The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced a new cohort of Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships. From the latest in automotive technologies to the use of legged robots in radioactive environments and new ways to understand brain injuries, these partnerships between academia and industry cover a wide range of engineering research.
The Academy’s Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships programme 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.
Professor Máire O'Neill OBE FREng, Chair of the Academy’s Research Committee, said: “When research engineers partner with industry the innovations can be truly transformative. The wide range of research being undertaken by our latest Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellows illustrate this sort of promise and I wish them all the very best.”
The latest five Research Chairs and eight Senior Research Fellowships are listed below. More information on each can be found on the Academy website.
Research Chairs:
- Professor Payam Barnaghi, Imperial College London
Great Ormond Street Hospital / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Machine Intelligence for Medicine - Professor Jordan Cheer, University of Southampton
BAE Systems / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Smart Acoustic Control Technologies - Professor Mike Jennings, Swansea University
Vishay Intertechnology Inc. / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Advanced Semiconductors for Electric Vehicle Drives - Professor Andrew Moore, Heriot-Watt University
Renishaw / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Next-generation Additive Manufacturing of Metals - Professor Michael Shaver, University of Manchester
Polestar Automotive / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Sustainable Automotive Polymers
Senior Research Fellows:
- Dr Bruno Vilhena Adorno, University of Manchester
Sellafield / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Cooperative Legged Robots in Challenging Environments - Dr Mazdak Ghajari, Imperial College London
Sports and Wellbeing Analytics and Cellbond Impact Solutions / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Brain Injury Biomechanics - Dr Robert Lianqi Zhao Hoye, University of Oxford
Science & Technology Facilities Council / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Next-Generation X-ray Detector Materials Engineering - Dr Chu Lun Alex Leung, University College London
IPG Photonics / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Synchrotron calibratEd lAser pRocessing teCHnologies (SEARCH) - Dr Tomas Liam Martin, University of Bristol
EDF / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Correlative Microscopy for Nuclear Power - Dr Matthew Ritchie, University College London
Leonardo / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Intelligent Multi-Function RF Systems - Dr Ivan Stoianov, Imperial College London
Anglian Water Services and Cla-Val UK / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Dynamically Adaptive Water Supply Networks - Dr Calvin Tsay, Imperial College London
BASF / Royal Academy of Royal Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Scale-Bridging Modelling and Optimisation
Regarding the latest appointments, Professor Máire O'Neill said: “For the past three years it has proved a particular challenge to attract women applicants for this research programme. It matters a great deal to the Academy that we should strive to improve outcomes for all and support an innovation community that is more reflective of the society it serves. We continually review our application processes and seek advice from other organisations on how to remove barriers to progress, and I look forward to seeing improved gender diversity in future cohorts.”
The Academy has a wide range of measures in place to broaden the range of applications at all stages of the selection process, which have been effective in improving diversity of participation of our other research funding programmes. It also provides funds to support the Daphne Jackson Fellowships for those returning to academic research after a career break, the majority of which are awarded to women. The latest fellowship sponsored by the Academy under this scheme is held by:
- Dr Navaz Davoodian, University College London
Visual accessibility after dark for older and partially sighted adults: A study employing fNIRS and Eyetracking technology.
The next round of Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships will open for applications later in May.
Notes for editors
1. Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships aim to strengthen the links between industry and academia by supporting exceptional academics in UK higher institutions/universities to undertake use-inspired research that meets the needs of the industrial sponsors. Awardees are expected to:
- establish or enhance a world leading engineering research group
- deliver 'use-inspired' research that meets the needs of their industrial sponsors
- disseminate the outcomes of their research for appropriate academic use
- become a self-sustaining research group by the end of the award (by securing substantial external grant income).
2. Diversity and inclusion is of paramount importance across all Academy programmes. We welcome any insights into barriers to application for this or any programme. Please send any feedback to Dr Andrew Clark, Executive Director, Programmes [email protected] or Dr Lucy Wheeler, Head of Research Programmes [email protected].
3. The Daphne Jackson Trust is the UK’s leading organisation dedicated to realising the potential of returners to research careers following a career break of two years or more taken for a family, caring or health reason.