The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced the latest recipients of its Research Fellowships. The engineering research supported by the latest fellowships offers innovative engineering solutions to a wide range of societal challenges including the diagnosis of early-stage cancer, improved recycling of solar panels, reduction of energy consumption by internet infrastructure, and cost-effective drug discovery and development.
The Research Fellowships programme supports outstanding early-career researchers to become future research leaders in engineering. The fellowships are designed to advance excellence in engineering by providing funding for five years to allow awardees the freedom to concentrate on basic research in any field of engineering. Amounts awarded are up to £625,000 over five years.
The Academy is committed to improving diversity in the talent pipeline and takes positive action to widen the diversity of applicants and awardees within its research grant schemes. The latest cohort of Research Fellowships includes seven women and six individuals who have been through the Academy’s Access Mentoring programme that offers pre-application support to applicants from underrepresented groups in engineering.
On the subject of the diversity and breadth of the successful candidates Professor Jonathan Cooper FREng FRSE, Chair of the Academy’s Research Fellowships steering group, said: “The wide range of successful individuals this year bodes well for the future of Engineering in the UK. We need diversity across our profession and we hope that positive actions, such as the Academy’s Access Mentoring programme, are now making a substantial difference both to the quality and breadth of our Research Fellowship candidates, year-on-year. Across the whole Academy we have now committed to keeping our grant application and selection processes under review so that we can attract excellent applicants, drawn from across from all diverse groups, to all of our research programmes. We are especially keen to attract applicants from those that are persistently underrepresented within UK engineering.”
In addition to direct financial support, the Research Fellowships programme provides an opportunity to establish a research track record and, in turn, to be in a stronger position to apply for additional funding and grow a research team.
Awardees also benefit from mentoring support from an Academy Fellow on research and career development as well as reduced teaching and administrative duties to allow time for research, training opportunities and networking with other Research Fellows and Academy Fellows.
The full list of Research Fellows and their projects is as follows:
Dr Peter Christopher, University of Nottingham
Satellite lasers for operation in remote environments (SLORE)
Dr Letizia Gionfrida, King’s College London
VisHandRob: Foundations of vision for a robotic hand exoskeleton
Dr Alexander Goodall, University of Sheffield
Enabling functional complexity: Additively manufacturing functional materials for electrical machines
Dr Amparo Güemes Gonzalez, University of Cambridge
Closed-loop neurotechnology systems for neuro-metabolic control (NeuMeC)
Dr Salvatore La Cavera, University of Nottingham
Listening for the sound of cancer with a hair-thin probe
Dr Maria Lißner, University of Oxford
Unveiling interface dynamics: Empowering structural response in extreme environments
Dr Hui Luo, University of Surrey
Net zero chemicals and hydrogen via plastic waste upcycling and electrolysis
Dr Sophie Pain, University of Warwick
Achieving sustainable solar: atomic manufacturing for recyclable photovoltaics
Dr Sergi Pallejà Cabré, University of Southampton
Aeroacoustics of novel aircraft architectures
Dr Eric Sillekens, University College London
Enabling Power Efficient Optical Communication through Novel Digital Signal Processing (EPIC DSP)
Dr Connor Taylor, University of Nottingham
Autonomous evolution of molecular fragments to drug candidates
Dr Tamsin Whitfield, University of Oxford
Faster, Hotter, Stronger: designing alloys for a lighter carbon footprint
Dr Felicity Worsnop, Imperial College London
Novel metallurgy for the future of energy and security
More information about this cohort of Research Fellowships can be found here.
Notes for editors
1. The Research Fellowships support early-career researchers to establish successful research careers and become future research leaders in their fields. The scheme provides funding for five years to allow awardees the freedom to concentrate on basic research in any field of engineering and establish a track record in the field. Funding for the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships is provided by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The Academy also thanks Rosetrees for its generous co-funding of one Research Fellowship award to support cutting-edge medical research. Fellowships can be hosted at any UK university or any UK research organisation that is eligible to receive UKRI funding. The scheme is currently open for applications until 18 September 2024, 1600hrs BST.
2. To be eligible for the Access Mentoring programme, applicants must be either:
Women
Black people including those with any mixed ethnicity with Black ethnic background(s)
Disabled people
The Academy accepts applicants’ self-declaration on the above identified underrepresented groups under the host institution’s guidance.