex and has so far been based on extensive and expensive experimental characterisation. Dr Allegri hopes to improve the engineering design and testing of composite structures, aiming to substantially reduce the development costs and time to market of novel products.

He says: “The event that triggered my interest in engineering, and aerospace in particular, was the Voyager 2 flyby of Neptune on August 25th, 1989. I still have a vivid recollection of the photos of the deep blue “ice giant” planet broadcast on tv. I asked myself: how can something man-made fly so fast, for so long and so far away? Among all the technical challenges associated with the Voyager endeavour, I was particularly fascinated by those associated with material and structural integrity. I pursued such an interest in my engineering studies, especially regarding the computer simulation of mechanical behaviour and the prediction of failure. These still represent the core areas of my research activity and the central themes of this Fellowship.”

Figure 1: Paradigmatic shift in the engineering design of composite structures against fatigue; robust validated “virtual design” methods replace extensive testing

Figure 2: Multi-scale modelling philosophy; from the material micro-scale to the full propulsion system

Dr Michael Strain, University of Strathclyde
Fraunhofer UK / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Chipscale Photonics

Dr Strain is developing new methods to miniaturise visible light optical systems onto a single chip. By integrating systems onto a chip, complexity can be significantly scaled up whilst improving mechanical robustness, power consumption and reducing production costs. However, unlike in electronics where large-scale circuits can be realised on a single silicon wafer, optical systems require the integration of many different materials to realise functions from high speed data processing to environmental sensing. 

This work will develop the methods needed to realise complex optical circuits in materials such as diamond, gallium nitride and silicon carbide. These various materials will then be integrated using a form of micro-assembly for high throughput manufacturing with spatial accuracy at the nanoscale. The long-term vision of this joint work with Strathclyde’s Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics is to make optical systems in a format that can be integrated with portable, low power electronics. Future applications of this technology range from optical instrumentation and imaging to high speed electronics and lab-on-a-chip microfluidics.

He says: “The most exciting element of this project for me is the ambition to take research advances out of the university lab and translate them into a capability that will benefit the industrial and academic engineering communities. The wide range of expertise needed to tackle the big challenges in modern engineering emphasises its nature as a group activity. It is inspiring to see the huge scope of new ideas and real technology being produced around the world by teams of engineers working across disciplines. Being part of that community is very exciting.

“Aligned with the Academy’s mission, and through this Fellowship, I aim to strengthen the links in this community between materials growers, nano-fabrication centres and end users of optical systems, building a vision of the future supply chain and exploitation routes for hybrid material systems on-a-chip.”

Notes for Editors

1. The Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships aims to strengthen the links between industry and academia by supporting exceptional academics in UK universities to undertake use-inspired research that meets the needs of the industrial partners.

   Awardees are expected to:

• Establish or enhance a world leading engineering research group
• Deliver ‘use-inspired’ research that meets the needs of their industrial partners
• Disseminate the outcomes of their research for appropriate academic impact
• Become a self-sustaining research group by the end of the award (by securing substantial external grant income: RCUK, EU, industry, charities, etc.)

For more information please contact: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. 020 7766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

A Ghanaian technology entrepreneur has won the Royal Academy of Engineering’s prestigious 2020 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. Charlette N’Guessan is the first ever woman to win the Africa Prize, and the first winner from Ghana.

The 26-year-old N’Guessan and her team developed BACE API, a software that uses facial recognition and artificial intelligence to verify identities remotely. The software can be integrated into existing apps and systems and is aimed at financial institutions and other industries that rely on identity verification when providing services.

The BACE API software uses a phone or computer’s built-in camera and does not need special hardware, and in contrast to global AI systems, has been developed specifically to identify Africans.

While facial recognition software isn’t new, BACE API specifically uses live images or short videos taken on phone cameras to detect whether the image is of a real person, or a photo of an existing image.

N’Guessan wins the first prize of £25,000 (192,000 GHS). At the virtual awards ceremony held on 3 September 2020, four finalists delivered presentations, before Africa Prize judges and a live audience voted for the most promising engineering innovation.

The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK in 2014, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation, and has a proven track record of identifying successful engineering entrepreneurs. Now in its sixth year, it supports talented sub-Saharan African entrepreneurs with engineering innovations, that address crucial problems in their communities in a new and appropriate way.

N’Guessan and her co-founders developed the software in 2018 after research they did during their studies revealed that Ghana’s banks have a significant problem with identity fraud and cybercrime. The research estimated that approximately $400 million is spent annually by Ghanaian financial institutions to identify their customers.

In partnership with a data controller that deals with certified government-issued identity documents, BACE API has access to Ghanaian passports and other identity documents to use during its verification processes.

