From improving ultrasound techniques in cardiovascular surgery to hypersonic flight, the Royal Academy of Engineering has announced five new joint industry–academia research partnerships that will address some of the complex engineering challenges facing society.

With a focus on industry-relevant research across the full range of engineering disciplines, the Academy’s Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships scheme enhances the links between academia and businesses with each of the prestigious five-year positions co-sponsored by an industrial partner. Each awardee will establish a world-leading research group in their engineering field.

Commenting on the appointment of the three new Research Chairs and two Senior Research Fellows, Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng FLSW, Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University and Chair of the Academy’s Research Committee, says: “These awardees illustrate brilliantly how expert engineering researchers, when partnered with industry, underpin the success of UK engineering research and innovation. The kind of work we are seeing illustrates why government has demonstrated such confidence in the economic value of our sector through its Innovation Strategy.”

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

Research Chairs

Professor Dan Brett, University College London
HORIBA MIRA & NPL / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Metrology for Electrochemical Propulsion

Electric mobility is one of the fastest-growing industries on the planet and is essential to meet the UK government’s legally binding commitments on climate change, including a ban on new diesel and petrol car sales by 2030. There is a seismic shift away from conventional piston engine powered propulsion to electrochemical solutions such as batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors. This Research Chair will develop measurement tools to support this fundamental change in the way vehicles are powered.

Collaborating with HORIBA MIRA and the National Physical Laboratory, Professor Brett’s research aims to make the UK a world-leader, both scientifically and commercially, in metrology for electrochemical power systems.

Professor Adrien Desjardins, University College London
Echopoint Medical / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Clinical Translation of Optical Ultrasound Imaging

Professor Desjardins’ research aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular patients by developing all-optical ultrasound imaging probes for real-time visualisation of tissues and medical devices from inside the body.

A multidisciplinary, collaborative effort between University College London and Echopoint Medical, this project will focus attention and stimulate connections across many fields, including optics, ultrasound, materials science and medical device design, thereby creating a knowledge base to speed up the translation of future biomedical sensing innovations.

Professor Wladek Forysiak, Aston University
EFFECT Photonics / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Highly Integrated Coherent optical fibre Communications

With increased home-working and greater requirements for mobility via 5G and other access technologies, Professor Forysiak is committed to developing new advances in photonic integration to increase digital communications capacity. His research aims to build on the ‘system-on-chip’ photonic integration technology developed by EFFECT Photonics to develop new transceivers, transceiver arrays, and entire multi-channel optical fibre transmission systems.

By reducing the cost and power requirements of these components, sub-systems, and systems, this project will contribute to a more sustainable society and a greener future by providing greater bandwidth, serving our ever-increasing reliance on remote communications for work, education, health and well-being, social life and entertainment.

Senior Research Fellows

Dr Liliana de Lillo, University of Nottingham
ITT Industrial Process / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Advanced Embedded Motor Drive technologies to reduce global energy consumption

The world needs more energy but there is also a global drive to reduce carbon emissions. Innovative technologies are required to achieve this, and the electrification of multiple sectors such as automotive and aerospace is gathering pace. 28% of global electricity is used in industrial motors, of which 85% are run at full speed and use mechanical systems to regulate the output, which is wasteful. Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) technologies allow these motors to run at an optimum speed. While very significant savings can be made using VFD technologies they require a clean, temperature-controlled environment and expensive filters and cables to connect to the motors. Installation costs are prohibitively expensive and typically take many years to recover.

In collaboration with ITT Industrial Process, Dr de Lillo’s research focuses on Embedded Motor Drives, where the VFD is integrated into the motor so that only a direct replacement of an old motor is necessary in order to reduce energy use during the manufacturing process, as well as the amount of raw materials needed. Her innovations will ensure that the through-life energy losses are minimised, resulting in reduced running costs and CO2 emissions.

Dr Matthew McGilvray, University of Oxford
MoD / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics

High-speed flight has opened up new possibilities for humanity, underpinned by the grand engineering achievements of the 50s and 60s, when manned space flight was pioneered by the US and the USSR. The vision of this fellowship is to deliver a step change in UK capability to design and develop domestic hypersonic vehicles that can fly at over five times the speed of sound or 4000 miles per hour.

Hypersonic flight is a key component of the MoD’s future technical and capability strategy and it is vital that the UK is able to bring together academia and industry in both the civil and defence communities in order to achieve it. This fellowship will expand the capability and experimental techniques of the Oxford hypersonic wind tunnels and use them to investigate the key fundamental physics of aerodynamics, thermal management and high-temperature thermochemistry.

Notes for Editors

Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships aim 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.)

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.

Media enquiries to: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub has received a major boost to its mission to enhance SME leadership through a seven-figure gift from Ian Shott CBE FREng. Ian is a highly successful entrepreneur who played a pivotal role in establishing and growing the Enterprise Hub since its inception in 2013 to support new and scaling engineering and technology companies.

SMEs have always been the backbone of the UK economy and Ian’s gift will fill a clear gap in support provision for the fast-growing SME sector. The Shott Scale Up Accelerator, a six-month programme run twice a year, will offer a game changing support package to individuals in decision making roles to develop their leadership skills in high-growth engineering and technology SMEs that display excellence in engineering. Support includes a £10,000 grant towards leadership courses, a transformational programme of training and workshops, expert business mentoring, one to one development coaching, and facilitated access to an exceptional network of specialist experts, entrepreneurs and industry leaders drawn from the Academy Fellowship. The Accelerator will help scale up businesses built around technologies of strategic importance for UK Government – such as AI, digital and advanced computing, energy, bioinformatics and smart machines – and play a key role in supporting UK economic recovery post COVID-19.

