Summer 2021 of Engineering Newsletter
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Royal Academy Summer 2021 of Engineering Newsletter British testing pioneer wins 2021 MacRobert Award On 6 July, DnaNudge’s pioneering consumer genetics technology was announced as the winner of the 2021 MacRobert Award, the most prestigious prize for UK engineering innovation. The award is supported by the Worshipful Company of Engineers. The technology was pivoted and adapted to deliver a rapid, lab-free RT-PCR COVID-19 test to NHS hospitals. The winning team received a £50,000 prize and a gold medal. In August 2020, the UK government placed a major DnaNudge’s NudgeBox portable analyser maps the user’s genetic order with DnaNudge to supply the Department of profile to key nutrition-related health traits in just over an hour. Health and Social Care with CovidNudge test kits for use in NHS hospitals across the UK. Now also related health traits such as obesity, diabetes, in use in care homes and supporting the return of hypertension, and cholesterol. the arts sector, the test can accurately detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus from saliva samples on-site in just On the same day, the winners of the RAEng over an hour – eliminating the need for a laboratory. Engineers Trust Young Engineer of the Year were presented with their awards by HRH The Princess Based in central London at the Imperial College Royal, Royal Fellow of the Academy, during a specially London Translation and Innovation Hub in White arranged visit to the Thames Tideway Project in City, DnaNudge was created by biomedical London. The winners were: Dr Marzia Bolpagni, Head engineer and CEO Professor Chris Toumazou of Building Information Modelling International at FREng FRS and geneticist and CSO Dr Maria Mace; Dr Ben Fletcher, Physical Design Engineer at Karvela. The winning team also includes Dr Caroline Graphcore Ltd; Dr Thomas Fudge, Co-Founder and Golden, Clinical Research Manager; Josef Cicinski, CEO of WASE; Dr Gita Khalili Moghaddam, CEO of UK Retail Store Manager; and David West, COO. TumourVue Ltd; and Dr Emilio Martínez-Pañeda, Research Fellow at Imperial College London. DnaNudge was chosen as the winner from a shortlist of three finalists that included Creo On 13 July, the Academy welcomed its award Medical’s advanced miniaturised surgical tools and winners to Prince Philip House for its Awards PragmatIC Semiconductor’s electronic engineering Celebration, the first in-person event since the innovation that takes the silicon out of silicon chips. start of the pandemic. The MacRobert Award winner and finalists were in attendance, as well as The CovidNudge rapid test technology was the winners of the Major Project Award, the MAST adapted in record time from DnaNudge’s existing Upgrade Project, a unique, compact spherical consumer DNA testing service, developed to tokamak fusion experiment. Dr Larissa Suzuki address nutrition and lifestyle-influenced health won the Rooke Award for the public promotion of conditions affecting people across the world, such engineering. The event also celebrated this year’s as obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Following a simple three Silver Medallists: Dr Tom Carter, Ultraleap; cheek swab, DnaNudge’s NudgeBox analyser Dr Andrew Lynn, Fluidic Analytics; and Dr maps the user’s genetic profile to key nutrition- Sithamparanathan Sabesan, PervasID Ltd. Contents Thought leadership 5 News of Fellows 11 Education and skills 7 Obituaries 12 President’s column 2 Public engagement 9 QuonsiResearch sil tatus and suliae innovation dis, tessultodiu 3 esAcademy conti, nenam roundup quem 10 www.raeng.org.uk/newsletters 1 President’s column many of you will know that he supports the government’s presented the MacRobert Award plans to Build Back Better. The almost every year since it began additional funding will allow in 1969. My congratulations go to us to grow our policy, diversity winner DnaNudge. I particularly and inclusion, and enterprise enjoyed meeting the finalists, activities, as well as make extra alongside other award winners, at investments in education and our Awards Celebration on 13 July; fellowships for early career our first in-person event since the researchers. This funding, and start of the pandemic. the continuing generosity of our philanthropic supporters, has also We have other reasons for let us maintain a strong portfolio cautious optimism. In March, of international activities, despite Three months ago, engineering the Academy welcomed the the reduction in ODA funding. lost one of its greatest advocates, Chancellor’s Budget statement Against a challenging backdrop, and the Academy lost a very and the publication of Build Back this is a step in the right direction. dear patron. Our Senior Fellow, Better: our plan for growth, which HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, recognised the potential of the When our Senior Fellow helped memorably declared during UK’s high-growth technology establish the Fellowship of an interview on Radio 4 that companies alongside the Engineering in 1976, it set out to “everything that wasn’t invented importance of government