At its AGM on 17 September 2024 the Royal Academy of Engineering elected 71 leading figures in the field of engineering and technology to its Fellowship.
The group consists of 60 Fellows, six International Fellows and five Honorary Fellows, each of whom has made exceptional contributions to their own sector, pioneering new innovations, leading progress in business or academia, providing high level advice to government, or promoting wider understanding of engineering and technology.
This year’s new Fellows continue to reflect the Academy’s ongoing Fellowship Fit for the Future initiative announced in July 2020, to drive more nominations of outstanding engineers from underrepresented groups ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2026. This commits the Academy to strive for increased representation from women, disabled and LGBTQ+ engineers, those from minority ethnic backgrounds, non-traditional education pathways and emerging industries, and those who have achieved excellence at an earlier career stage than normal.
The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a special ceremony in London on 27 November, when each Fellow will sign the roll book. In joining the Fellowship, they will lend their unique capabilities to achieving the Academy’s overarching strategic goal to harness the power of engineering to create a sustainable society and an inclusive economy for all.
The AGM also confirmed the election of Dr John Lazar as the new President of the Academy for a five-year term.
Dr John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:
“Our new Fellows represent some of the most talented people in the world of engineering and are taken from the ranks of those who are aiming to address some of our most critical problems. We are proud to say that many of our newly elected Fellows have come from underrepresented groups in engineering and related sectors and we hope this helps to tackle some of the issues around a lack of diversity within the profession. There is ample evidence that a wider pool of ideas and experiences helps to improve decision-making and develop novel solutions to global challenges.”
The complete list of Fellows elected in 2024 (in alphabetical order) is as follows:
Fellows (FREng)
- Dr Saritha Arunkumar WorldWide Security Ecosystem Technical Leader, IBM
- Professor AbuBakr Bahaj Professor of Sustainable Energy and Head of Energy and Climate Change Division and Sustainable Energy Research Group, University of Southampton
- Professor Paul Beasley Industrial Professor, University of Birmingham; Former Head of UK R&D, Siemens
- Professor Kate Black Professor in Manufacturing, School of Engineering, University of Liverpool; CEO, Atomik AM Ltd
- Professor Matt Boyle OBE Director of Electrification, NMIS; Chair, North East Automotive Alliance; Visiting Professor, Newcastle University; Professor of Practice, Strathclyde University
- Will Butler-Adams OBE Group CEO, Brompton Bicycle Ltd
- Jacqueline Castle CTO, Aerospace Technology Institute
- Professor Adam Clare Professor of Manufacturing, University of British Columbia
- Chris Cole Chair of the Board and member of the Governance, Ethics and Compensation Committee, WSP Global Inc.
- Professor Claire Davis Head of Advanced Steel Research Centre, WMG, University of Warwick
- Dr Vania De Stefani CEO, Oil Spill Response Ltd
- Professor Timothy Denison Professor of Engineering Science and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford; Medical Research Council (MRC) Programme Lead; RAEng Chair in Emerging Technology; Director and Chief Engineer, Amber Therapeutics Ltd.
- Professor Bruce Drinkwater Professor of Ultrasonics, School of Electrical, Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol
- Professor Colm Durkan Head of Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
- Ila Glennie Vice President, Subsea, bp
- Professor Stephan Jefferis Director, Environmental Geotechnics Ltd
- Dr Xudong Jing Vice President, Subsurface Excellence, ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) Group
- Laura Jones Fellow in Advanced Materials, Dstl (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory)
- Professor Hussam Jouhara Professor of Thermal Engineering and Department Director for Research, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Brunel University
- Professor Sohini Kar-Narayan Professor of Device Materials, University of Cambridge
- John Kell MBE R&D Specialist, Automotive Sector Team, Advanced Manufacturing Directorate (AMD), Department for Business and Trade
- Professor Markus Kraft Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge; Director, Cambridge Centre for Advanced Research and Education (CARES)
- Professor Geoffrey Ye Li Chair Professor, Imperial College London
- Professor Qiuhua Liang Professor of Water Engineering and UNESCO Chair in Informatics and Multi-hazard Risk Reduction, Loughborough University
- Professor Gopal Madabhushi Professor of Civil Engineering and Head of the Geotechnical and Geo-Environmental Group, University of Cambridge; Director, Schofield Centre for Geotechnical and Construction Modelling