Ian Shott says: “Supporting the growth of a dynamic, home-grown SME sector is vital to UK economic recovery, and so we need to help SMEs scale up more ambitiously. Engineering has given me a fantastic career, and I am indebted to the profession and many exceptional entrepreneurs from whom I have learnt a great deal. I am delighted to now be able to support a new generation of entrepreneurial engineers to scale their businesses and succeed. I hope this contribution to the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub will help to bolster the entrepreneurial atmosphere in the UK to rival the successful ecosystems of the US.”

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “The UK needs a thriving innovation ecosystem. Ian’s gift comes at a time where innovation is key to help drive economic growth in the UK. We are fortunate and grateful to receive his support to invigorate our ability to support SME leaders to develop their skills and leadership to reach their full potential through the Shott Scale Up Accelerator.”

Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “Ian’s significant contribution demonstrates great philanthropic leadership by recognising the need to support SME scale up at this critical time. Through the Shott Scale Up Accelerator, he will inspire the next generation of engineering and technology leaders and founders, as they grow their businesses and contribute to a more prosperous, greener and fairer society.”

Eleven members of the first cohort embark on the programme today:

Dr Alex Groombridge, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Echion Technologies Ltd

Echion Technologies replaces the graphite and lithium titanate anodes currently used in battery cells. Echion’s mixed niobium oxide technology superfast charges lithium-ion battery cells that are safe, reliable and have a long cycle life, which are ideal for a range of applications, from medical devices to commercial electric vehicles.

Dr Alex Groombridge is Echion’s Co-Founder and CTO. Alex joined the Scale Up Accelerator programme in 2021. He hopes that the mentor advice and supporting network will flag up potential pitfalls and help him rapidly scale up the product delivery of his expanding company.

Alan Mosca, Founder and CTO of nPlan Ltd

Large scale infrastructure upgrades are complex and can cost millions, if not billions, of pounds, so nPlan uses machine learning to forecast the duration and risks associated with construction projects. The technology works by collating and studying the world’s largest dataset of previous construction schedules. By examining patterns in historical performance, its machine learning algorithms can predict potential bottlenecks and uncertainty while providing possible solutions and efficiency gains. Now, nPlan is looking to scale up while generating sustainable and growing revenue streams.

Dr Angela de Manzanos, CEO and co-founder of Fa Bio (formerly FungiAlert Ltd)

SponSenZ, patented by Fa Bio (formerly FungiAlert), captures active and dominant microbes directly from the field, isolating and cultivating them faster than existing discovery routes. It identifies microbial biocontrol, biostimulant and biofertilisier candidates, reducing the discovery phase when developing biological products. The company aims to minimise agriculture’s environmental impact while sustainably increasing crop productivity.

Dr Ben Carter, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, CytoSeek

Of the 20 million new cancer cases diagnosed each year worldwide, around 85% consist of solid tumours. Solid tumours are able to resist cell therapy treatments. CytoSeek Ltd, a spin-out from Bristol University, has developed artificial membrane-binding protein technology that will help the next generation of cell therapies to target solid tumours.

Carlton Cummins, Co-Founder and CTO, Aceleron Ltd

Electric vehicle batteries have components that are welded or glued together, making it extremely difficult to take the individual units apart for reuse. Aceleron Ltd manufactures advanced circular economy lithium-ion batteries that can be serviced, maintained and upgraded. Its batteries are put together using patented compression technology that places individual fuel cells into a circuit using a series of removable fasteners so that they can be fixed or replaced.

Daniel Irving, Executive Product Development Manager, Novosound Ltd

Novosound Ltd produces sensors for ultrasonic non-destructive corrosion testing in key industries including energy, aerospace and power generation. Novosound has found a way around existing technology limits by replacing conventional sensor materials with flexible piezoelectric thin-film technology. Its technology can measure corrosion at up to 400° C with regular data capture via cloud computing. Daniel Irving is the Executive Product Development Manager at Novosound.

Jane Theaker, CEO of Kinomica Ltd

Kinomica develops medicines that are patient-personalised and focus on a deep, molecular knowledge of a particular person’s disease. Its bioinformatics platform, KScan®, generates insights into the activities of the cell’s proteins and their complex signalling cascades, especially in cancer. KScan uses a database, patented algorithms and a protein activity ranking method to analyse diseased tissue and identify the best match of drug for each patient.

Dr Leonie Mueck, Chief Product Officer, Riverlane

Quantum computers have the potential to vastly scale up computing power. However, the problem of how hardware and software interact while enabling the best possible performance of a quantum computer has been slowing down this development. Riverlane’s innovative Deltaflow.OS system helps solve this by providing a shared language for applications and quantum hardware development.

Dr Marc Rodriguez-Garcia, Co-Founder, Head of Research, Xampla Ltd

Xampla Ltd has developed the world’s first plant protein material for commercial use. The material performs like synthetic polymers, but decomposes naturally and fully, without harming the environment. The company’s aim is to replace everyday single-use plastics like sachets and flexible packaging films as well as the less obvious, such as microplastics within liquids and lotions.

Dr Richard J. E. Taylor, Co-Founder and CTO at Vector Photonics Ltd

Vector Photonics, a University of Glasgow spin-out, has developed photonic crystal surface emitting semiconductor lasers that are low cost, robust, have a broad wavelength range and high power. These have shown potential for internet communications, 5G, LiDAR, 3D printing, the Internet of Things and lots more.

Rudy Benfredj, Co-Founder and CEO, Mendelian Ltd

Worldwide, there are over 6,000 rare diseases that 1 in 17 people will get in their lifetime. Mendelian has developed a methodology for analysing clinical clues across medical healthcare records to speed up diagnosis of rare diseases. The MendelScan algorithm aggregates data, finds patterns and digitises knowledge so the results can be searched and found, speeding up clinicians’ diagnostic capabilities.

Notes for Editors

For more information about the Shott Scale Up Accelerator, see: https://enterprisehub.raeng.org.uk/programmes/scale-up-accelerator/.

