On 6 July, DnaNudge’s pioneering consumer genetics technology was announced as the winner of the 2021 MacRobert Award, the most prestigious prize for UK engineering innovation. The award is supported by the Worshipful Company of Engineers. The technology was pivoted and adapted to deliver a rapid, lab-free RT-PCR COVID-19 test to NHS hospitals. The winning team received a £50,000 prize and a gold medal.

In August 2020, the UK government placed a major order with DnaNudge to supply the Department of Health and Social Care with CovidNudge test kits for use in NHS hospitals across the UK. Now also in use in care homes and supporting the return of the arts sector, the test can accurately detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus from saliva samples on-site in just over an hour – eliminating the need for a laboratory.

Based in central London at the Imperial College London Translation and Innovation Hub in White City, DnaNudge was created by biomedical engineer and CEO Professor Chris Toumazou FREng FRS and geneticist and CSO Dr Maria Karvela. The winning team also includes Dr Caroline Golden, Clinical Research Manager; Josef Cicinski, UK Retail Store Manager; and David West, COO.

DnaNudge was chosen as the winner from a shortlist of three finalists that included Creo Medical’s advanced miniaturised surgical tools and PragmatIC Semiconductor’s electronic engineering innovation that takes the silicon out of silicon chips.

The CovidNudge rapid test technology was adapted in record time from DnaNudge’s existing consumer DNA testing service, developed to address nutrition and lifestyle-influenced health conditions affecting people across the world, such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Following a simple cheek swab, DnaNudge’s NudgeBox analyser maps the user’s genetic profile to key nutrition-

related health traits such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol.

On the same day, the winners of the RAEng Engineers Trust Young Engineer of the Year were presented with their awards by HRH The Princess Royal, Royal Fellow of the Academy, during a specially arranged visit to the Thames Tideway Project in London. The winners were: Dr Marzia Bolpagni, Head of Building Information Modelling International at Mace; Dr Ben Fletcher, Physical Design Engineer at Graphcore Ltd; Dr Thomas Fudge, Co-Founder and CEO of WASE; Dr Gita Khalili Moghaddam, CEO of TumourVue Ltd; and Dr Emilio Martínez-Pañeda, Research Fellow at Imperial College London.

On 13 July, the Academy welcomed its award winners to Prince Philip House for its Awards Celebration, the first in-person event since the start of the pandemic. The MacRobert Award winner and finalists were in attendance, as well as the winners of the Major Project Award, the MAST Upgrade Project, a unique, compact spherical tokamak fusion experiment. Dr Larissa Suzuki won the Rooke Award for the public promotion of engineering. The event also celebrated this year’s three Silver Medallists: Dr Tom Carter, Ultraleap; Dr Andrew Lynn, Fluidic Analytics; and Dr Sithamparanathan Sabesan, PervasID Ltd.

British testing pioneer wins 2021 MacRobert Award

Quonsi sil tatus suliae dis, tessultodiu es conti, nenam quem

Royal Academyof Engineering

Contents

President’s column 2Research and innovation 3

Thought leadership 5Education and skills 7Public engagement 9Academy roundup 10

News of Fellows 11Obituaries 12

www.raeng.org.uk/newsletters

DnaNudge’s NudgeBox portable analyser maps the user’s genetic

profile to key nutrition-related health traits in just over an hour.

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Summer 2021 Newsletter

President’s column

Meetings and visitors

In his capacity as President,Sir Jim has met with:

■ Sir Patrick Vallance FRS with the presidents of the National Academies

■ Amanda Solloway MP, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation

■ Sir John Parker GBE FREngHe attended the following events and meetings:

■ Association of British Chinese Professors Annual Conference; Net zero world in 30 years

■ UKRI Bilateral meeting

Three months ago, engineering lost one of its greatest advocates, and the Academy lost a very dear patron. Our Senior Fellow, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, memorably declared during an interview on Radio 4 that “everything that wasn’t invented by God was invented by an engineer”. Since the Academy’s inception in 1976, Prince Philip worked tirelessly to support our work. His genuine passion for engineering was evident in his many visits to the Academy and his challenging discussions with the engineers he met.

