Cambridge Professors Mark Girolami and Epaminondas Mastorakos have been announced Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession.
These new Fellows are some of our most pioneering and distinguished engineers and technologists.
Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE
At the Academy’s AGM, held yesterday (20 September), a total of 72 new Fellows were welcomed. These new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a special ceremony in London on 8 November, when each Fellow will sign the roll book. In joining the Fellowship, they will add their unique capabilities to the Academy’s mission to harness the power of engineering to create a sustainable society and an inclusive economy for all.
The list of new Fellows includes:
Professor Mark Girolami FRSE, Sir Kirby Laing Professor of Civil Engineering at Cambridge; Academic Director for the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC); Chief Scientist, The Alan Turing Institute; and Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Data-Centric Engineering (DCE).
A globally renowned and inspirational research leader whose expertise uniquely spans the main data science and AI disciplines of computing science, statistical science, applied mathematics, and engineering, Professor Girolami has held senior academic professorial posts in some of the UK’s world-leading universities. In addition, he brings a wealth of industrial, business and commercial experience, having worked for a decade with IBM.
“I am extremely honoured to have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering by my peers,” he said. “I have been privileged to have led outstanding teams of engineers and scientists at The Alan Turing Institute where the new discipline of Data-Centric Engineering has been developed and is having a transformative impact in engineering science and practice. This could only be achieved through co-creation across multiple disciplines in both academia and industry. I have been very fortunate to work with highly skilled and passionate colleagues across research disciplines and in all engineering sectors where, together, our ambition has been to make a difference to society.”
Professor Epaminondas Mastorakos, Hopkinson and Imperial Chemical Industries Professor of Applied Thermodynamics, University of Cambridge.
Professor Mastorakos's research aims to provide theories and background knowledge for combustion physics, with focus on how flames behave in gas turbines and diesel engines. The research revolves around simulations and experiments of many kinds of flames (gaseous or liquid fuels, premixed or non-premixed), and in particular on "flames at the limit". His research brings attention to ignition and extinction phenomena that have a wide range of applications in modern low-emission engines. He is also working on other aspects of two-phase and reacting flows including disease transmission and forest fires.
"I am very grateful to all the students I have interacted with and the senior and junior colleagues from academia and industry that have taught me an awful lot throughout my career,” said Professor Mastorakos. “Working on energy, propulsion and pollution has been incredibly rewarding. These are difficult and important problems that still need huge amounts of research in the underlying thermofluids."
Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “I am delighted to welcome such an array of enormously talented people to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering. From industry and enterprise to education and government – both national and international – these are some of our most pioneering and distinguished engineers and technologists.
“In an uncertain world, one thing is certain – engineering skills, vision and leadership will play a crucial part in addressing the escalating domestic and global challenges that we face today. The combined connectivity, professionalism, experience and wisdom of the new Fellows who join us today will greatly enrich the expertise and support we can provide to the government and to society in general.”
Alumna Judith Sykes FREng, has also been announced as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Judith is Senior Director at Expedition Engineering and Useful Projects.