Ian Shott CBE FREng:

A prominent entrepreneur, Ian has a strong track record of helping businesses in the engineering and life science sectors transform their approach and improve their vision, ambition, business models, enterprise value and social benefits. He is the Founder and former Executive Chair of contract pharmaceutical development and manufacturing company ARCINOVA, which he sold to Quotient Sciences in February 2021 and continues as Senior Advisor to the board. Ian is also the Managing Director at investment and advisory firm Shott Trinova, a specialist advisory firm focused on helping organisations accelerate growth and performance improvement in chemicals, engineering, biology, and pharmaceuticals sectors. Prior to his specialist investment work at Shott Trinova, Ian was the founder and CEO of Excelsyn, which was sold to an American multinational in 2010. Ian chaired the UK government’s Leadership Forum for Industrial Biotechnology, was a founding chair of IBiolC and was a Governing Board Member of Innovate UK. He is also a Visiting Professor at Oxford, Nottingham and Newcastle universities, was elected a Royal Academy of Engineering Fellow in 2008 and was presented with the Academy’s President’s Medal in 2017 for his outstanding work for the Academy and promoting excellence in engineering.

The Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub supports the UK’s brightest technology and engineering entrepreneurs to realise their potential.

We run three programmes for entrepreneurial engineers at different career stages. Each one offers equity-free funding, an extended programme of mentorship and coaching, and a lifetime of support through connection to an exceptional community of engineers and innovators.

The Enterprise Hub focuses on supporting individuals and fostering their potential in the long term, taking nothing in return. This sets us apart from the usual ‘accelerator’ model. The Enterprise Hub’s programmes last between 6 and 12 months, and all programmes give entrepreneurs lifelong access to an unrivalled community of mentors and alumni.

Our goal is to encourage creativity and innovation in engineering for the benefit of all. By fostering lasting, exceptional connections between talent and expertise, we aim to create a virtuous cycle of innovation that can deliver on this ambition.

The Enterprise Hub was formally launched in April 2013. Since then, we have supported over 220 researchers, recent graduates and SME leaders to start up and scale up businesses that can give practical application to their inventions. We’ve awarded over £8 million in grant funding, and our Hub Members have gone on to raise over £380 million in additional funding.

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

T: +44 207 766 0636

E:  Jane Sutton

Exactly one month before the government is due to deliver the Budget, including its spending review for the next three years, 42 engineering organisations representing more than 450,000 UK engineers have outlined six urgent actions vital to ensuring we have the right skills and investments in place to both grow and decarbonise the economy.

Six engineering ambitions for the UK Spending Review is the National Engineering Policy Centre’s submission to the 2021 spending review. It recommends six areas for investment that the engineering profession believes the government should prioritise if it is to meet the goals it has set itself and the country.

Actions for government recommended by the paper include:

1. Follow through on the commitment to invest £22 billion in R&D by 2024/25. This increase needs to start ramping up now to ensure it delivers the best returns for the economy and society.
2. Accelerate decision-making and investment in low-regrets actions that are needed now for decarbonisation, including low-carbon retrofit and refurbishment of existing building stock, prioritising low-carbon heat, and scaling up the electric vehicle charging network.
3. Establish a net zero delivery body to drive and coordinate progress across government and industry, provide systems-level analysis, share learnings about what works, and build a clear, evidence-based vision for a net zero UK.
4. Urgently invest in an ambitious net zero skills plan that will enable rapid and affordable re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities for the existing workforce to meet the short-term skills needs for transition to net zero, as well as longer term skills needs.
5. Invest in a long-term STEM education strategy, including boosting careers activities and teacher recruitment and accelerating the expansion of inclusive and high-quality technical education and engineering apprenticeships.
6. Embed long-term demand drivers into decision making on infrastructure investment to build back better with low carbon, resource efficient and resilient infrastructure.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said, “The 2021 Spending Review is one of the most important in a generation, coming at a time when the UK has to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic in a more regionally equal and environmentally friendly way.

“The scale and pace of change required of government with regard to policy and investment is unprecedented. The UK’s path to net zero and its ability to decarbonise at sufficient speed and scale is contingent upon urgent decisions made by the government now, as well as on the development of a far-reaching and comprehensive transition plan.

“Engineers and the professional engineering institutions to which we belong are ready and willing to support delivery of these priorities and the time to act is now.”

Notes for Editors

1. The National Engineering Policy Centre We are a unified voice for 42 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.

2. 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.

Media enquiries to: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

The UK construction sector should decarbonise more urgently in line with the national emission reduction targets of 68% by 2030 and 78% by 2035, according to a report published today by the National Engineering Policy Centre, a partnership of 43 of the UK’s professional engineering organisations led by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Decarbonising construction: building a new net zero industry calls on both government and the construction industry to set challenging but clear targets that will deliver the net zero transformation at pace and at scale.

More holistic and efficient building designs, combined with measures such as reusing building materials wherever possible and using non-fossil fuel powered machinery, could help to eliminate carbon emissions from building sites, says the report. The built environment, of which the construction sector is a crucial component, currently contributes some 40% of the UK’s carbon emissions and it is estimated that the construction sector contributes up to 11% of global carbon emissions. Government, as a major client of infrastructure and building projects, can play an important role by changing its approach to procurement, to reflect whole-life carbon performance.

The UK government, as part of its 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, has stated a clear ambition to rebuild a greener economy following the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the November 2020 National Infrastructure Strategy, the construction sector is one that requires bold transformative action. This report identifies six overarching recommendations where action taken now will result in rapid decarbonisation of the construction sector:

1.    The construction sector should adopt the same carbon emission reduction targets as the national targets of 68% and 78% by 2030 and 2035 respectively, compared to 1990 levels. These recommended percentage reductions should include embodied carbon of built infrastructure, including that of imported construction materials, not just the scope of emissions included in the UK carbon budget.

