Engineering news
The academy revealed the new fellows today (20 September) after electing them at its annual general meeting yesterday. The organisation now has nearly 1,700 in its fellowship, including international and honorary fellows.
The 2023 intake includes 60 fellows, eight international fellows and five honorary fellows, “each of whom has made exceptional contributions to their own sector, pioneering new innovations, leading progress in business or academia, providing high level advice to government, or promoting wider understanding of engineering and technology,” an academy announcement said.
The new fellows include Gwen Parry-Jones OBE, CEO of government-owned Great British Nuclear, professor David Greenwood, CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult at WMG, and Christopher Young, chief engineer at Rolls-Royce group.
Others include:
- Professor Harish Bhaskaran, professor of applied nanomaterials, Department of Materials, University of Oxford
- Professor Timothy Abram, professor in nuclear fuel technology, The University of Manchester
- Professor Robert Deaves FLSW, senior principal engineer, Dyson; honorary professor, University of Birmingham
- John Downes, chief information officer, SSE Renewables
- Professor William (Bill) O'Neill, professor of laser engineering, University of Cambridge
- Professor Ashutosh Tiwari, Royal Academy of Engineering/ Airbus research chair in digital manufacturing, University of Sheffield
- Professor Barbara Shollock, founding head of the Department of Engineering at King’s College London
- Professor Ruth Cameron, joint head of the Department of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge.
Honorary fellows include broadcaster and physicist professor Jim Al-Khalili, venture capitalist and former chair of the UK government’s vaccine taskforce Dame Kate Bingham, and chair of the UK Space Agency Lord Willetts.
Academy president professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE said: “Engineering is everywhere, but nowhere the same, and our new fellows represent the great breadth and diversity of engineers who are striving to address some of the world’s most complex challenges – benefiting society and the economy in the process. From next generation power networks and water systems to quantum computing and artificial intelligence, our new fellows are shaping the future.
“We live in an era of rapid change across our communities, our country, and of course our planet. Today we welcome to our fellowship an inspiring group of people who are harnessing their creativity, courage and commitment to drive positive change in the world around us, and we look forward to their contribution to our work.”
This year’s new fellows reflect the academy’s Fellowship Fit for the Future initiative, the organisation said, which aims to drive more nominations of outstanding engineers from underrepresented groups ahead of its fiftieth anniversary in 2026.
“This commits the academy to strive for increased representation from women, disabled and LGBTQ+ engineers, those from minority ethnic backgrounds, non-traditional education pathways and emerging industries, and those who have achieved excellence at an earlier career stage than normal,” the announcement said.
The new fellows will be formally admitted to the academy at a special ceremony in London on 28 November.
Visit the Royal Academy website for a complete list of the new fellows.
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