The Royal Academy of Engineering celebrates first new Fellows elected under Fit for the Future diversity initiative

FE champion and former engineer Steph McGovern (@StephLunch) elected Honary Fellow @RAEngNews 

The Royal Academy of Engineering has elected 69 leading figures in the field of engineering and technology to its Fellowship. The group consists of 60 Fellows, four International Fellows and five Honorary Fellows, with each individual having made exceptional contributions to their sectors in their own way, as innovation leaders, inspiring role models, or through remarkable achievements in business or academia.

This year’s new Fellows are the first to reflect the Academy’s Fellowship Fit for the Future initiative announced in July 2020, to drive more nominations of outstanding engineers from underrepresented groups ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2026.

This initiative will see the Academy 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.

These new Fellows will be admitted to the Academy, which comprises nearly 1,700 distinguished engineers, at its AGM on 22 September. In joining the Fellowship, they will add their capabilities to the Academy’s mission to create a sustainable society and an inclusive economy for all.

Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:

“Our Fellows represent the best of the best in the engineering world, and we welcome these 69 excellent and talented professionals to our community of businesspeople, entrepreneurs, innovators and academics.

“This year’s new Fellows are the most diverse group elected in the history of our institution. The engineering profession has long suffered from a diversity shortfall and the Academy is committed to changing that, including by ensuring that our own Fellowship community is as inclusive as it can be. It is well established that diverse organisations tend to be more agile and more innovative, and as the UK’s National Academy for engineering and technology, we have a responsibility to reflect the society we serve in addressing the shared challenges of our future.”

Fellows

Gary Aitkenhead

Senior Vice President, EMEA Operations, Equinix

Zayeed Alam

European Director, Corporate Data and Modelling Sciences, Procter and Gamble

Dr Jade Alglave

Distinguished Engineer, Arm Ltd; and Professor of Computer Science, University College London

Professor Ruth Allen

Independent consultant

Alison Atkinson

CEO, AWE plc

Professor Holger Babinsky

Professor of Aerodynamics, University of Cambridge

Professor Luke Bisby FRSE

Chair of Fire and Structures, Head of Research Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, University of Edinburgh

Professor Byron Byrne

Ørsted / RAEng Research Chair in Advanced Geotechnical Design, University of Oxford

Jonathan Carling

CEO, Tokamak Energy Ltd; Director, Zotefoams plc

Andrew Churchill

Executive Chairman, JJ Churchill Ltd

Professor Paul P Conway

Professor of Manufacturing Processes, Loughborough University

Professor Jian Dai

Professor and Chair of Mechanisms and Robotics, King’s College London

Alice Delahunty

President of Electricity Transmission, National Grid

Professor Daniele Dini

Professor of Tribology, Imperial College London

Professor Penelope Endersby

Chief Executive, The Meteorological Office

Mark Enzer OBE

Chief Technical Officer, Mott MacDonald; Director, Centre for Digital Built Britain

Professor Andrea Ferrari

Professor of Nanotechnology, Director, Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge

Elspeth Finch MBE

CEO, IAND

Professor Jarmila Glassey

Professor of Chemical Engineering Education, Newcastle University

Neil Glover

Head of Materials Research, Rolls-Royce plc

Dr Paul Gosling

Chief Technical Officer, Thales UK

Professor Edwin Hancock

Professor of Computer Science, University of York

Duncan Hawthorne

CEO, Horizon Nuclear Power

Professor Barrie Hayes-Gill

Professor of Medical Devices and Electronic Systems, University of Nottingham

Professor Peter Haynes

Professor of Theory & Simulation of Materials, Imperial College London

Professor Jan-Theodoor Janssen

Chief Scientist, National Physical Laboratory

Professor Samuel Kingman

Pro Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham

Professor Anton Kiss

Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Manchester

Professor Paola Lettieri

Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of UCL East, University College London

Professor James Litster

Vice President and Head of Faculty of Engineering, University of Sheffield

Dr Mark Little

VP Engineering, Red Hat

Professor Margaret Lucas FRSE

Regius Chair of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Professor of Ultrasonics and Dean of Research (College of Science and Engineering), University of Glasgow

Dr Andrew Lynn

Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Fluidic Analytics Limited

Professor Rob Miller

Professor of Aerothermal Technology, University of Cambridge

Professor Aimee Morgans

Professor of Thermofluids, Imperial College London

Dave Nesbitt

Director of Electrical and Vehicle Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover

Professor Catherine Noakes OBE

Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings, University of Leeds

Professor Ian Noble

Head of Research, Analytical and Productivity – Mondelez International RDQ; Visiting Professor, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham

Professor Stephen O’Connor

Visiting Professor, Research Centre for Biomedical Engineering, School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, City, University of London

Dr (Olawale) Nelson Ogunshakin OBE

CEO, FIDIC, International Federation of Consulting Engineers

Professor Rachel Oliver

Professor of Materials Science, University of Cambridge

Jim O’Sullivan

Formerly Chief Executive, Highways England Ltd

Professor Sebastien Ourselin

Head of School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King’s College London

Professor Stephen Parkes

Chief Technology Officer, STAR-Dundee Ltd

Professor Tiziana Rossetto

Professor in Earthquake Engineering, University College London

Andrew Rutter

Director and Owner, rutterdesign

Professor Simon Saunders

Communication Technology Advisor, Visiting Professor, King’s College London

Dr Iain Scott

Vice-President of Capability and Chief Technology Officer, Radar and Advanced Targeting, Leonardo MW Ltd

Dr Andrew Senior

Senior Research Scientist, DeepMind

David Short

Technology and Advanced Programmes Director, BAE Systems Plc

Dr Jamie Shotton

Chief Scientist, Wayve

Dr Jonathan Simm

Chief Technical Director (Resilience), HR Wallingford Ltd

Professor Julia Sutcliffe

Chief Technologist – Air, BAE Systems; Honorary Professor, University of Manchester

Dr Robert Swann

Chair: Audio Analytic Ltd; AudioTelligence Ltd; SLAMCore; Flusso; Board Member: Undo Software; Living Optics

Dr Simon Thomas

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Paragraf Ltd

Professor Patricia Thornley

Director, Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute, Aston University

Professor Yiannis Ventikos

Kennedy Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University College London

Professor Yanghua Wang

Professor of Geophysics, Imperial College London

Dr Rebecca Weston

Chief Operating Officer, Sellafield Ltd

Professor Bajram Zeqiri

NPL Fellow in Ultrasound, National Physical Laboratory

International Fellows

Professor Cato T Laurencin (USA)

Chief Executive Officer, The Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering, University of Connecticut, USA

Professor Alfonso Hing Wan Ngan (Hong Kong)

Kingboard Endowed Professsor in Materials Engineering, University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong SA

Professor Nabeel Agha Riza (Ireland)

Chief Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College Cork

Aleida Rios (USA/UK)

Senior Vice President of Engineering, bp

Honorary Fellows

Roma Agrawal MBE

Structural engineer, broadcaster and author

Yewande Akinola MBE

RAEng Visiting Professor, University of Westminster; Innovate UK Ambassador for clean growth and infrastructure

Dr Trueman Goba

Outgoing President, The South African Academy for Engineering; Chair, Hatch Africa

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE

CEO and Co-Founder of Stemettes

Steph McGovern

Broadcaster and journalist