2.    Whole-life carbon assessment should be applied to public procurement: the construction sector must apply the updated guidance for appraising environmental impacts defined in HM Treasury’s Green Book, which aims to ensure that projects are assessed in terms of their contribution to the overall net zero target. The guidance in the HMT Green Book has recently been updated so that all interventions that are aimed at moving the UK towards the net zero target are first appraised in terms of their contribution to the net zero target.

3.    Current design and performance standards should be updated to enable more holistic design approaches for the built environment that support efficient design and reuse of materials. The updated standards must also ensure that all future projects, including those that are part of the economic stimulus following the COVID-19 pandemic, are obliged to contribute to meeting net zero. Infection control measures must also be integrated with energy efficiency to control health risks as the UK moves towards the net zero target.

4.    Government and the construction sector must define and promote the large-scale adoption of best practices in low-carbon procurement and construction, applying it to all new build and refurbishment projects by 2025. This must be underpinned by better use of digital technologies to improve productivity and reduce risk, such as the use of digital twins.

5.    Net zero and sustainability principles and practices must be a mandatory part of engineering education, continuous professional development and upskilling to change the culture of the construction industry.

6.    Government should apply a joined-up, systems approach across the construction sector and across government departments to ensure that total emissions from construction are minimised. Net zero emissions will not be achieved solely by building less and retrofitting existing building stock. It instead requires a radical and comprehensive transformation across the sector encompassing the definition of outcomes sought in the procurement of infrastructure, the detailed specification and design of built infrastructure and the processes of construction, retrofit and reuse. This transformation requires new systems that are consistent and joined up across these stages of the lifecycle of built assets and will need to be coherent across national, devolved and local government, placing social, economic and environmental outcomes at their heart.

Dervilla Mitchell CBE FREng, Deputy Chair of Arup Group and Chair of the National Engineering Policy Centre Net Zero working group, says:

“The construction sector has already made real progress; the concrete and cement industry has delivered a 53% reduction in absolute CO2 emissions since 1990, faster than the UK economy as a whole. However, more still needs to be done if we are to get on track to meet the ultimate target of achieving net zero by 2050.

“We know how to do this. For example, the London 2012 Olympic Delivery Authority’s stated its aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared with standard practice and used its purchasing power and prestige status to develop ‘sustainable concrete’, using recycled aggregate, batched on site to reduce both transport emissions and supply risk. This demonstrates the importance of mandating carbon reduction in ensuring that action is taken.

“The net zero transformation is challenging but it is also a massive opportunity for the sector. It’s a chance to make a fundamental change in our ambitions, processes and social contribution. However, we need immediate action by government, standards bodies, the construction sector and the engineering profession if we are to make it happen.”

Notes for Editors

1.   Decarbonising construction: building a new net zero industry is available here.

The report was compiled following a virtual workshop in June 2020 involving 50 consultants, client organisations, policymakers, academics and others with expertise relating to the construction sector. The workshop focused on the transformational changes needed to achieve a low carbon-built environment and aimed to identify the principal areas for change, referred to as ‘missions’ in this report, and agree priority actions. Since the initial workshop, the output findings and recommendations have been further developed and honed, via desktop research and interviews with stakeholders, into a set of specific actions for different stakeholders, with four specific missions across the sector:

–       Mission 1: product outcomes

–       Mission 2: design and specification

–       Mission 3: construction and re-use

–       Mission 4: changes to procurement

The report was overseen by the National Engineering Policy Centre Net Zero Working Group:

Dervilla Mitchell CBE FREng (Chair), Joint Deputy Chair of Arup Group

Professor Nilay Shah FREng (Vice-Chair), Head of Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London

Mark Apsey MBE, Chair, Institution of Chemical Engineers Energy Centre

Dr Jenifer Baxter, Chief Engineer, Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Professor Harriet Bulkeley FBA, Durham University

Dr Mike Cook FREng, Director, BuroHappold; Institution of Structural Engineers Sustainability Lead

Ian Gardner, Global Energy Leader, Arup

Dr Julie Godefroy, Head of Sustainability, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers

Professor Jim Hall FREng, University of Oxford; Vice President of the Institution of Civil Engineers

Dr Simon Harrison, Vice-President Institution of Engineering and Technology

Steve Holliday FREng, President, Energy Institute

Professor Roger Kemp MBE FREng, Lancaster University

Professor Rebecca Lunn MBE FREng FRSE, University of Strathclyde

Ian McCluskey, Head of Technical and Policy Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers

Emeritus Professor Susan Owens OBE FBA, University of Cambridge

Dr Sophie Parsons, University of Bath; Strategic Advisor Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Nick Winser CBE FREng, Chair, Energy Systems Catapult

2.    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

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 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

T: +44 207 766 0636

E:  Jane Sutton

The Royal Academy of Engineering has elected 69 leading figures in the field of engineering and technology to its Fellowship. The group consists of 60 Fellows, four International Fellows and five Honorary Fellows, with each individual having made exceptional contributions to their sectors in their own way, as innovation leaders, inspiring role models, or through remarkable achievements in business or academia.

This year’s new Fellows are the first to reflect the Academy’s Fellowship Fit for the Future initiative announced in July 2020, to drive more nominations of outstanding engineers from underrepresented groups ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2026. This initiative will see the Academy strive for increased representation from women, disabled and LGBTQ+ engineers, those from minority ethnic backgrounds, non-traditional education pathways and emerging industries, and those who have achieved excellence at an earlier career stage than normal.

These new Fellows will be admitted to the Academy, which comprises nearly 1,700 distinguished engineers, at its AGM on 22 September. In joining the Fellowship, they will add their capabilities to the Academy’s mission to create a sustainable society and an inclusive economy for all.

Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “Our Fellows represent the best of the best in the engineering world, and we welcome these 69 excellent and talented professionals to our community of businesspeople, entrepreneurs, innovators and academics.