In early June, when HRH The Duke of Edinburgh would have turned 100, the Academy made a special award of the Prince Philip Medal – awarded to an engineer who has made an exceptional contribution to engineering. It was special because the biennial medal would not normally have been awarded in 2021, but a decision was taken to do so in honour of our Senior Fellow; and also because it was awarded to a woman for the first time, Dr Gladys West. As a pioneer in the use of mathematics and programming to process early satellite data to generate accurate, repeatable models of the Earth’s geoid, Dr West paved the way for GPS. HRH The Princess Royal, Royal Fellow of the Academy, presented the medal via a virtual audience with Dr West at her home in the US.

Prince Philip was a staunch supporter of UK industry and

many of you will know that he presented the MacRobert Award almost every year since it began in 1969. My congratulations go to winner DnaNudge. I particularly enjoyed meeting the finalists, alongside other award winners, at our Awards Celebration on 13 July; our first in-person event since the start of the pandemic.

We have other reasons for cautious optimism. In March, the Academy welcomed the Chancellor’s Budget statement and the publication of Build Back Better: our plan for growth, which recognised the potential of the UK’s high-growth technology companies alongside the importance of government investment in the green industrial revolution. We also welcomed both the prominent role for technology in the recently published Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, and the uplift for research and innovation in the 2020 Spending Review, together with the government’s success in ensuring UK association to Horizon Europe.

On funding we have had mixed news. Many of you will have heard about the reduction in funding for research and innovation for international development. As a result, our programmes that support engineers from low- and middle-income countries to address development challenges lost 73% of their ODA funding. Thankfully, the picture is more positive for the core funding the Academy receives from government to support our other activities, which has been increased. This signals how well recognised the value of the Academy’s work is to government and acknowledges the impact and relevance of our contributions; our goal to harness the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy clearly

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supports the government’s plans to Build Back Better. The additional funding will allow us to grow our policy, diversity and inclusion, and enterprise activities, as well as make extra investments in education and fellowships for early career researchers. This funding, and the continuing generosity of our philanthropic supporters, has also let us maintain a strong portfolio of international activities, despite the reduction in ODA funding. Against a challenging backdrop, this is a step in the right direction. When our Senior Fellow helped establish the Fellowship of Engineering in 1976, it set out to demonstrate its interdisciplinary expertise to government and ‘to illustrate the best in British engineering’. In 2021, while the UK faces huge challenges in achieving a recovery that marries economic renewal with sustainability and distribution of opportunity more evenly across the nation, the Academy is in its strongest position yet to share its expertise and demonstrate the essential value of engineering to our economy and society at large.

Best wishes,Jim

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Biowaste innovation wins Africa Prize

On 8 July, chemical engineer Noël N’guessan won the 2021 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation with a biowaste equipment innovation.

N’guessan and his team designed and patented Kubeko to assist smallholder farmers and their cooperatives to generate more income from the by-products of their harvests, without any additional labour. Kubeko is a set of low-cost biowaste processing equipment; its composter and biodigester are both specifically designed to ferment agricultural post-harvest by-products into solid and liquid compost, and cooking gas.

Since being shortlisted, the Kubeko team has made progress in reducing its production costs from US$800 to US$700. The team has installed two biodigesters running on cassava farms, with 50 composters installed to date on cocoa, palm oil and mango farms. Kubeko has also been commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development in Côte d’Ivoire to train stakeholders as part of the department’s national composting and biowaste strategy.

The four finalists were selected from a shortlist of 16 African innovators for their ability to use engineering to solve problems for African

communities. They were chosen after receiving eight months of training, mentorship and support through the Africa Prize, with expert volunteers.

The other finalists were: ■ Indira Tsengiwe from South Africa, who

created BlueAvo, a digital platform that connects creative brands and people in the media industry with local content creators.

■ Faith Adesemowo from Nigeria, who developed Social Lender digital financial services to give finance access to Africans who lack access to formal financial services.

■ Mechanical and electronics engineer Juka Fatou Darboe from The Gambia, who launched Make3D Medical, using 3D printing for customised orthopaedic equipment.

Africa Prize winner Noël N’guessan

Research and innovation

Frontiers programme awards new seed funding

The Academy’s Frontiers programme has awarded seed funding to four groups of researchers, innovators and practitioners who met at a Frontiers symposium about smart communities in February.

The event, co-chaired by Dr Lara Allen from the Centre for Global Equality and Dr Ashok Das from SunMoksha, explored the concept of a smart community and what it means for communities in the Global South, through three themes: enabling infrastructure, enhancing livelihoods, and monitoring and diagnostics. It brought together 65 researchers, innovators and practitioners from around the world via a bespoke online platform and a series of live Zoom sessions. Over 10 days, participants explored the sub-themes at their own convenience via videos and resources, and shared

ideas via an online chat. Live sessions followed where discussions were facilitated between smaller groups of participants so that ideas could be explored. The platform also allowed for networking and private meetings to develop the ideas further.