Two financial institutions are already using the software to verify customers’ identities, and the software is being tested on an event platform to confirm attendee registrations.

During the global pandemic, BACE API has emerged as a viable alternative to the in-person verification processes used by most businesses, such as fingerprints or personal appearances. Companies can now authenticate and onboard new or existing customers without ever meeting them.

The Africa Prize mentorship and training has helped the team focus more on their business development, and since being shortlisted, the team has defined strategies to improve BACE API’s market position. They have also signed key partnerships with local financial institutions, improved the accuracy of the model, and reduced the verification time.

James Duddridge MP, Minister for Africa, UK, said: “Congratulations to all the participants in this year’s Africa Prize. The UK is a hub of engineering innovation, and home to a wealth of entrepreneurial talent and experience. By partnering this talent with the most promising African innovators we can create local solutions to global challenges, transforming lives and improving economies.”

Fifteen shortlisted Africa Prize entrepreneurs, from six countries in sub-Saharan Africa, received eight months of training and mentoring, during which they developed their business plans and learned to market their innovations. The group received coaching on communicating effectively, focusing on customers and approaching investors with confidence.

The Africa Prize also connects the shortlist to individuals and networks in the UK and across Africa who can accelerate their business and technology development – from fellow entrepreneurs and mentors to potential investors and suppliers.

The Africa Prize supports the brightest minds across the continent, equipping them with skills to reshape and rethink their businesses.

“We are very proud to have Charlette N’Guessan and her team win this award,” said Rebecca Enonchong, Africa Prize judge and Cameroonian entrepreneur. “It is essential to have technologies like facial recognition based on African communities, and we are confident their innovative technology will have far reaching benefits for the continent.”

The three runners up, who each receive £10,000, are:

• Farmz2U, Aisha Raheem from Nigeria – a digital platform that provides farmers with tailored agricultural data to improve their experience and efficiency.
• PapsAI, Dr William Wasswa from Uganda – a low-cost digital microscope that speeds up cervical cancer screening diagnosis, and systems to improve patient record management.
• Remot, David Tusubira from Uganda – a system that manages off-grid power grids by monitoring the condition of solar arrays.

“Being part of the Africa Prize has given us such confidence,” said N’Guessan. “We focus on Africa because we want to make sure BACE API is used by our people, and works for them. We are so grateful to the Academy, and cannot wait to take our innovation to new heights.”

To date, the 86 Africa Prize alumni businesses have raised more than 14 million USD in grants and equity and created more than 1500 new jobs, with over 50% of these going to women and a significant proportion to disabled people and youth.

The seventh Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is now open. Individuals and teams living and working in sub-Saharan Africa, and who have an engineering innovation, are invited to enter. The deadline for entries is 14 September 2020.

Find out how to apply for the Africa Prize 2021

Notes to editors:

The other 11 candidates shortlisted for the Africa Prize 2020 were:

• Aquaprotein, Jack Oyugi from Kenya – an affordable protein supplement for animal feed, made from invasive water hyacinth
• CATHEL, Catherine Tasankha Chaima from Malawi – an affordable antibacterial soap made from agricultural waste and other plant-based extracts
• CIST Ethanol Fuel, Richard Arwa from Kenya – a clean cooking ethanol made from invasive water hyacinth
• DryMac, Adrian Padt from South Africa – a containerised drying system that uses burning biomass instead of electricity to dry and preserve crops
• Eco Water Purifier, Timothy Kayondo from Uganda – a digital system that turns bones, cassava peelings, coconut shells and other waste into an activated carbon water filter
• EcoRide, Bernice Dapaah from Ghana – bamboo bicycles made by Ghanaian women and youth from sustainable materials and recycled parts
• Garbage In Value Out (GIVO), Victor Boyle-Komolafe from Nigeria – automates and digitises the collection, processing and sale of recyclable materials
• GrainMate, Isaac Sesi from Ghana – a simple handheld meter to accurately measure the moisture content of grains to prevent rotting, insect infestation and quality reduction
• Lab and Library on Wheels, Josephine Godwyll from Ghana – a mobile, solar-hybrid cart with gadgets and e-learning resources to encourage reading and teach STEAM subjects in under-resourced schools
• Safi Organics, Samuel Rigu from Kenya – a novel chemical process that turns crop waste into a range of affordable fertilisers
• Tree_Sea.mals Mini-Grid, Tracy Kimathi from Kenya – a solar system that powers communal refrigeration storage spaces in rural Kenya

  Access the full set of photographs and b-roll of the shortlisted ntrepreneurs

1. About the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation
   The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation. It awards crucial commercialisation support to ambitious African innovators developing scalable engineering solutions to local challenges, demonstrating the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development.