“This year’s new Fellows are the most diverse group elected in the history of our institution. The engineering profession has long suffered from a diversity shortfall and the Academy is committed to changing that, including by ensuring that our own Fellowship community is as inclusive as it can be. It is well established that diverse organisations tend to be more agile and more innovative, and as the UK’s National Academy for engineering and technology, we have a responsibility to reflect the society we serve in addressing the shared challenges of our future.”

Explore full profiles of our 2021 new Fellows

The complete list of Fellows elected in 2021 is as follows.

Fellows

Gary Aitkenhead

Senior Vice President, EMEA Operations, Equinix

Zayeed Alam

European Director, Corporate Data and Modelling Sciences, Procter and Gamble

Dr Jade Alglave

Distinguished Engineer, Arm Ltd; and Professor of Computer Science, University College London

Professor Ruth Allen

Independent consultant

Alison Atkinson

CEO, AWE plc

Professor Holger Babinsky

Professor of Aerodynamics, University of Cambridge

Professor Luke Bisby FRSE

Chair of Fire and Structures, Head of Research Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, University of Edinburgh

Professor Byron Byrne

Ørsted / RAEng Research Chair in Advanced Geotechnical Design, University of Oxford

Jonathan Carling

CEO, Tokamak Energy Ltd; Director, Zotefoams plc

Andrew Churchill

Executive Chairman, JJ Churchill Ltd

Professor Paul P Conway

Professor of Manufacturing Processes, Loughborough University

Professor Jian Dai

Professor and Chair of Mechanisms and Robotics, King’s College London

Alice Delahunty

President of Electricity Transmission, National Grid

Professor Daniele Dini

Professor of Tribology, Imperial College London

Professor Penelope Endersby

Chief Executive, The Meteorological Office

Mark Enzer OBE

Chief Technical Officer, Mott MacDonald; Director, Centre for Digital Built Britain

Professor Andrea Ferrari

Professor of Nanotechnology, Director, Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge

Elspeth Finch MBE

CEO, IAND

Professor Jarmila Glassey

Professor of Chemical Engineering Education, Newcastle University

Neil Glover

Head of Materials Research, Rolls-Royce plc

Dr Paul Gosling

Chief Technical Officer, Thales UK

Professor Edwin Hancock

Professor of Computer Science, University of York

Duncan Hawthorne

CEO, Horizon Nuclear Power

Professor Barrie Hayes-Gill

Professor of Medical Devices and Electronic Systems, University of Nottingham

Professor Peter Haynes

Professor of Theory & Simulation of Materials, Imperial College London

Professor Jan-Theodoor Janssen

Chief Scientist, National Physical Laboratory

Professor Samuel Kingman

Pro Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham

Professor Anton Kiss

Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Manchester

Professor Paola Lettieri

Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of UCL East, University College London

Professor James Litster

Vice President and Head of Faculty of Engineering, University of Sheffield

Dr Mark Little

VP Engineering, Red Hat

Professor Margaret Lucas FRSE

Regius Chair of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Professor of Ultrasonics and Dean of Research (College of Science and Engineering), University of Glasgow

Dr Andrew Lynn

Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Fluidic Analytics Limited

Professor Rob Miller

Professor of Aerothermal Technology, University of Cambridge

Professor Aimee Morgans

Professor of Thermofluids, Imperial College London

Dave Nesbitt

Director of Electrical and Vehicle Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover

Professor Catherine Noakes OBE

Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings, University of Leeds

Professor Ian Noble

Head of Research, Analytical and Productivity – Mondelez International RDQ; Visiting Professor, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham

Professor Stephen O’Connor

Visiting Professor, Research Centre for Biomedical Engineering, School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, City, University of London

Dr (Olawale) Nelson Ogunshakin OBE

CEO, FIDIC, International Federation of Consulting Engineers

Professor Rachel Oliver

Professor of Materials Science, University of Cambridge

Jim O’Sullivan

Formerly Chief Executive, Highways England Ltd

Professor Sebastien Ourselin

Head of School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King’s College London

Professor Stephen Parkes

Chief Technology Officer, STAR-Dundee Ltd

Professor Tiziana Rossetto

Professor in Earthquake Engineering, University College London

Andrew Rutter

Director and Owner, rutterdesign

Professor Simon Saunders

Communication Technology Advisor, Visiting Professor, King’s College London

Dr Iain Scott

Vice-President of Capability and Chief Technology Officer, Radar and Advanced Targeting, Leonardo MW Ltd

Dr Andrew Senior

Senior Research Scientist, DeepMind

David Short

Technology and Advanced Programmes Director, BAE Systems Plc

Dr Jamie Shotton

Chief Scientist, Wayve

Dr Jonathan Simm

Chief Technical Director (Resilience), HR Wallingford Ltd

Professor Julia Sutcliffe

Chief Technologist – Air, BAE Systems; Honorary Professor, University of Manchester

Dr Robert Swann

Chair: Audio Analytic Ltd; AudioTelligence Ltd; SLAMCore; Flusso; Board Member: Undo Software; Living Optics

Dr Simon Thomas

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Paragraf Ltd

Professor Patricia Thornley

Director, Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute, Aston University

Professor Yiannis Ventikos

Kennedy Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University College London

Professor Yanghua Wang

Professor of Geophysics, Imperial College London

Dr Rebecca Weston

Chief Operating Officer, Sellafield Ltd

Professor Bajram Zeqiri

NPL Fellow in Ultrasound, National Physical Laboratory

International Fellows

Professor Cato T Laurencin (USA)

Chief Executive Officer, The Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering, University of Connecticut, USA 

Professor Alfonso Hing Wan Ngan (Hong Kong)

Kingboard Endowed Professsor in Materials Engineering, University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong SA

Professor Nabeel Agha Riza (Ireland)

Chair Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College Cork

Aleida Rios (USA/UK)

Senior Vice President of Engineering, bp

Honorary Fellows

Roma Agrawal MBE

Structural engineer, broadcaster and author 

Yewande Akinola MBE

RAEng Visiting Professor, University of Westminster; Innovate UK Ambassador for clean growth and infrastructure 

Dr Trueman Goba

Outgoing President, The South African Academy for Engineering; Chair, Hatch Africa 

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE

CEO and Co-Founder of Stemettes 

Steph McGovern

Broadcaster and journalist 

Notes for Editors

The Royal Academy of Engineering is a charity that harnesses 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

T: 020 7766 0636

E:  Jane Sutton

The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced that more places will be available on its award-winning Graduate Engineering Engagement Programme (GEEP), which supports engineering students and graduates from diverse backgrounds to increase the number who move into engineering employment. The programme has also been enhanced to include more activities and opportunities for participants, and will be delivered with a new partner, The Windsor Fellowship.