The seed funding will allow the groups to discuss ideas that were inspired by the event and start new collaborations that will tackle global development challenges. The research projects include a range of context-appropriate smart technology applications including how to remove pollutants from water supplies in Malaysia, tackling violence against women in Sierra Leone, water purification at the household level in Kabul, and battery systems for rural Kenyan schools.

Hear more from Dr Lara Allen and Dr Ashok Das on the Smart Communities podcast recorded at the event, which is accessible on all major podcast platforms.

Success for Enterprise Hub members

The Enterprise Hub has supported over 250 engineering entrepreneurs to start and scale-up businesses. Here we highlight the impact we’ve recently had on our goal of creating a sustainable society by celebrating the successes of Enterprise Fellows.

Dr Florence Gschwend’s company Lixea received €2 million of investment from the European Innovation Council Fund. Lixea aims to revolutionise waste biomass utilisation and lead the way to more sustainable practices.

2021 Enterprise Fellow Reka Tron’s Multus Media was ranked among the top climate-tech investments across SOSV’s global portfolio. Supplying environmentally sustainable and ethically sourced growth media to the cultivated meat industry, Reka aims to get cultivated meat into the

marketplace at a competitive price.

Dr Sam Chapman’s Kenoteq is ramping up production of its eco-friendly bricks to more than two million per year, having secured £1 million of funding from Zero Waste Scotland. Made from 90% recycled construction waste, the K-Briq produces just 10% of the CO2 emissions of traditional fired bricks and requires less than 10% of the energy to manufacture.

Launchpad alumni Nate Macabuag, Co-Founder of Mitt Wearables, was listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 list. He has founded a new startup, Koalaa, and intends to tackle the cost and accessibility barriers that have left 35 million people around the world without access to prosthetics. Koalaa’s soft, modular prosthetics can be fitted anywhere in the world via a virtual clinic.

Dr Giorgia Longobardi raised $9.5 million in a Series A

funding round for Cambridge GaN Devices to accelerate the deployment of energy-efficient devices reshaping the future of electronics. The company is currently leading a $10 million European-funded project with 13 industrial and academic partners across Europe, developing GaN-based modules for low- and high-power applications.

Dr Richard Taylor’s Vector Photonics has received £1.6 million of equity investment to commercialise its semiconductor laser technology. A spin-out from the University of Glasgow based on world-leading semiconductor research, Dr Taylor was awarded a place on the Hub’s Enterprise Fellowship programme in 2019.

The Enterprise Hub is supported by a network of funding bodies, partner organisations and individual donors, without which our work would not be possible. To find out more about how you can support please visit enterprisehub.raeng.org.uk/about/support-us/

In the spotlight: Professor Mark GirolamiComputational Statistician and Data Centric Engineer

Professor Mark Girolami from the University of Cambridge was appointed Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF)/Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Data-Centric Engineering (DCE) in 2018.He leads the DCE programme at the Alan Turing Institute, which was established by the LRF to address new challenges in DCE with a £10 million investment. Professor Girolami has grown this to a value over £70 million and leads a team of over 150 researchers.

Recent DCE projects include developing sensor systems

and models for the world’s first 3D-printed steel bridge to ensure structural integrity and inform new international design standards. Professor Girolami has also partnered with Network Rail on the first remotely monitored structural asset on the UK rail network. The institute is working with Rolls-Royce to streamline jet engine blade design, which Rolls-Royce Fellow Shahrokh Shahpar says is set to change the way Rolls-Royce designs and manages its manufacturing processes.

DCE helped Transport for London respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by monitoring the busyness of the city. A massive effort capturing mobility, transportation and traffic

activity across the city of London provided Transport for London with the intelligence to enact over 700 policy interventions, such as pavement widening and moving bus stops, to ensure safe social distancing to bring us out of lockdowns.

The Academy’s Research Chairs and Senior Fellowships scheme strengthens the links between industry and academia by supporting exceptional academics in UK universities to undertake use-inspired research for five years, co-sponsored by an industrial partner.

The next round of applications closes on 2 September 2021. For more information, please visit www.raeng.org.uk/researchchair

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Late-stage R&D

The National Engineering Policy Centre has published Late-stage R&D: business perspectives, a follow-up to the 2018 report Increasing investment in R&D: business perspectives.

Late-stage R&D has long been viewed as a gap in public support by engineering business. However, it is a crucial stage in R&D to deliver innovative solutions to the market and wider socio-economic benefits to the UK. The report introduces what late-stage R&D is, how late-stage R&D is conducted and outlines recommendations

for government. The report draws on interviews with those responsible for R&D decisions in engineering companies of all sizes and across the UK. The interviews identified five key common resources essential for conducting late-stage R&D, which have shaped the structure of the report: people, infrastructure, investment, partnerships, and market environment. Each of these resources is illustrated with case studies and explored in more detail, with recommendations to target, strengthen, scale and signal support for late-stage R&D in the UK.

Find it at www.raeng.org.uk/late-stage-r-d

Thought leadership

Design principles for national infrastructure

On 21 April, the latest Academy CAFÉ (Connecting awardees, fostering engagement) event took place on the topic of ‘Design principles for national infrastructure’.

The panel discussion was hosted by Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng FLSW, Chair of the Research Committee, with members of the National Infrastructure Commission’s (NIC) Design Group. In February

2020, the NIC Design Group published its Design Principles for National Infrastructure. These four principles – climate, people, places, and value – aim to guide the planning and delivery of future major

infrastructure projects in the UK. The group inspires, promotes and champions design excellence in all nationally significant projects. The webinar series aims to ensure that awardees and alumni have a platform for engagement and can continue to benefit from the expertise and experience within its network. It also enables them to share ideas and challenges faced and best practice in the current period and beyond.

A full streamed video of the April event can be found on the Academy’s YouTube channel.

New Policy Fellows

On 30 March, the Academy announced the six successful applicants joining its prestigious Policy Fellowships programme.

From mid-April, the Policy Fellows have been undertaking the whole programme virtually, completing in June. The programme includes a series of development activities including one-to-one meetings with experts, coaching sessions and

group workshops to help them make rapid progress on their chosen policy challenges.

This cohort includes:

■ Nicola Coppen, Infrastructure Co-ordinator for the Highways and Infrastructure Department, Westminster City Council

■ Hannah Gibson, Innovation Lead, Innovate UK (UK Research and Innovation)

■ Rick Holland, Regional

Manager North West England, Innovate UK (UK Research & Innovation)

■ Gerry McCafferty, Director Policy, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

■ Robert Skey, Head of Low Cardon Economy Unit, The Scottish Government

■ Chris Thomson, Head of Clyde Mission Team, Directorate for Economic Development, The Scottish Government.

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Engineering in the climate emergency

On 13 May over 300 people attended a joint event with the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) to discuss reaching net-zero carbon emissions.

Reaching net zero will mean a managed transformation of society. Depending on how they are used, zero-emission technologies, economics and behaviours could worsen or improve poverty, accessibility, health, and community life. The discussion focused on why an urgent net-zero transition also has be a just transition.

The event was chaired by Professor Sir Jim McDonald, with an introduction from Professor Becky Lunn MBE FREng FRSE. A panel discussion and Q&A followed, with Ragne Low, an Academy Policy Fellow and Head of Heat Planning in the Scottish Government, and Dr Leslie Mabon, Lecturer in Social Science at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) and Chair

of the Young Academy of Scotland’s work on decarbonisation.

You can watch a recording of the one-hour event on the RSE YouTube channel. Find out more about the Academy’s work to support climate action at www.raeng.org.uk/net-zero

Engineering Zero

The Academy has also launched Engineering Zero, a COP26-focused campaign that will advance and promote the role of engineering in achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, in line with our strategic objective to harness the power of engineering to build a sustainable society.

Engineering Zero can be found on the Academy’s digital channels, and will run throughout the months up to and beyond COP26. We are also awaiting the outcome of bids to attend COP26, submitted to UK government earlier this year.

What does inclusive leadership look like?

On 24 June, the Academy celebrated International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) by highlighting #EngineeringHeroes.

To both celebrate the achievements of women engineers around the world and respond to the challenge, the Academy event featured Aleida Rios, Senior Vice President Engineering at bp, and Dr Loubna Bouarfa, Founder and CEO of OKRA Technologies, discussing the role of inclusive and progressive leadership to drive positive change.