   An eight-month period of tailored training and mentoring culminates in a showcase event where a winner is selected to receive £25,000 along with three runners-up, who are each awarded £10,000.

   The Africa Prize is generously supported by The Shell Centenary Scholarship Fund and the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund.

   Judges and mentors of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation have provided over 1,970 hours of support to entrepreneurs since the prize was established – this equates to a value of roughly £985,000 in support. This year, they are:

   Chair of judges: Malcolm Brinded CBE FREng, Past President of the Energy Institute, Chair of EngineeringUK
   Dr Ibilola Amao, Founder and Principal Consultant, Lonadek Global Services
   Rebecca Enonchong, Founder and CEO, AppsTech
   Dr John Lazar CBE FREng, Chair, Enza Capital, What3Words and KindLink

   The shortlist judging panel also included Mariéme Jamme, co-founder of Africa Gathering and founder of #iamtheCODE and SpotOne Global Solutions. Jamme has recently stepped down as Africa Prize judge.

2. About the Royal Academy of Engineering
   The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

   Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For media queries and interview requests, please contact:

Africa
Anzet du Plessis, Proof Africa on behalf of the Royal Academy of Engineering
anzet@proofafrica.co.za
+27 83 557 2322

UK and international
Alex Stephenson, April Six on behalf of the Royal Academy of Engineering
africaprize@aprilsix.com
+44 7506 022 367

Eight researchers and their collaborators have been awarded funding in the 2020 round of the APEX awards. The grants, which promote collaboration across science, engineering, social sciences and humanities, are jointly awarded by the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society, with the generous support of the Leverhulme Trust.

The APEX award scheme offers up to £100,000 to researchers wanting to pursue interdisciplinary and curiosity-driven research that benefits wider society.

This year’s cohort also includes the first recipients of additional funding, worth £10,000, to support researchers to deliver public engagement activities related to their APEX award.

The eight successful applicants are:

Dr Philip Cox
University of York
Functional morphology and the biomechanics of feeding in squirrels
Awarded additional funding towards public engagement activities    

Dr Simon Gill
University of Leicester 
What controls magma pathways through the Earth’s crust        

Professor Christine Hine
University of Surrey 
Emergent everyday ethics in infrastructures for smart care
Awarded additional funding towards public engagement activities  

Dr Jennifer Hiscock
University of Kent
The role of qualitative research approaches in enhancing interdisciplinary teams’ reflexivity and creativity in the gendered environment of supramolecular chemistry
Awarded additional funding towards public engagement activities   

Dr Marco Iglesias
University of Nottingham
Thermophysical imaging for the characterisation of buildings’ walls thermal performance

Dr Lisa Mol
University of the West of England, Bristol
Remote scientific support for sustainable conservation of heritage damaged by explosives
Awarded additional funding towards public engagement activities

Dr Douglas Stewart  
University of Leeds
Probing biogeochemistry of alkaline waste impacted systems

Dr Jamie Ward
Goldsmiths, University of London
Exploring social interaction using theatre and wearable sensing
Awarded additional funding towards public engagement activities

The 2021 APEX award round is now open for applications, and the additional funding for public engagement will also be available to the successful 2021 applicants. Further details about the APEX award scheme are available here and via a webinar for prospective applicants on 7 September 2020 at 11am. For further information please contact apex@royalsociety.org.

ENDS

Media enquiries:

For more information about the British Academy
Sean Canty
Press Officer
020 7969 5273
s.canty@thebritishacademy.ac.uk

For more information about the Royal Academy of Engineering
Pippa Cox
Communications Manager
pippa.cox@raeng.org.uk
020 7766 0745

For more information about the Royal Society
Bryony Ravate
Assistant Press Officer
Bryony.ravate@royalsociety.org
0207 451 2508
 

Notes to editors

The Leverhulme Trust was established by the Will of William Hesketh Lever, the founder of Lever Brothers. Since 1925 the Trust has provided grants and scholarships for research and education. Today, it is one of the largest all-subject providers of research funding in the UK, distributing approximately £80m a year. For more information about the Trust, please visit www.leverhulme.ac.uk and follow the Trust on Twitter @LeverhulmeTrust

The British Academy is the voice of the humanities and social sciences. The Academy is an independent fellowship of world-leading scholars and researchers; a funding body for research, nationally and internationally; and a forum for debate and engagement. For more information, please visit www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk. Follow the British Academy on Twitter @BritishAcademy

Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public. Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering, and medicine. The Society’s fundamental purpose, as it has been since its foundation in 1660, is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity. http://royalsociety.org

Follow the Royal Society on Twitter (@royalsociety) or on Facebook (facebook.com/theroyalsociety).