GEEP focuses on supporting engineering undergraduates from groups that are underrepresented in the engineering profession, including women and those from socially disadvantaged or minority ethnic backgrounds who are studying in universities outside the Russell Group. While students from minority ethnic backgrounds made up 30% of engineering and technology entrants at undergraduate level in 2019/20, only 10% of those in engineering employment are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Women made up 21% of engineering and technology entrants at undergraduate level in 2018-19 but represent only 14.5% of those in engineering occupations.

The Windsor Fellowship has been appointed for the next three years to help deliver an enhanced year-long programme that enables students to engage with employers through a series of events and networking opportunities with a view to encouraging them to apply for engineering employment opportunities. In addition to workshops, students will be able to access insight sessions on particular areas of the industry and hear from inspiring individuals already working in the engineering profession. They will also have enhanced access to mentoring, mock assessment centres and exclusive work placements.

Since its launch in 2015 GEEP has engaged with 1020 students from 66 universities and resulted in at least 250 engineering employment opportunities including internships, graduate placements and jobs. Of the students involved in GEEP, 30% are women and more than 90% are from minority ethnic backgrounds.

This year, the number of students supported each year will increase from 200 to 225 and the programme has set ambitious goals for recruitment:

• 90% from a minority ethnic background
• 80% from non-Russell Group universities
• 45% women
• 20% in receipt of a grant or bursary to support their education
• 10% young carers
• 10% with a disability

Industry engagement is critical to the success of GEEP and a significant number of new corporate partners are joining the programme this year, including: AECOM Limited, AMEY, BBC, bp, chapmanbdsp, GSK, Johnson Matthey, Rolls-Royce, TWI Limited, Two Sigma International Limited, and WSP. These companies will not only play an important funding role but will also support an enhanced programme of events, online learning, internships and individual mentoring. The Academy welcomes approaches from additional companies who might be interested in the mutual value of participation.

The Academy will also continue to work with the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) and the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), who provide insightful speakers, mentors and other support.

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, Academy CEO and co-chair of The Hamilton Commission to improve the representation of Black people within UK motorsport, said: “The research that the Academy carried out for The Hamilton Commission highlighted how much still needs to be done to increase the diversity of young people entering engineering as a profession. Engineering needs their talents now and will need them even more in the future. It’s that simple.

“We are committed to doing everything we can to help attract and nurture greater numbers of young people from those groups currently underrepresented in the profession. One outcome of the Commission was increased interest in our Graduate Engineering Engagement Programme. Expanding and enhancing the programme is one of a suite of actions we’re taking that we hope will contribute to accelerating progress towards a more diverse and inclusive engineering workforce.”

Notes for Editors

1. The Windsor Fellowship (WF) is a unique charitable organisation. We design and deliver innovative personal development and leadership programmes, which enables talent from diverse communities to be realised. We achieve this by partnering with leading organisations from the private and public sectors as well as developing relationships with schools, universities and community groups throughout the UK. To date we have trained and supported over 19,000 young people to successfully navigate key milestones along their educational journey.

   Our work helps young people navigate pathways to educational and career success and become confident, active role model citizens. At the same time it helps employers’ access talent from within Britain’s diverse communities. 

   The objectives underpinning our work are to: (1) improve educational attainment levels (2) strengthen community cohesion, and (3) achieve a greater equality of employment outcomes.

   As well as directly enriching the lives of the individuals who participate in our programmes, the WF seeks to inspire and challenge our Fellows to make a positive contribution to Britain’s economic and civic life.

2. 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.

3. In July 2019, the Academy won the Race Equality Award for GEEP at Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Awards.

Media enquiries to: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced the 2021 recipients of the RAEng Armourers and Brasiers Company Prize, President’s Medal, and Sir Frank Whittle Medal. The winners will receive their awards at the Academy’s AGM to be held at Prince Philip House in London on 22 September.

RAEng Armourers and Brasiers Company Prize for excellence in materials engineering.

• Professor Mary Ryan FREng
  Professor of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Imperial College London
  

  Materials scientist Professor Mary Ryan is awarded the Armourers and Brasiers Company Prize in recognition of her outstanding career in material science and nanotechnology. Professor Ryan is the RAEng/Shell Chair in Interfacial Science at Imperial College London and a brilliant innovator in interfacial materials science and corrosion. She is world-leading in the novel application of advanced techniques to explore electrochemical processes at the nanoscale under complex real-world conditions. Corrosion is an expensive problem that impacts all areas of engineering and Professor Ryan collaborates extensively with industry, particularly in the energy sector, to develop understanding, risk assessment and solutions to corrosion problems. Her insights have also led to the application of corrosion phenomena in developing functional nanomaterials for energy and healthcare. Her expertise was sought by RAF Museum Cosford on the treatment of the “flying pencil”—the Dornier Do17 and she sits on the RAF Museum Research Board. She works extensively with heritage organisations, including The Mary Rose Trust, and has worked with the Victoria and Albert Museum developing programmes on the history and future of nanotechnologies.

