Five leading engineers have been awarded Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships to develop technologies with the potential to transform healthcare, infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities.
From designing assistive robots for future healthcare to scaling graphene quantum electronic devices, the partnerships cover a wide range of engineering research.
Funded by the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST), the Academy’s Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships scheme supports engineering academics to lead ambitious, applied research in collaboration with an industrial partner. Each researcher will build a world-leading research group focused on translating their cutting-edge engineering research into impact.
The Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships appointments are:
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Healthcare robotics: Senior Research Fellow Dr Oya Celiktutan at King's College London will work with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust to develop socially intelligent assistive robots that can support patients and clinicians across healthcare environments. Oya aims to advance safe and responsible adoption of robotics in healthcare settings by ensuring technologies are designed and evaluated around real user needs.
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Ceramic fibre manufacturing: Research Chair Professor Nicole Grobert at the University of Oxford will work with Lucideon to transform how high-performance ceramic fibres are designed, manufactured and deployed. Nicole will bring together leading academic and industrial partners to establish the UK’s first fully integrated, end-to-end centre of excellence for ceramic fibre innovation.
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Graphene quantum electronics: Research Chair Professor Jan Mol at Queen Mary University of London will work with Paragraf to develop a new generation of graphene-enabled components for quantum computing and sensing. By combining world-leading graphene manufacturing with expertise in quantum engineering, Jan aims to accelerate the translation of graphene innovations into commercial products.
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AI and sound engineering: Research Chair Professor Joshua Reiss, also at Queen Mary University of London, will work with Yamaha to investigate and deliver intelligent systems for sound engineering. Based on cutting edge advances in AI and machine learning, Josh’s research will develop intelligent tools that enhance the quality, creativity and productivity of sound production.
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Climate-resilient earthworks: Research Chair Professor Alister Smith at Loughborough University will work with Network Rail and Arup to address the growing challenge of the UK’s ageing earthwork infrastructure in the face of extreme weather. Alister’s research will focus on improving understanding of weather-driven deterioration and failure of earthworks, and developing predictive tools and intervention strategies needed to deliver climate-resilient earthworks.
More information about the appointed awardees and their research can be found on our research awardees page.
The next round of Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships will open for applications later this year.