Previous winners

2015 - 2017 winners

Professor Andrew Schofield FREng FRS Emeritus Professor, University of Cambridge - 2017

Professor Andrew N Schofield FREng FRS is Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge and has been a leading voice in the field since the 1960s. As a civil engineer specialising in soil mechanics, Professor Schofield also pioneered the use of centrifuge modelling for geotechnical and civil engineering applications.

Professor Roger Sargent FREng - 2016

Roger Sargent FREng, Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Fellow at Imperial College London and former director of its Centre for Process Systems Engineering, has spent his career of over 60 years championing the application of mathematics and computing to solve engineering problems in the process industries. He received the Sir Frank Whittle Medal for outstanding and sustained achievement 40 years since the inaugural meeting of the Academy of which he was a founding Fellow.

Professor Peter Clarricoats CBE FREng FRS Emeritus Research Professor, School of Electronic and Computer Science, Queen Mary, University of London - 2015

Internationally renowned British microwave engineer Professor Peter Clarricoats has been awarded one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest accolades for his influential achievements spanning more than half a century.

Previous winners 2001 - 2014

2014: Professor Peter Wells CBE FREng FRS FMedSci FLSW MAE

Distinguished Research Professor, School of Engineering, Cardiff University

Awarded for his outstanding achievements in medical engineering over six decades. He pioneered the development of ultrasonics as a diagnostic and surgical tool, which has revolutionised clinical practice.

2013: Professor Lin Li FREng

Head of the Manufacturing Research Group and Director of the Laser Processing Research Centre, The University of Manchester

Awarded for his outstanding and sustained research achievements for engineering innovations in manufacturing that have directly benefited the UK economy.

2012: Dan Chambers

Co-founder and Director of Draft Wheelchairs Ltd

Dan Chambers was awarded the medal for his 15 years' experience of product design, innovation and manufacture of specialized sports equipment such as racing wheelchairs and hand-cycles built to suit each elite athlete's unique physical needs.

2010/11: Professor Sir Richard Feachem KBE CBE FREng

Sir Richard was awarded the 2010 Sir Frank Whittle Medal for his engineering-based approach to managing aid and controlling some of the most virulent diseases.

2009: Professor Sir Michael Brady FREng FRS

Sir Michael won for his contributions to medical analysis and in particular for taking theoretical inputs through to clinical applications and to successful commercial exploitation.

2008: Peter Head OBE FREng

Arup Director Peter Head was awarded the Sir Frank Whittle Medal for his efforts to deliver an environmentally sustainable built environment in a rapidly urbanising world.

2007: Mike Glover FREng

Arup Director Mike Glover won the Sir Frank Whittle Medal for his achievement in the planning, design and construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Project (CTRL)

2006: Michael Ramsay

Michael Ramsay pioneered the TiVo technology that is changing the world of home entertainment - the culmination of a lifetime of innovation in computer graphics, workstations and consumer software technologies.

2005: Peter John Lawrenson

Peter John Lawrenson, Emeritus Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds won the 2005 Sir Frank Whittle Medal.

2004: Professor Ian Young OBE FREng FRS

Professor Young is a pioneer of the diagnostic engineering technology Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

2003: Professor Roland Clift OBE FREng

Distinguished Professor of Environmental Technology and Director, Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey

Recognised for his leading role in developing the holistic life cycle assessment of products - cradle to grave analysis - and the recognition of environmental and social issues.

2002: Professor John Ffowcs Williams FREng

Rank Professor of Engineering (Acoustics)
University of Cambridge

Recognised for contributions to the foundations and applications of Aeroacoustics, which have enabled dramatic reductions in the noise of aircraft and submarines.

2001: Professor Tim Berners-Lee OBE FREng FRS

3Com Founders; Professor, MIT; Director, World Wide Web Consortium

Recognised for creating the World Wide Web, which in just ten years has connected millions of people all over the world, enabling them to work together, trade and manage information in real time.