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

• David Thomlinson FREng

  President’s Medal winner David Thomlinson is a leading industrial engineer. He started his career at Arup and spent nearly 30 years at Accenture where his responsibilities included geographical strategy and operations across 54 countries. He is the Academy’s International Secretary and was chair of the International Committee from 2015 to 2021. His committed leadership has been essential to the success of the Academy’s portfolio of international activities that support the UK’s relationships with engineering communities around the world, from the most advanced economies to developing and emerging nations. During his tenure as International Chair he presided over the rapid growth of the Academy’s capacity-building work in developing countries and made a major contribution to some of its most high profile, challenging and successful projects, including the 2019 Global Grand Challenges Summit, which saw more than 800 international attendees gathered in London to discuss how engineering can provide solutions to today’s most pressing issues.

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

• Dr Clive Hickman FREng
  Chief Executive, The Manufacturing Technology Centre Ltd

  Dr Clive Hickman will receive the Sir Frank Whittle Medal in recognition of his outstanding career in the automobile industry and for leading the set-up and growth of two engineering research centres, the Tata Motors European Technical Centre and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC). As Head of Engineering at Tata Motors (India), Dr Hickman led the creation of the world’s cheapest mass-produced car, the Tata Nano. The Nano set a new standard for low-cost personal transport, creating a step change in the safety of travel for families in India who would otherwise risk their lives traveling on motorcycles. As Managing Director of Ricardo UK Ltd, he led several significant projects, including the development of the X Type Jaguar diesel—the first Jaguar diesel powered car—the BMW Mini, the dual clutch transmission for the Bugatti Veyron and the powertrain for a unique Bentley for the Queen in 2002. Since he became CEO of MTC in 2010 the company has exceeded the original business goals by a factor of ten and developed innovative manufacturing processes and technologies across all sectors in an agile, low-risk environment, in partnership with industry, academia and other institutions. Dr Hickman continues to involve himself in the design and realisation of new engineering solutions including modern methods of construction as well as all major capital and research programmes at the MTC.

Media enquiries to: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC) is the first ever winner of the Bhattacharyya Award.

The Royal Academy of Engineering and WMG at the University of Warwick have announced the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC) as the first ever winner of the Bhattacharyya Award. The Award, which carries a £25,000 prize, has been presented in recognition of an exemplary academia-industry partnership that has helped to build the UK’s work in 5G technology from the ground up, and produced world-leading innovation in the field.

The Bhattacharyya Award is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and was created to encourage more private and academic entities to collaborate, as a tribute to the late Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya KT CBE FREng FRS, Regius Professor of Manufacturing at the University of Warwick and founder of WMG.

Surrey’s 5GIC has built collaborations with more than 27 global industrial partners and over 300 UK SMEs since its launch in 2013, bringing together leading academics and companies to help develop the 5G infrastructure that will underpin the way we communicate, work and live our everyday lives. 5G technology is estimated to be worth up to £173 billion to the UK economy by 2030, increasing productivity, driving modernisation and enabling transformative applications in automation, healthcare, manufacturing, self-driving vehicles, and remote robotics. Its evolution to 6G is set to address grand societal and industrial challenges, such as the digital divide, and privacy, as well as support efforts towards achieving the net-zero national agenda.

Regius Professor Rahim Tafazolli FREng, Head of the Institute for Communication Systems (ICS) at the University of Surrey and Founder and Director of the 5GIC, said: “Collaboration with industry partners is at the heart of our achievements. The challenge of 5G could not be met without the close cooperation of major businesses with academia and realising the benefits of the new technology by reaching out to regional communities and SMEs.

“We will use the Bhattacharyya Award funding to expand our overseas relationships – particularly with South Korea and Japan – and maintain our international profile. We will also use the prize to provide collaborative industry opportunities for training, knowledge exchange, and skills development for early careers researchers. All of these activities will be co-developed with industry to ensure that they meet the future needs of the UK and global workforce. We feel that this boost to skills development is particularly important to help offset the disruption caused by the pandemic.”

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “I am delighted to see the first Bhattacharya Award go to the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC), whose work to bolster the UK’s competitiveness in 5G technology has already helped to attract nearly £100m of industry funding.

“5GIC puts collaboration between industry and academia at the core of its work, and I hope this award inspires other researchers, academics and industry experts to join forces as part of our efforts to build back better from the pandemic.”

Professor Dame Ann Dowling OM DBE FREng FRS, immediate past-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, is chair of the judging panel for the Bhattacharyya Award. She said: “Had companies been working individually and with more limited collaboration with academia, these outputs and outcomes would have taken far longer to achieve. The collaborative work at 5GIC is enabling the UK to be a leader in the international competition. The Bhattacharyya Award aims to transform how universities research and educate to meet the needs of industry and society, which is exactly what the University of Surrey’s 5GIC has done, and we congratulate the team for setting such a high bar in this first cycle of the Award.”

Margot James, Executive Chair at WMG, University of Warwick, said: “This partnership exemplifies innovative academia-industry collaboration, for which Professor Lord Bhattacharyya was a keen advocate. He believed in effective industrial strategy, with a focus on the impact of research and training and technology partnerships between industry and universities. This inaugural Lord Bhattacharyya Award will inspire the next generation of academics and industry experts to come together to create more ground-breaking research.”

Notes for Editors

1. About the Bhattacharyya Award

The Bhattacharyya Award is a new annual award to celebrate collaboration between academia and industry. The UK government announced the £25,000 award in July 2019 as a tribute to Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya KT CBE FREng FRS, the Regius Professor of Manufacturing at the University of Warwick and founder of the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).

Eleven exceptional university collaborations were shortlisted for the inaugural 2021 Award and more information about their work is available here.

2. About WMG, University of Warwick

WMG is a world leading research and education group, transforming organisations and driving innovation through a unique combination of collaborative research and development, and pioneering education programmes.

As an international role model for successful partnerships between academia and the private and public sectors, WMG develops advancements nationally and globally, in applied science, technology and engineering, to deliver real impact to economic growth, society and the environment.

