Louise Mason, a PhD student from the University of Glasgow, has won the top engineering prize at the STEM for Britain competition at Parliament on 12 March.
Louise’s poster, presenting her research on the mechanical properties of cells to study cancer migration and drug response, was judged the best of 45 engineering posters on display at the event, earning her a gold medal and £2,000 prize.
On winning the gold award, Louise said: “I was delighted to be accepted to take part in the STEM for Britain competition, as the event gave me the opportunity to present my research on cancer migration, interact with politicians and discuss my work with experts from a broad range of scientific fields.
“Winning the Gold Medal for Engineering has been a huge honour as there were many incredibly innovative engineers taking part in the competition. I would like to thank my supervisors and collaborators for all of their support and the advice they have given me throughout the first year of my PhD in Biomedical Engineering.”
Held in the House of Commons, STEM for Britain offers an unparalleled opportunity for early-career researchers to showcase their work and engage with MPs. The 45 researchers were shortlisted from 200 applicants by a panel of expert judges, including Academy Fellows, and represented different engineering disciplines and institutions around the UK. Over the course of the day the judges met with the participants to discuss their work and select the gold, silver and bronze prize winners.
The silver award, and £1,250 prize, went to Iva Burova, a PhD student from UCL, for her work on mathematical modelling to improve strategies for bone tissue engineering. Daniela Massiceti, a DPhil student at the University of Oxford, won bronze and £750 for her research on the use of machine learning and computer vision to build an interactive chat-bot to assist blind people with navigation.
Professor Dame Ann Dowling OM DBE FREng FRS, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “STEM for Britain is a unique opportunity for the UK’s top young engineering talent to showcase their research to politicians. Engineering underpins almost all aspects of modern life and I was delighted to see such a wide range of research on display this year. The posters illustrate how engineering, and engineers, can help shape the future and address some of the world’s biggest challenges.”
STEM for Britain aims to help politicians understand more about the UK’s thriving science and engineering base and rewards some of the strongest scientific and engineering research being undertaken in the UK.
Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chair of the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee, and Government Envoy for the Year of Engineering, said: “This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.
“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and STEM for BRITAIN is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”
The competition is run by the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Council for the Mathematical Sciences, the Institute of Physics, the Physiological Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Royal Society of Biology.
Notes to editors
- STEM for BRITAIN (formerly called SET for Britain) was established by Dr Eric Wharton in 1997, and aims to encourage, support and promote Britain’s early-stage and early-career research scientists, technologists and mathematicians. It's an opportunity for MPs to speak to a wide range of the country’s best early-career researchers, across five subject areas.
- Royal Academy of Engineering. As the UK’s national academy for engineering, we bring together the most successful and talented engineers for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering. We provide analysis and policy support to promote the UK’s role as a great place to do business. We take a lead on engineering education and we invest in the UK’s world-class research base to underpin innovation. We work to improve public awareness and understanding of engineering. We are a national academy with a global outlook.
We have four strategic challenges:
- Make the UK the leading nation for engineering innovation
- Address the engineering skills crisis
- Position engineering at the heart of society
- Lead the profession
For more information please contact:
- Siobhan Pipa at the Royal Academy of Engineering
- T: 020 7766 0745
- E: [email protected]