A very warm welcome to you wherever you’ll be joining us for our inaugural Awardee Excellence Community event - in Belfast, Sheffield, Glasgow, London, or online.
This is the first time the Academy has hosted an event of this nature - held simultaneously in different locations as well as online. And it is fitting that we are doing so to launch our Awardee Excellence Community, created to bring together all the exceptional and talented individuals from across the UK and internationally who are current and former awardees and alumni of our different programmes, prizes and medals.
Our aim is for this to become a powerful, vibrant, connected and diverse community of engineering leaders. I hope the day's events give you a flavour of what is possible through connecting and working with others within the community.
From everyone at the Academy, we look forward to welcoming you on the day.
Keynote speaker
Billy Boyle MBE FREng
Billy Boyle MBE FREng has a vision to change the way we currently diagnose and monitor serious disease. He is the co-founder and CEO of Owlstone Inc., whose mission is to become the global leader in the non-invasive detection of cancer, infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases – in the process saving 100,000 lives and $1.5 billion in healthcare costs. Billy received the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal and was a winner of the 2018 MacRobert Award; he was then made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020 and an MBE in 2021. Billy sits on the CRUK Early Detection and Diagnosis Research Committee and was previously a judge for the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Pioneer award and a trustee of the Linacre Institute. He likes to combine a love of running with raising money for charities such as CRUK.
Attendees
Find out about some of the other attendees you can meet at the event or pre-connect through their profile below.
Attendees A- F
Dr Oluwasola Afolabi
RAEng Engineering for Development Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Water & Environmental Engineering, Loughborough University
Research Fellowship, 2019
I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Water & Environmental Engineering. My research interests are in waste to energy processes, waste management & resource recovery, renewable energy, water quality research, wastewater engineering, and WASH. Others include innovation research, development and technology transfer, particularly in low- and middle-income countries settings
Dr Leah-Nani Alconcel
Associate Professor, University of Birmingham
Ingenious Public Engagement Award, 2021
Dr Alconcel is a spacecraft engineer and lecturer in the School of Metallurgy and Materials. She leads the MSc programme in Space Engineering.
She has research interests in payload instrument development and calibration, space situational awareness from space-based platforms, data management for space, and pedagogical methods for inclusive STEMM teaching.
Dr Alconcel has won grants from the Royal Academy of Engineering and the UK Space Agency. She is passionate about public engagement in engineering, particularly for underrepresented groups, and about achieving safe, sustainable, and equitable access to space.
Dr Ruth Brown-Shepherd
Managing Director, RESPONSIVE LEARNING CIC
Regional Talent Engines, 2022
I am a PhD qualified Chartered Biologist, experienced Business Manager, Mentor and Entrepreneur with a strong background in molecular biology, biotechnology and bioengineering. My skills have been developed over 20+ years, gained across a variety of industries. As the Founder and Managing Director of Responsive Learning CIC, I have a keen interest in EdTech, Immersive Technologies and STEM education.
Professor Ana Cavalcanti
Professor, University of York
Chair in Emerging Technologies, 2018
Ana Cavalcanti is a professor at the University of York and a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies.
She leads RoboStar, a centre of excellence on software engineering for robotics. The RoboStar approach to model-based software engineering complements the current practice of design and verification of mobile and autonomous robots, covering simulation, testing and proof. This approach is practical, supported by tools, and yet mathematically rigorous so that it can provide reliable evidence of trustworthiness.
Dr Huda El Mubarek
Semiconductors Professional
Research Fellowship, 2005
Passionate about the Environment and Solutions to the current Environmental issues we face.
Attendees G-M
Dr Naeimeh Jafarifar
Lecturer, Robert Gordon University
Frontiers of Development, 2020
My background is in Civil and Structural Engineering, with industrial and academic work experience. I am currently a Lecturer at School of Architecture and Built Environment, Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University.
I have a research track record in Low Carbon Construction and Use of Recycled and Waste Materials in Construction, for circular economy, net-zero, and waste management.
Dr Laura James
Engineering Leadership Award, 1998
I'm an adaptable engineering leader, building practical and innovative internet tech systems and organisations in diverse contexts. In recent years I have been increasingly motivated to work on critical challenges such as social justice and climate, where both technology and cross-functional expertise are powerful tools.
I am Engineering Director at Overstory, and a co-founding trustee at CoFarm.co and board chair at Now Play This. Recent roles include CTO at the OPEN (supporting progressive campaigns around the world), Head of Delivery at lowRISC (open source silicon), and Technology Principal at Doteveryone (the responsible technology think tank).
Previously I was CEO of Open Knowledge, and co-founded Cambridge Makespace. I worked in technical leadership roles at humanitarian manufacturing NGO Field Ready, conversational AI startup True Knowledge/Evi (which became Alexa), and pioneering connected home startup AlertMe.
James McKevitt
Solar Physicist, University College London and University of Vienna
Engineering Leaders Scholarship, 2018
I work at Mullard Space Science Laboratory designing next-generation EUV spectroscopic imagers for Solar-observing spacecraft. I also work at the University of Vienna on high-performance computing protoplanetary disk simulation codes. I am the Co-Executive Director of Conceptual Exploration Research, a space research think tank.
Dr Ridha Muhamad
Senior Lecturer, University of Malaya
Distinguished International Associate, 2023
Ridha is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and is the Deputy Head of Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Processing (AMMP) Center at the University of Malaya.
He obtained his Doctorate of Engineering from Utsunomiya University Japan in 2015, specializing in magnetic abrasive finishing for superfinishing of tube internal surface for clean environment applications.
