- Nine engineering researchers awarded grants to advance national security
New technologies to detect and protect against malicious drones, investigate the movement of pollutants in indoor spaces and improve radar imaging are among a wide range of technologies being developed by engineering researchers through this year’s UK Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowships, announced today.
Focusing on areas of unclassified basic research, the fellowships support cutting edge work that can assist the intelligence community and also provide mentoring support to a new generation of engineers.
The UKIC Postdoctoral Research Fellowships, which are offered by the Government Office for Science and administered by the Royal Academy of Engineering, provide a vital link between academia and the intelligence community. Each awardee receives funding for at least two years of their project and mentorship from a Fellow of the Academy as well as an advisor from the intelligence community.
Alex van Someren, Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security to HM Government, said: “I am delighted with the variety of technologies and the quality of the 2021 awardees of the UK Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowships programme that the Royal Academy of Engineering manages on my behalf. A record nine awards have been made this year in a wide variety of topics. Detection of the use of synthetic biology is the first award of its kind, particularly relevant in light of the current global pandemic. In addition, the importance of detecting unmanned aerial vehicles is reflected in the two awards made in that area. The broader category of detection of radio frequency electromagnetism (5G, measurement intelligence and wireless network fingerprinting), and using electromagnetism as an energy source to power batteries, is of central importance to designing devices for future threat detection. I am looking forward with great anticipation to the outcomes of this cutting-edge research.”
The new postdoctoral researchers are:
- Dr Javier Alfaro, University of Edinburgh
Detecting the use of synthetic biology in protein designDr Alfaro is developing new methods in protein design that leverage on current trends in artificial intelligence. He will then explore the potential to detect and circumvent detection of synthetic biology and artificial intelligence in protein design. - Dr Gerard Canal, King's College London
Plan and goal reasoning for explainable autonomous robotsRobots need to reason about the task they are performing to be fully autonomous. Dr Canal's research explores developing methods for robots to reason about their current and future goals along with their plan to achieve them, leveraging this information to allow them to explain their behaviour. - Dr Christos Ilioudis, University of Strathclyde
5G-based passive sensing and counter measures5G telecommunications operate in significantly higher frequency bands compared to previous generations. This makes such signals especially suitable for passive radar operations. Dr Ilioudis is investigating how 5G-based passive sensing could exploit surveillance vulnerabilities in public, business and infrastructure, as well as develop countermeasures. - Dr Desmond Lim, University of Southampton
Experimental investigation of eddy diffusion in indoor spacesPeople spend around 93% of their time indoors where the concentrations of air pollutants are often higher than outdoors. To improve the energy efficiency of buildings and occupants’ wellbeing, Dr Lim’s research focuses on the fundamental processes in indoor airflows and the eddy diffusivity of pollutants using experimental methods. - Dr Scott McLachlan, Queen Mary University of London
Safer aviation from ethical autonomous intelligence regulationWe are already seeing an explosion in personal and commercial drone use. Ensuring safe and ethical use poses completely new challenges, requiring a deep understanding of the interfaces between computer science, law and aviation. This research investigates limitations, identifies key challenges, and seeks solutions to the most significant issues. - Dr Timothy Pelham, University of Bristol
Spatial fingerprinting for self-securing wireless networksSecure wireless communications are critical to the modern world, and with increasing data traffic their security and privacy only becomes more important. This research combines conventional sensing and direction-finding techniques with machine learning and radio frequency fingerprinting to develop methods for self-securing networks of trusted devices. - Dr Adolfo Perrusquía, Cranfield University
Drone intention prediction based on semi-supervised learning of flight physicsProtection against malicious drones is critical to ensuring smooth operation of national services. Dr Perrusquía´s research aims to design innovative and stable machine learning algorithms for intention prediction, based on complementary learning both from experts’ aerospace knowledge and from deep patterns in drone flight data from a range of sources. - Dr Mahmoud Wagih, University of Southampton
Radio frequency-enabled multi-source energy harvesting in inaccessible environmentsHarvesting energy from sunlight or vibrations could lead to battery-free electronics. Yet it can only generate sufficient output where ambient power is present. Dr Wagih’s research aims to enable a single energy-harvesting source to power many co-located ’satellite‘ systems through safe, robust and efficient radio frequency power transmission. - Dr Francis Watson, University of Manchester
From rich and nonlinear tomography to radar MASINTRadar imagery is degraded in scenes containing moving targets or multiple scattering of radar pulses such as through-walls, limiting its use for measurements and signatures intelligence (MASINT). Dr Watson is developing practical tomographic imaging methods for complex and dynamic scenes, exploiting rich multi-dimensional data from multi-static, multi-polar and interferometric radars.
Notes to editors
- The Government Office for Science offers UK Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowships to outstanding early career researchers. These Fellowships are designed to promote unclassified basic research in areas of interest to the intelligence, security and defence community. Each fellowship is capped at a maximum grant of £200,000 over a two-year period. For more information on the fellowships, visit: https://www.raeng.org.uk/grants-and-prizes/support-for-research/ic-postdoctoral
Submissions for the UK Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowships 2022 will be open in late January 2022. - The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public. Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.
Media enquiries to: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0745; email: [email protected]