Sixteen promising global research talents have been selected from a competitive application process to be the 20th cohort awarded Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships.
The research supported by the latest fellowships is as diverse as ever and encompasses new medical imaging technologies, super-smart textiles for remote health monitoring, improved wastewater treatments, miniaturisation of quantum technologies for atomic-based sensors, and next-generation permeable infrastructure to increase airport resilience to increasing rainfall. Prosthetic hands that restore a human-like sense of touch to amputees and novel materials capable of withstanding the demands of nuclear fusion applications are also among the research projects that promise enormous societal and economic benefit.
Research Fellowships are the Academy’s flagship scheme that support outstanding early-career researchers to become future research leaders in engineering. The fellowships are designed to advance excellence in engineering by providing funding for five years to allow awardees the freedom to concentrate on basic research in any field of engineering.
Over the past 20 years, over £106 million in funding has been provided to over 217 researchers and the scheme is currently supporting 87 Research Fellowships in 31 universities across the UK, over 30 per cent of which are held by women.
In addition to funding, awardees have also received mentoring from more than 180 Academy Fellows, who provide valuable advice and industry links.
Professor Philip Nelson CBE FREng, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships Steering Group, says: “The Academy owes a huge debt of gratitude to the many Fellows who provide a considerable amount of time and in-kind help with the selection, mentoring and networking of awardees. By providing long-term support in this way, they are helping the next generation of leaders establish their independence and global reputation and contribute towards building a sustainable society and inclusive economy that works for everyone.”
The full list of Research Fellows and their projects is as follows:
For more information please contact: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering
T: 020 7766 0745
E: pippa.cox@raeng.org.uk