Prior to his doctoral study, he worked in Yamazaki Mazak Corporation as a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer focusing on CNC prototype machine design and evaluations for mass production. He was involved in the design and development of several CNC machines including Quick Turn Nexus series and performed more than 100 variations of cutting conditions such as OD and ID cutting, boring, intermittent cutting, roundness cutting using diamond tools, etc. to confirm the machine's limits and capabilities.
Currently, he is collaborating with the Joining Welding Research Institute, Osaka University, Japan to develop friction stir welding process in a sustainable way to be implemented in the manufacturing industry in Malaysia.
The project explores the possibilities of joining similar and dissimilar materials such as polycarbonate and aluminium, aluminium and stainless steel, magnesium and steel, aluminium and copper for various applications in automotive and semiconductor industries.
Attendees N-S
Dr Okechukwu Okorie
RAEng Research Fellow and Lecturer in Sustainability, University of Exeter
Research Fellowship, 2022
Dr. Okorie is a Lecturer in Sustainable Manufacturing at Exeter who researches in circular economy, sustainable manufacturing and Industry 4.0 technologies adoption in manufacturing and remanufacturing.
He was previously a Senior Research Fellow at the Exeter Centre for Circular Economy (ECCE), leading the EPSRC funded “Data-Driven Intelligence for a Circular Economy” as Lead Researcher.
ECCE houses the UK CE Hub, supported by £30M of EPSRC funds. In 2022, he got awarded the Royal Academy Research Fellowship for his exciting project on applying a novel circular economy-modelling approach to achieving net zero manufacturing. He supervises PhD, MSc and BEng students and is a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a UK STEM Volunteer.
Dawn Pavey
Projects Officer, Xplore! Science Discovery Centre
Ingenious Public Engagement Award, 2023
I lead the projects and community outreach team at Xplore!. I enjoy all aspects of STEAM and love coordinating programmes that engage different audiences in our region. Occasionally I'm allowed out of the office and get to co-produce with our partners too!
We are always looking to partner with like minded groups and individuals.
Dr Ajit Pillai
Senior Lecturer, University of Exeter
Research Fellowship, 2021
Ajit is a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow with a research focus on the development and deployment of optimisation algorithms to aid the offshore renewable energy sector.
His current research fellowship seeks to develop new techniques to integrate numerical physics-based models with targeted, dynamic measurement campaigns using autonomous vessels to reduce offshore uncertainty and develop a new framework for spatial data in the marine environment.
In the past he has led and contributed to several EPSRC and European projects applying optimization and machine learning to improve the design and operation of offshore renewable energy devices, as well as developing new hydrodynamic approaches for modelling offshore systems.
Dr Kuppan Chetty Ramanathan
Professor, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
Industry Academia Partnership Programme and Transforming Systems through Partnership, 2021
I currently work as a Professor and Head, in the Center for Automation and Robotics, Department of Mechatronics Engineering, at Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai.
My research interests are in the field of Intelligent Robotics, Path Planning and Navigation, Heuristic approaches, Electrostatic Actuators, Artificial Intelligence, Sensors and Artificial perception etc. I have around 70 Publications in peer reviewed International Journals and Conferences, three research grants, etc.
Attendees T-Z
Elvis Tinago
Education Community Engineer, RS
Engineering Leaders Scholarship, 2019
I have interests in computational simulation, automation, digital twins and electro-mechanical systems. Passionate about innovative engineering solutions to transform the society we live in, IoT for maintenance prediction, circular economy, sustainable product life-cycle management, big data, education, ML, AI and equity.
Abimbola Windapo
Professor, University of Cape Town
Distinguished International Associate, 2021
I am a Professor at the Department of Construction Economics and Management, and the Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Cape Town, with more than 35 years of experience in practice, teaching, and research in the construction industry and projects.
My research is interdisciplinary and focuses on leadership, economic development, sustainable housing, construction business, and project management from a performance and practice perspective.
I am a Distinguished Associate of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the recipient of several awards, including the prestigious NSTF-South32 Engineering Research Capacity Development “Science Oscars” Award.
I am a Joint Coordinator of the TG81 – Global Construction Data Task Group of the Conseil International du Bâtiment (CIB), the University of Cape Town Spoke lead for the ARUA Centre for Unemployment and Skills Development and the Urbanization and Habitable Cities in Africa; the Editor of, Journal of Construction Business and Management (JCBM) (http://journals.uct.ac.za/index.php/jcbm/index) hosted by the University of Cape Town Libraries and an Associate Editor with the Emerald Journal of Engineering Design and Technology (JEDT).
Professor Neil Vaughan
Associate Professor of Data Science and AI, University of Exeter
Research Fellowship, 2018
Professor Neil Vaughan's research has always focussed around medical technology application of computational intelligence and virtual reality (VR). He developed active collaborations with leading academics within UK, Europe, USA and Asia.
Professor Vaughan is based at the University of Exeter, UK (Russell Group) in the Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science (IBCS). He is a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow (RFREng) since 2018.
He previously held permanent academic positions at universities in the UK and internationally, including Full Professor at Teesside University in Computer Science department, Associate Professor (SL-B) at Chester University, senior lecturer at University of West London (UWL).
He was previously Post-Doctoral Researcher (PDR) at Shanghai Jiao Tong, China with Prof. Feng Gao and PDR at Bournemouth University, UK from 2010 with Prof. Dubey and Prof. Gabrys.