demonstrate its interdisciplinary by God was invented by an investment in the green industrial expertise to government and engineer”. Since the Academy’s revolution. We also welcomed ‘to illustrate the best in British inception in 1976, Prince Philip both the prominent role for engineering’. In 2021, while worked tirelessly to support our technology in the recently the UK faces huge challenges work. His genuine passion for published Integrated Review of in achieving a recovery that engineering was evident in his Security, Defence, Development marries economic renewal with many visits to the Academy and and Foreign Policy, and the uplift sustainability and distribution of his challenging discussions with for research and innovation in the opportunity more evenly across the engineers he met. 2020 Spending Review, together the nation, the Academy is in its with the government’s success strongest position yet to share its In early June, when HRH The in ensuring UK association to expertise and demonstrate the Duke of Edinburgh would have Horizon Europe. essential value of engineering to turned 100, the Academy made a our economy and society at large. special award of the Prince Philip On funding we have had mixed Medal – awarded to an engineer news. Many of you will have heard Best wishes, who has made an exceptional about the reduction in funding Jim contribution to engineering. It for research and innovation for was special because the biennial international development. As medal would not normally have a result, our programmes that been awarded in 2021, but a support engineers from low- decision was taken to do so in and middle-income countries to honour of our Senior Fellow; and address development challenges Meetings and visitors also because it was awarded lost 73% of their ODA funding. to a woman for the first time, In his capacity as President, Dr Gladys West. As a pioneer Thankfully, the picture is more Sir Jim has met with: in the use of mathematics and positive for the core funding ■ Sir Patrick Vallance FRS with programming to process early the Academy receives from the presidents of the National satellite data to generate accurate, government to support our Academies repeatable models of the Earth’s other activities, which has ■ Amanda Solloway MP, Minister geoid, Dr West paved the way been increased. This signals for Science, Research and for GPS. HRH The Princess Royal, how well recognised the value Innovation Royal Fellow of the Academy, of the Academy’s work is to ■ Sir John Parker GBE FREng presented the medal via a virtual government and acknowledges He attended the following events audience with Dr West at her the impact and relevance of our and meetings: home in the US. contributions; our goal to harness ■ Association of British Chinese the power of engineering to Professors Annual Conference; Prince Philip was a staunch build a sustainable society and Net zero world in 30 years supporter of UK industry and an inclusive economy clearly ■ UKRI Bilateral meeting 2 Research and innovation Biowaste innovation wins Africa Prize On 8 July, chemical engineer Noël N’guessan won the 2021 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation with a biowaste equipment innovation. N’guessan and his team designed and patented Kubeko to assist smallholder farmers and their cooperatives to generate more income from the by-products of their harvests, without any additional labour. Kubeko is a set of low-cost biowaste processing equipment; its composter Africa Prize winner Noël N’guessan and biodigester are both specifically designed to ferment agricultural post-harvest by-products communities. They were chosen after receiving into solid and liquid compost, and cooking gas. eight months of training, mentorship and support through the Africa Prize, with expert volunteers. Since being shortlisted, the Kubeko team has made progress in reducing its production costs The other finalists were: from US$800 to US$700. The team has installed ■ Indira Tsengiwe from South Africa, who two biodigesters running on cassava farms, with created BlueAvo, a digital platform that 50 composters installed to date on cocoa, palm connects creative brands and people in the oil and mango farms. Kubeko has also been media industry with local content creators. commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment ■ Faith Adesemowo from Nigeria, who and Sustainable Development in Côte d’Ivoire to developed Social Lender digital financial train stakeholders as part of the department’s services to give finance access to Africans national composting and biowaste strategy. who lack access to formal financial services. ■ Mechanical and electronics engineer Juka The four finalists were selected from a shortlist Fatou Darboe from The Gambia, who of 16 African innovators for their ability to use launched Make3D Medical, using 3D printing engineering to solve problems for African for customised orthopaedic equipment. Frontiers programme awards ideas via an online chat. Live sessions followed new seed funding where discussions were facilitated between smaller groups of participants so that ideas could be The Academy’s Frontiers programme has explored.