Women are still significantly underrepresented in the profession. Our data shows that women are less likely to feel included in the workplace and many face barriers to progression to senior roles. Women who are also Black, disabled, LGBTQ+ and from low socio-economic backgrounds often face additional barriers. Research and experience

show that the best solutions come from diverse teams working in inclusive cultures.

This INWED we have also partnered with BecomingX and Amazon to launch a new series of This is Engineering films, featuring inspiring women engineers Ursula Burns FREng, Dame Steve Shirley CH DBE FREng and Professor Sue Black OBE to inspire and support young people to become the next generation of engineers.

For more information, visit www.raeng.org.uk/INWED

Evidence to Parliament

On 14 April, Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Dr David Cleevely CBE FREng and Professor Philip Bond FREng gave evidence to the Public Bill Committee in Parliament on the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) Bill.

It was introduced to the House of Commons in March 2021 to establish a new independent research body to fund high-risk high-reward research. The UK National Academies also jointly submitted amendments to highlight questions raised by the proposals and trigger a discussion during Committee

stage for clarity or explanation on existing points in the Bill. The proposal for the new UK research agency was previously outlined in Radical innovation: a blueprint for a new UK research and innovation funding agency, which can be read at www.raeng.org.uk/radical-innovation

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Strengthening UK resilience

On 20 May, the Academy published Critical capabilities: strengthening UK resilience, a report that makes three practical recommendations for government to work with engineers and others to build a whole-society approach to resilience.

Like others, over the past year we have been thinking about how the UK can be more prepared for and resilient to the emergencies of the future. Emergency responses draw upon a range of ‘critical capabilities’ – the people, infrastructure and assets that need to be available and rapidly mobilised for an effective response.

This report argues that we need to see beyond the connections and capabilities that typically feature in disaster planning. Drawing on lessons from four past emergencies (the UK’s

response to Fukushima, the Icelandic volcano ash cloud, WannaCry ransomware incident, and flooding and loss of electricity in Lancaster), we explore how an engineer’s systems view can help identify critical capabilities across the public, private and third sectors ahead of time, to enhance the current approach to UK planning, preparedness and emergency response.

The recommendations from the report are:

■ Government should embed a systems approach in emergency planning and preparedness, looking across the public and private sector stakeholders.

■ Government should undertake an audit to map existing public, private and third sector capabilities and convening bodies against the critical capability groups.

■ The Civil Contingencies Secretariat, in partnership with GO-Science, should work with the Royal Academy of Engineering and others to develop the critical capabilities approach into a practical tool for emergency planning, preparedness and resilience that builds on existing capabilities programmes.

Read the full report at www.raeng.org.uk/publications/reports/critical-capabilities

New bursary in partnership with Amazon

In May, the Academy launched its Amazon Future Engineer bursary scheme. The bursary supports women students from low-income households who will be studying an eligible computer science or related engineering course at a UK university, starting in 2021.

The new bursaries, aimed at helping address underrepresentation and accelerating the rate of progress, can be used to cover expenses related to attending university, including tuition fees or accommodation and living costs. These will help support students who demonstrate a drive and

passion for computing and engineering, and an understanding of how innovation and creativity in these fields can help solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.

Twelve awards, worth £5,000 a year for up to four years, will be available to female students progressing from either A levels/Scottish Highers in science, technology, engineering, or maths or full-time BTEC/OCR (or Scottish equivalent) technical courses such as computer science, to university starting in 2021.

More information can be found at www.raeng.org.uk/afebursary

Education and skills

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Lord Bhattacharyya Higher Education bursaries – second round

The Academy has launched the second round of Lord Bhattacharyya Higher Education bursaries.

Twelve bursaries of £15,000 each are available to support students from underrepresented backgrounds and low-income households with their studies.

The Lord Bhattacharyya industrial secondment scheme will be launching shortly, giving engineering lecturers and their team members in further education colleges the opportunity to spend up to 10 days upskilling themselves in industry or at industrial events. This will enable them to gain hands-on experience of new processes, and a greater knowledge of routes to employment for their students.

Future engineering leaders chosen

Thirty-eight students from UK higher education institutions have been chosen for the next cohort of the Engineering Leaders Scholarships (ELS) programme. In a considerable increase from the 2020 round, 17 (45%) are female, 12 (32%) are from an ethnic minority background and 6 (16%) have a disability. For the first time, the gender balance of the interviewers was equal.

These numbers are testimony to the Academy’s outreach activities, ongoing collaboration with

various stakeholders and between Academy staff, and a strong commitment to reaching and encouraging students from diverse backgrounds to apply.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 73 shortlisted candidates with the potential to become the engineering leaders of tomorrow were interviewed online by 22 panel members comprised of Academy Fellows, ELS Steering Group members, Sainsbury Management Fellowship alumni, Visiting Professors and ELS alumni.

STEM digital outreach showcase

In April, the Academy held its annual event for Queen Elizabeth Prize Ambassadors and research support programme awardees to encourage early-career engineers and researchers to become advocates and ambassadors for STEM disciplines.

Most of the 40 participants were from the UK, but the event also had attendees from Brazil, India and Canada. This year, the event shifted its focus to delivering virtual STEM outreach, in contrast to the usual focus on delivering face-to-face outreach at schools around the country. The showcase was designed as a taster session to give attendees an overview of the current state of digital outreach, share ideas and opportunities that they may wish to explore further,

and connect them with people and projects that match their interests and schedule.

Speakers included: STEM Learning, who helped attendees to become STEM Ambassadors; Prashant Raizada from Lumi, who spoke about becoming a mentor for Lumi’s online platform where young learners work in teams to solve critical global challenges; and Myra Lydon, a Research Fellow at

Queen’s University Belfast, who discussed her experiences of digital outreach during the pandemic and setting up her YouTube channel, Maths QUBe. Everyone who registered for the event was sent packs that included the Academy’s latest STEM resources This is Engineering: Entertainment and Engineering in a pandemic. During the session, attendees explored hands-on practical activities, putting the engineers and researchers into the shoes of young learners and offering inspiration for their own outreach.

Find these resources, along with our full STEM resource selection, at stemresources.raeng.org.uk

We are always seeking support and partners for our education programmes. For more information, please contact development.team@raeng. org.uk

Event attendees received the Academy’s

latest STEM resources

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Nominations open for 2022 QEPrize

The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize) has started its search for the next recipients of the world’s most prestigious engineering accolade, opening its public nominations window.

This year’s nominations window will remain open until 11.59pm BST on 31 July 2021. All nominations will be assessed by an independent international judging panel comprised of world-leading experts in their fields. The winner(s) will be announced on 1 February 2022.

To find out more, or make a nomination, visit: www.qeprize.org/nominate

Create the Future: environment tracking technology

To celebrate Earth Day 2021, the QEPrize’s Create the Future podcast sat down with Shah Selbe, conservationist, engineer and National Geographic Explorer, to discuss his cutting-edge, open-source technological solutions that help conserve threatened species, populations and environments.

He discussed using GPS trackers, drones, sensors, and camera traps to monitor species ranging from Sri Lankan blue whales to the Congo’s lowland gorillas. The technology has been deployed in some of the harshest environments to track

everything from glacier retreat to rainforest health.

Since its launch in 2019, the Create the Future podcast has gone from strength to strength – amassing listeners in over 115 countries and securing interviews with some of the most pioneering figures in STEAM including the QEPrize-winning engineers behind the internet, GPS and LED lighting and Gitanjali Rao (2019 Global Grand Challenges speaker and 2020 TIME Magazine ‘Kid of the Year’).

Listen to Create the future podcast at www.qeprize.org/podcasts

To suggest future guests or topics, email info@qeprize.org

Funding for public engagement projects

In April, the Academy announced 26 new Ingenious public engagement awards for projects that will engage the public with an exciting variety of engineering themes. The projects are currently underway across the UK, from Edinburgh to Bristol, Bangor to Birmingham, working with a large variety of audiences in a rich mix of engineering areas, including material design and sustainability.

One of the projects is New Scots Connect, which will link engineers with new Scots, including refugees and asylum seekers and those with diverse migration backgrounds in Scotland. Engineers will support the development of transferable skills and technical English language through creative engineering-themed activities.

Many projects focus on environmental issues such as reducing plastic waste and the role of engineering in tackling climate change. In Engineering Sustainable Photographic

Processes, an artist-photographer and engineers from the University of Birmingham will show participants how to create photographic prints, using materials engineering skills to build cameras and to create their own developers and emulsions.

The scheme will reopen for applications on 30 June, offering funding from £3,000 to £30,000 for public engagement projects that will excite and inform the public of the wonders of engineering, while providing engineers with skills and experience in public engagement.

Public engagement

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Academy roundup

Fellowship – Call for NominationsDeadline: 1 September 2021

The Academy’s effectiveness depends critically on the talent, energy and commitment of its Fellows and the role of the Fellowship is central to the whole membership process.