- Neil McArthur MBE CEO and Founder, Freedom Fibre Ltd; Chair and Co-founder, Hamilton Davies Trust
- Dr Matthew Mellor Founder and CTO, Createc Ltd
- Professor Campbell Middleton Laing O’Rourke Professor of Construction Engineering and Head of Construction Engineering, University of Cambridge; Director, Laing O’Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology
- Nick Millington MBE Route Director, Network Rail Wales and Borders Route
- Professor Jonathan Morrison Chair in Experimental Fluid Dynamics, Imperial College London
- Sue Partridge Airbus Commercial Aircraft UK Country Manager
- Professor Anna Peacock Professor of Photonics, University of Southampton; Deputy Director, Optoelectronics Research Centre
- Dr Rodney Pelzel CTO, IQE plc
- Roisin Quinn OBE Director of Field Operations, National Grid Electricity Distribution
- Dr Catherine Ramsdale Senior Vice President of Technology, Pragmatic Semiconductor
- Professor Andrew Randewich Executive Director and CTO, AWE
- Dr Pratima Rangarajan CEO, Climate Investment
- Major General Anna-Lee Reilly CB Director Strategic Capability, Engagement and Operations, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of Defence
- Professor Matthew Robson CTO, Perspectum Ltd
- Dan Rodenhurst Director General, UK Defence and Security IT, UK government
- Roni Savage Founder, Managing Director and CEO, Jomas Associates
- Professor Shahrokh Shahpar Rolls-Royce Fellow, Senior Aerothermal Design Specialist, Rolls-Royce; Visiting Professor, Imperial College, Aerospace Engineering
- Professor Sarah Sharples Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Transport; Professor of Human Factors, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham
- Professor Paul Shearing Director, The ZERO Institute; Statutory Professor – Chair in Sustainable Energy Engineering, University of Oxford; Chair in Emerging Battery Technologies, Royal Academy of Engineering
- Professor Rebecca Shipley OBE Professor of Healthcare Engineering, University College London; Chief Research Officer and Academic Health Science Centre Director, UCLPartners
- Phillipa Slater Director of Asset Management and Operations Support, National Grid Electricity Distribution
- Nicholas Smallwood CEO, Infrastructure and Projects Authority
- Professor Eva Sorensen MBE Professor and Head of Department, Chemical Engineering, University College London
- Terry Spall Independent Engineering Consultant and Non-Executive Director
- Professor Phil Taylor Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Bath
- Professor Melissa Terras Professor of Digital Cultural Heritage, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh
- Mark Thomas CEO, Reaction Engines Limited
- Professor Robert Thomson Professor of Photonics, Heriot-Watt University
- Professor Andy Tyrrell Chair in Digital Electronics, University of York
- Duncan Wanblad Chief Executive, Anglo American plc
- Professor Simon Weeks CEO, Simon Weeks Consultancy; Visiting Professor, University of Oxford and Loughborough University
- Professor Jennifer Wen Professor in Energy Resilience, University of Surrey
- Professor Mark Williams Head of the Metrology and Visualisation Research Group, WMG, University of Warwick
- Professor Xudong Zhao Director, Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies, University of Hull
- Professor Robert Zimmerman Chair in Rock Mechanics, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London
International Fellows (FREng)
- Dr Debashish Bhattacharjee Professor of Practice, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
- Professor Liang-Shih Fan Distinguished University Professor and C. John Easton Professor in Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, USA
- Dr Waguih Ishak Adjunct Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, Stanford University, USA
- Professor Timothy Lieuwen Regents’ Professor and David. S. Lewis Jr. Chair, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
- Professor Elaine S Oran Professor of Aerospace Engineering and O’Donnell Foundation Chair, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University, USA
- Yago Tenorio Director of Network Architecture, Vodafone Group, Spain
Honorary Fellows (HonFREng)
- Professor Atula Abeysekera Professor of Practice (Risk Management), Imperial College London
- Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald OBE FRS FMedSci Professor of Cancer Prevention, University of Cambridge; Director, Early Cancer Institute
- Dr Roger Highfield OBE FMedSci Science Director, Science Museum Group
- Professor Ian Ritchie CBE RA Royal Academician, Royal Academy of Arts
- Professor Sir Chris Whitty KCB FRS FMedSci Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England
Notes for editors
- More information on Fellowship of the Academy, as well as the nomination and assessment process, is available in the Fellowship Prospectus. The Academy now has nearly 1700 Fellows in total, including International and Honorary Fellows.
- 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.
For more information please contact Lorrie Fay at the Royal Academy of Engineering, [email protected].