The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced the latest recipients of its Research Fellowships. The engineering research supported by the latest fellowships offers innovative engineering solutions to a wide range of societal challenges including the energy efficiency of data centres, waste and recycling, and treatment of medical ailments.
The Research Fellowships programme is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and supports 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. Amounts awarded are up to £625,000 over five years.
Professor Jonathan Cooper FREng FRSE, Chair of the Academy’s Research Fellowships steering group, said: “Congratulations to all the successful candidates, drawn from across the engineering and computing sciences representing a range of diverse backgrounds and experiences. This cohort will work on ambitious programmes of research that address many of today’s societal challenges, including those around healthcare and an ageing population as well as the environment, sustainability and net-zero. Examples of their exciting work involves the development of neurotechnologies, renewables and materials repurposing as well soft robotics and quantum technologies. All of the projects demonstrate how engineering innovation has the potential to improve our lives and promote economic growth. Very well done!"
In addition to direct financial support, the Research Fellowships programme provides an opportunity to establish a research track record and, in turn, to be in a stronger position to apply for additional funding and grow a research team.
Awardees also benefit from mentoring support from an Academy Fellow on research and career development as well as reduced teaching and administrative duties to allow time for research, training opportunities and networking with other Research Fellows and Academy Fellows.
The full list of Research Fellows and their projects is as follows:
· Dr Morgan Barnes, University College London
Liquid crystal elastomers: from scientific curiosities to impactful devices
· Dr Cristina Palmero Cantarino, King’s College London
Engineering context-aware socially intelligent systems with hybrid AI (ECASIS)
· Dr Richard Suphapol Diteesawat, University of Bristol
Intelligent robotic textiles for human clothing evolution and life augmentation
· Dr Aleksandr Donodin, Aston University
The next generation of energy-efficient optical regional and data centre connections
· Dr Elizabeth (Lizzie) Driscoll, University of Birmingham
FluorOUT: towards more environmentally friendly batteries
· Dr Winifred Obande, University of Edinburgh
Alignment and functionalisation of waste fibres into high-value composite materials
· Dr Christian Schroeder de Witt, University of Oxford
Mitigating generative AI threats for multi-agent security
· Dr Adriana Sejfia, University of Edinburgh
Robust and explainable software vulnerability detection
· Dr Tim West, University College London
Bridging broken brain circuits with in-silico neuroprosthetics for ataxia
· Dr Xiancheng Yu, University of Sheffield
Biomechanics of intracranial haemorrhage
· Dr Tian Yuan, Imperial College London
In-silico brain: a next-generation prediction platform for brain fluid dynamics
· Dr Jincheng Zhang, University of Warwick
Advancing floating wind technology with physics-aware machine learning
More information about this cohort of Research Fellowships can be found here.
Notes for editors
- Research Fellowships support early-career researchers to establish successful research careers and become future research leaders in their fields. The scheme provides funding for five years to allow awardees the freedom to concentrate on basic research in any field of engineering and establish a track record in the field. Funding for the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships is provided by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The Academy also thanks Rosetrees for its generous co-funding of one Research Fellowship award to support cutting-edge medical research. Fellowships can be hosted at any UK university or any UK research organisation that is eligible to receive UKRI funding.
- The Royal Academy of Engineering creates and leads a community of outstanding experts and innovators to engineer better lives. As a charity and a Fellowship, we deliver public benefit from excellence in engineering and technology and convene leading businesspeople, entrepreneurs, innovators and academics across engineering and technology. As a National Academy, we provide leadership for engineering and technology, and independent, expert advice to policymakers in the UK and beyond. Our work is enabled by funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, corporate and university partners, charitable trusts and foundations, and individual donors.