Last year the Academy launched a campaign aimed at delivering a Fellowship Fit for the Future by the time it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026. When considering candidates for nomination, please take into consideration the following in line with the campaign:

■ Candidates from underrepresented groups, including female, Black and minority ethnic,

LGBT+ and disabled engineers. ■ Candidates that have come into engineering

via vocational and non-traditional routes. ■ Candidates who are achieving excellence at an

earlier career stage than is typical. ■ Candidates who work in emerging

technologies and new industries, including areas that are important to address major societal challenges.

Nominations can be made via the Academy’s online system, which is found in the Fellows’ secure area of the Academy’s website: www.raeng.org.uk/fellows-area Please contact the Membership team at membership@raeng.org.uk with any queries.

Celebrating Earth Day with This is Engineering

On 22 April, This is Engineering celebrated Earth Day with a Q&A discussing how engineering can build a sustainable future.

This is Engineering ambassador Olivia Sweeney, a chemical engineer whose work encompasses sustainable beauty, sustainable waste systems and circular economies, answered students’ questions. Rosa Arthur, a second-year undergraduate studying engineering at the University of Oxford, shared insights into what inspired her to study engineering and her passion for sustainability.

The theme for Earth Day 2021 was ‘Restore our Earth’ and the ambassadors discussed engineering’s important role in creating a sustainable future, from carbon neutral technologies to tackling the plastics problem. This year, Earth Day is raising the importance of education, especially environmental literacy.

This is Engineering highlights how a career in engineering can help people meaningfully engage to solve climate change and build a greener market, contributing to environmental literacy.

The session followed on from the Q&A series for This is Engineering Day in November 2020. The Q&As are available as resources for students and teachers, showing how engineering is in everything

from medicine to sport. This is Engineering would like to thank its partners for their support and the University of Oxford for providing the speaker for this session. All the talks and videos from the campaign are free to use and share online.

During lockdown, This is Engineering delivered the latest season of campaign activity using online channels such as Spotify, YouTube and Venatus gaming. Inspirational films of engineers working in fashion, music, and sustainability were shared directly to teenagers and parents. Since launching in 2018, the campaign’s films have now been viewed 54 million times and received over 1.7 million engagements. When surveyed before the launch of the campaign, 39% of teens said that they would consider a career in engineering – now, 57% said that they would.

To find out more about partnership opportunities or how you can support this campaign, contact Rachel Earnshaw at rachel.earnshaw@raeng.org.uk

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Emeritus Fellows’ Tribute to HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

On 10 June, Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE hosted his first Emeritus Fellows’ event as Academy President, which was held virtually.

Together with Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, a group of our Emeritus Fellows and long-standing Fellows gathered together to pay tribute and honour the legacy of our late Senior Fellow, HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on what would have been his 100th birthday.

Fellows shared very fond and personal memories, including anecdotes that captured Prince Philip’s passion for engineering, his terrific sense of humour

and his friendliness and enthusiasm at Academy events. The profound impact His Royal Highness had, both in the engineering profession and to the Academy, could truly be felt.

The event also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Prince Philip Medal and reflected on the extraordinary achievements of previous recipients and this year’s winner. This year, Dr Gladys West became the first woman to receive the medal, being recognised for her work in the development of GPS.

Sir Jim said that the Academy would continue to honour Prince Philip’s legacy through our work, the award of the Prince Philip Medal and the development of the Prince Philip Fund - a fund that will exist in perpetuity to meet our critical capital needs and ensure

the long-term sustainability of our home at Prince Philip House for the generations to come.

Fellows who have already shared memories and photos of meeting and working with HRH have been greatly appreciated. If you would like to submit story or to find out more about the Prince Philip Fund, please contact development.team@raeng.org.uk

News of Fellows

Sir Peter Bonfield CBE has been appointed to the Board of Darktrace plc

Tudor Brown MBE has been appointed a Non-Executive Director at Ceres Power

Lord Browne of Madingley FRS has been appointed co-chair of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology and a Senior Advisor at General Atlantic

Ursula Burns has joined the Advisory Board of Icetris and is a Board Advisor at Ocean Outdoor

Lord Darzi is to receive an honorary degree from the University of Hong Kong

Professor Yulong Ding has been awarded the IChemE Clean Energy Medal

Bob Dudley has been appointed a director of Freeport McMoRan Inc

Anne Glover CBE FRSE has been appointed to the Government’s Investment Council

Anne Glover and Professor Graham Wren OBE FRSE and have been elected Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Professor Jim Hall has been appointed Vice President of the ICE, succeeding to the Presidency in 2024

Professor Nick Jennings CB has been appointed Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University

Professor Karen Holford CBE FLSW has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University

Steve Holliday has been awarded The Times Non-

Executive Director Award

Professor Robert Langer has been appointed a director of Xenter Inc

Professor Kai H. Luo has been awarded the 2021 AIAA Energy Systems Award

Professor Geoff Maitland CBE has been awarded the IChemE Ambassador Prize

Dervilla Mitchell CBE FREng has been appointed Joint Deputy Chair of Arup

Dr Ian Ritchey has been appointed a Non-Executive Director of Tekmar Group plc

Professor David Williams been elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales

Andrew Wolstenholme OBE has been appointed Group Technical Director at Laing O’Rourke

@RAEngNews

Royal Academy of Engineering

Royal Academy of Engineering

Published by the Royal Academy of EngineeringPrince Philip House3 Carlton House TerraceLondon, SW1Y 5DGRegistered charity number 293074

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Obituaries

Dr Ronald Punt FREng died on 23 March 2020, aged 95. He was formerly Managing Director, Harland and Wolff Ltd.

Mr John Holt FREng died on 1 December 2020, aged 82.

Dr Robert Frosch FREng died on 31 December 2020, aged 92. He was formerly Vice President, General Motors Corp.

Professor William Gambling FREng FRS died on 9 January 2021, aged 94. He was Past President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Mr Thomas Mayer CBE FREng

died on 16 February 2021, aged 92. He was formerly CEO, THORN-EMI Technology Group.

Sir Derek Roberts CBE FREng FRS died on 17 February 2021, aged 88. He was formerly provost of University College London.

Mr Stephen Bechtel Jr FREng died on 15 March 2021, aged 95. He was Chairman Emeritus, Bechtel Group Inc.

Professor Richard Parry-Jones CBE FREng died on 17 April 2021, aged 69. He was formerly Vice President and Chief Technical Officer Product Development, Ford Motor Company.

Dr Michael Purshouse FREng

died on 2 May 2021, aged 69. He was formerly Chief Engineer and Head of Systems Engineering, Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier programme.

Mr Michael Parsons FREng died on 16 May 2021 aged 92. He designed the Severn Bridge, which was awarded the first MacRobert Award in 1969.

Dr Henry McDonald FREng died on 25 May 2021, aged 84. He was formerly Distinguished Professor, Chair of Excellence in Engineering, University of Tennessee.

Mr Charles Barker FREng died on 5 July 2021, aged 85. He was formerly a consultant at Arup.

Forthcoming events

This is a selection of forthcoming Academy events. For a complete list, visit www.raeng.org.uk/events

22 September 2021AGMOnline

29 September 2021Hinton Lecture 40th anniversaryPrince Philip House

23 November 2021Research Forum 2021Online

Edited by Portia Sale, Editorial Manager. Contact:portia.sale@raeng.org.uk

To submit News of Fellows or obituaries, please contactpatrick.woodcock@raeng.org.uk

Media roundup

The Academy issued a comment on the death of our Senior Fellow, the Duke of Edinburgh, on 9 April. The comment celebrated the Duke’s contribution to engineering and the founding of the Academy and was covered quite widely in the national news media along with interviews with our current and two past presidents and other Fellows. Coverage included BBC Radio 4 Today programme, BBC One, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Sunday Express and Sunday Times.

In May the Academy published its Critical Capabilities report, which recommends steps the government should take to make the UK more resilient to new pandemics or other emergencies. Media coverage

included an opinion piece in The Engineer by working group Chair Paul Taylor FREng.

Dr Gladys West was announced as the winner of the Prince Philip medal on 10 June, which would have been the Senior Fellow’s 100th birthday. Royal Fellow HRH The Princess Royal presented the award virtually to Gladys, filmed by ITV News and shown on their lunchtime, 6.30pm and 10pm bulletins. Other coverage of the award included Hello magazine, Royal Central and Mail Online.

The Academy and the MacRobert Award were widely referenced in multiple obituaries of Michael Parsons FREng, the last surviving first winner of the award in 1969 as part of the Freeman, Fox and Partners team who designed the Severn Bridge.