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History of the Academy
1976–1981: Establishing a track record
The Fellowship, under
its first President, Lord Hinton of Bankside
OM KBE FREng FRS, now set out to build a
track record. As it had been established to
recognise excellence in all fields of
engineering, particular priority was given
to demonstrating its interdisciplinary
expertise. Learned society activities began
in 1977, when The Fellowship held its first
annual soiree, 'to illustrate the best in
British engineering', and founded its
Distinction (later Christopher Hinton)
lecture series. Good relations were fostered
with the Royal Society and working parties
were set up on subjects such as the
education of engineers and technicians in
relation to materials, which became the
first Fellowship publication in May 1978.
The choice of subjects on which to report
reflected the fact that best engineering
practice is not just a matter of innovative
technology but of safe procedures,
reliability and minimisation of harmful
by-products. One well-received report
published in 1981 examined abatement
technology for reducing lead in the
environment. Another, on product liability,
led to one of the first of many requests to
advise government or parliamentary bodies on
engineering issues. By 1979 growing
recognition of The Fellowship's
interdisciplinary expertise within
government was marked by an invitation from
the Department of Industry to advise on ways
of improving manufacturing performance.
Meanwhile another Fellowship working party
on engineering research was part of the
impetus leading to the replacement of the
Science Research Council by the Science and
Engineering Research Council (SERC) in 1981.
Within its first five years The Fellowship
was thus already exerting growing influence.
It had also begun to establish its
credentials as a conduit for international
discussions with overseas national
engineering academies, as a founder member
of what was to become the
Council of
Academies of Engineering and Technological
Sciences (CAETS) in 1978.
After some
difficulties in the very early days, The
Fellowship was becoming increasingly
financially secure, after an appeal for
funds in 1978–1980 raised almost £1,000,000.
It undertook a successful and expanding
range of activities, including the annual
MacRobert Award for excellence in
engineering innovation, which the CEI had
administered since its inception in
1969–1970, until The Fellowship's autonomy
from a beleaguered CEI. Discontent amongst
the engineering institutions with the CEI
was underlined by the 1980 Finniston Report,
culminating in its disbandment in 1983, and
its replacement by the original
Engineering
Council.
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