WMG’s education programmes focus on lifelong learning of the brightest talent, from the WMG Academies for Young Engineers, degree apprenticeships, undergraduate and postgraduate, through to professional programmes.

An academic department of the University of Warwick, and a centre for the HVM Catapult, WMG was founded by the late Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya in 1980 to help reinvigorate UK manufacturing and improve competitiveness through innovation and skills development.

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 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

T: 020 7766 0636

E:   Jane Sutton

Eight researchers and their collaborators have been awarded funding in the 2021 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 offers up to £100,000 to researchers wanting to pursue interdisciplinary and curiosity-driven research that benefits wider society. The scheme also includes an opportunity to apply for an additional £10,000 to support researchers in delivering public engagement activities related to their funded research.

The successful applicants are:

Dr Brian Ball
New College of the Humanities
PolyGraphs: Combating Networks of Ignorance in the Misinformation Age

Dr Ricardo Bermudez-Otero
University of Manchester
A voter-model approach to the distribution and dynamics of typological features of language

Dr Michael Berthaume
London South Bank University
Evolutionary noise in biomechanical data: what does it look like?

Professor Jill Burke
University of Edinburgh
Renaissance Goo: Historic Personal Care Recipes and Soft Matter Science

Professor Hazel Cox
University of Sussex
Development of tensor-structured methods for bound and quasi-bound states of few particle quantum systems

Dr Robyn Grant
Manchester Metropolitan University
MMMMammalWhiskers: Morphology, Mechanics and Movement of Mammalian Whiskers

Professor Igor Meglinski
Aston University
Orbital Angular Momentum of Light for Exosomes Quantification and Intracellular Communication

Professor Haitao Ye
University of Leicester
Surface functionalised diamond for antifungal application in Space

The 2022 APEX Award opened for applications on 1 September and will close 28 October 2021. For further information please contact apex@royalsociety.org

Notes to editors

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

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 UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. We mobilise these disciplines to understand the world and shape a brighter future. We invest in researchers and projects across the UK and overseas, engage the public with fresh thinking and debates, and bring together scholars, government, business and civil society to influence policy for the benefit of everyone. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk @BritishAcademy_

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 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.

Media enquiries

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

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

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

The Royal Academy of Engineering and WMG, at the University of Warwick, have shortlisted 11 exceptional collaborations for the inaugural Bhattacharyya Award. With a cash prize of £25,000, the Bhattacharyya Award will be presented to the team who best demonstrate how industry and universities can work together. Winners will be announced on 16 September 2021.

The Bhattacharyya Award is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and was announced in July 2019 as a tribute to Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya KT CBE FREng FRS, the Regius Professor of Manufacturing at the University of Warwick and founder of WMG.

Starting his career as a graduate apprentice at Lucas Industries, Professor Lord Bhattacharyya became Britain’s first ever Professor of Manufacturing. Having seen first-hand how slowly academic advances were translated into real business and social change, he founded WMG in 1980 to help business innovate and help university researchers change our lives. Academic excellence with industrial relevance has always been at the heart of WMG, and today, it is one of the world’s top applied research centres, with a reputation for academic excellence and business results spanning the globe.

The shortlist features collaborations that address some of the most pressing national and global challenges, from cybersecurity and medical simulation to powering the aircraft of the future.

The full shortlist is as follows:

• Imperial College London and Shell
• Loughborough University and Rolls Royce
• Queen’s University Belfast and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies
• Swansea University and the Steel Strategic Alliance
• The University of Manchester and BP
• University of Bath and the Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems
• University of Cambridge and the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction
• University of Leeds and Simulation Solutions Ltd
• University of Sheffield and Siemens
• University of Surrey and the 5G Innovation Centre
• University of York and the High Integrity Systems Engineering group

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “We are extremely proud to be funding the Bhattacharyya Award, which encourages collaboration between our fantastic universities and businesses. By working hand-in-hand, academic advances can be quickly translated to industry, bringing forward game-changing innovations and helping us to build back better from the pandemic.”

Professor Dame Ann Dowling OM DBE FREng FRS, immediate past-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, is chair of the judging panel for the Bhattacharyya Award. She said: “Lord Bhattacharyya was a strong advocate of an effective industrial strategy, seeking a revitalisation of skills policy, a growth in apprenticeships, a focus on the impact of research and training and technology partnerships between industry and universities. We received some fantastic entries that showcase best practice in developing effective collaborations between universities and industry – we hope that these will inspire productive new partnerships in the future.”

Margot James, Executive Chair at WMG, University of Warwick said “The Bhattacharyya Award amplifies the approach Professor Lord Bhattacharyya took in transforming how universities research and educate to meet the needs of industry and society. Supporting genuine collaboration to create relevant and impactful research and enabling education programmes that nurture the brightest talent. The shortlist exemplifies the very best of university/ industry collaboration. We look forward to seeing which collaboration is selected as the overall winner.”

The winner of the Bhattacharyya Award will be announced on Thursday 16 September 2021. Those wishing to attend can register via the Academy’s website here.

Notes for Editors

1. WMG, University of Warwick, is a world leading research and education group, transforming organisations and driving innovation through a unique combination of collaborative research and development, and pioneering education programmes.

   As an international role model for successful partnerships between academia and the private and public sectors, WMG develops advancements nationally and globally, in applied science, technology and engineering, to deliver real impact to economic growth, society and the environment.

   WMG’s education programmes focus on lifelong learning of the brightest talent, from the WMG Academies for Young Engineers, degree apprenticeships, undergraduate and postgraduate, through to professional programmes.

   An academic department of the University of Warwick, and a centre for the HVM Catapult, WMG was founded by the late Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya in 1980 to help reinvigorate UK manufacturing and improve competitiveness through innovation and skills development.
    

2. 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 T: 020 7766 0636 E: Jane Sutton