The objectives of the APEX awards are to

• promote collaboration across disciplines, with an emphasis on the boundary between science, engineering, and the social sciences and humanities
• support outstanding interdisciplinary research which is unlikely to be supported through conventional funding programmes
• support researchers with an outstanding track record, in developing their research in a new direction through collaboration with partners from other disciplines
• enable outstanding researchers to focus on advancing their innovative research through seed funding

Public engagement for new APEX award holders

The Leverhulme Trust and the Academies are keen to encourage and facilitate public engagement activities within the APEX award programme. Successful APEX award holders in each round will be able to apply for a Public Engagement Grant to undertake public engagement projects based on their APEX award research. These awards will also help to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of researchers undertaking public engagement projects. Successful recipients will also benefit from expert review and advice on their proposed public engagement plans. 

The Engineering X Pandemic Preparedness Programme, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering, has awarded nearly £0.5 million in grants to projects which address the challenges of recovering from the outbreak of COVID-19 and building preparedness for future pandemics.

Twenty-five awards of between £15,000 and £20,000, made to existing awardees of the Academy from sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, India and the UK, will enable the development of new engineered solutions to a range of pressing needs. These include the measurement and reduction of viral loads in confined spaces, systems to protect health workers from infection, and innovative low-cost designs for essential equipment such as ventilators, masks and diagnostic devices.

Sustained community transmission is a key challenge in the recovery from the current pandemic and there is a much greater awareness of the important role of engineering in infection control now than before COVID-19 struck. Engineers themselves have learned a great deal about how to mobilise and offer their skills and expertise where appropriate. Grants have been awarded to 14 projects focused on engineering solutions to reduce the spread of COVID-19, ranging from new techniques for vaccine delivery and diagnostic testing to technology aimed at reducing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious agents in our workplaces, transport systems and public spaces.

Several projects awarded to engineers in sub-Saharan Africa propose innovative adaptive measures which could enable large swathes of the labour force affected by lockdown measures to return safely to work, from street hawkers in Nairobi to university lecturers in Accra.

Professor Peter Guthrie FREng, Chair of the Engineering X Pandemic Preparedness Programme Board, said, “With these new grants, Engineering X is supporting projects with potential for significant impact, with engineers bringing innovative approaches to the challenges of the pandemic, particularly focusing on ways of easing lockdown.

“Beyond the immediate impacts of these grants, we also want to ensure engineers are equipped to be at the forefront of global efforts to fight future pandemics. Engineering X aims to generate an evidence base of engineering interventions and to develop a global community that will help develop collective resilience and ensure we are in better shape to navigate future pandemics and systemic shocks of a similar nature.”

Engineering X is an international collaboration, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation. This latest initiative from Engineering X has benefited from input from meetings hosted by the Academy for international networks of science and engineering academies (CAETS and Euro-CASE). The purpose of the meetings is to share insight into how engineers across the world are responding to the pandemic, and to connect organisations and individuals delivering critical solutions and products. The Academy intends to build on this work with similar collaborations in the future.

The twenty-five projects which address issues relating to infection control, medical innovation, establishing a ‘new normal’ and effective collective action can be found here.

Notes for Editors

1. Engineering X is an international collaboration, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, that brings together some of the world’s leading problem-solvers to address the great challenges of our age. Our global network of expert engineers, academics and business leaders is working to share best practice, explore new technologies, educate and train the next generation of engineers, build capacity, improve safety and deliver impact.

2. Engineering X Pandemic Preparedness Programme, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is supporting the UK and global engineering community to learn from the current COVID-19 pandemic through global sharing of lessons on disruptive solutions and best practice approaches in the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery from pandemics.

   There are two streams to this Programme, made possible through funding from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy:

15 projects are being supported through Stream 1 which is funded under the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and is aimed at tackling global or local pandemic-related challenges that manifest in countries approved as recipients of UK aid funding. A list of eligible countries can be found in this link. This call was open to lead applicants in DAC list countries or the UK with an existing relationship with the Royal Academy of Engineering – this may be as a current or previous grant award holder, collaborator, partner or member of the Fellowship.

10 projects are being supported through Stream 2 which aims to fund innovation projects in UK universities. It is funded by the Investment in Research Talent Fund. This call was open to awardees and other affiliates of the Academy who may collaborate with partners internationally.

3. The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with its Fellows and partners, the Academy is working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age by growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships and influence policy and engaging the public.

Media enquiries

Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering: