Institution news
The award winners, Team Leader Dr Roland Ernst, Dr Mark Cary, Dominic Evans, Steve Johnson, Mike Rowland and James Saward, received their medals in front of distinguished members and guests at the Institution’s 102nd Thomas Hawksley Prestige Lecture at One Birdcage Walk in December.
Dr Roland praised his team at the ceremony. “Thank you very, very much. I’m humbled. We had a great team and it is an honour to receive the prize,” he said.
“Our main motivation and driver was to reduce CO2 emissions. We’re very happy to contribute to lower CO2 on a global scale. We worked very hard to reduce the friction and weight in the engine and to make sure it was an affordable product.”
The award recognises an individual or small team of engineers, based in the UK, who have made the greatest contribution to the advancement of any field of engineering within the four year period prior to the making of the award.
It commemorates the life and work of one of Scotland's most accomplished marine engineers – Edinburgh-born Colin Campbell Mitchell – best known for pioneering the development of the steam catapult for use on aircraft carriers.
Dame Ann, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), said: “Thanks to the efforts of the research and development team, based at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in Basildon, Essex, the smaller, three-cylinder 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine is able to deliver a superior performance to traditional 1.6 litre engines, with better fuel economy and CO2 emissions that are 20% lower than conventional engines.
“The team’s work provides a really excellent example of how applying engineering ingenuity can deliver both competitive advantage and societal benefit.
“Not only is the market success of the EcoBoost engine contributing to a reduction in CO2 emissions globally and helping to meet climate targets, but it is also reinforcing the UK’s reputation for delivering world-beating innovation.”