Professors Colm Durkan, Gopal Madabhushi and Cam Middleton have been announced Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession.
Our new Fellows represent some of the most talented people in the world of engineering and are taken from the ranks of those who are aiming to address some of our most critical problems.
Dr John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Professor Colm Durkan FREng, Head of Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
Professor Colm Durkan is Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. He has worked at the forefront of nanotechnology, developing surface engineering techniques that he has widely applied in Industry.
He led bp’s and the International Central for Advanced Materials’ largest ever programme on mitigation of surface fouling and is now working on hydrogen generation.
He has published several books including one on nanotechnology for the layperson. He is a director of CambridgeNano, which manufactures nanotechnology equipment and provides courses.
He actively promotes outreach and is leading a reform of the engineering course at Cambridge.
Professor Gopal Madabhushi FREng
Professor of Civil Engineering and Head of the Geotechnical and Geo-Environmental Group, University of Cambridge; Director, Schofield Centre for Geotechnical and Construction Modelling
Professor Gopal Madabhushi is an international expert on earthquake geotechnics, developing unique experimental modelling facilities at Cambridge. These have advanced the understanding of earthquake effects on soils and structures, especially seismic liquefaction, through two textbooks, over 190 journal papers and 350 conference papers.
He has received the Institution of Civil Engineers T.K.Hsieh Award three times, its Bill Curtin Medal, and the British Geotechnical Association Medal. He is a longstanding member of the Society of Earthquakes and Civil Engineering Dynamics and of the Institution of Structural Engineers Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team, which he led to evaluate the impact of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake in India.
Professor Campbell Middleton FREng
Laing O’Rourke Professor of Construction Engineering and Head of Construction Engineering, University of Cambridge; Director, Laing O’Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology
Professor Campbell Middleton is the Founding Director of the Laing O’Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology at the University of Cambridge. A bridge engineer, his career has focused on educating industry leaders, implementing new technologies, supporting policy, and promoting collaboration between academia, industry and government.
In addition to creating and leading the world-acclaimed construction engineering master’s degree at Cambridge, Cam is recognised as an expert in bridge engineering, a field in which he is widely published and has won prestigious academic prizes, including the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Telford Gold Medal.
He is known internationally for his innovative work on structural analysis and structural health monitoring.
Royal Academy of Engineering welcomes 71 new Fellows 2024
At its AGM on 17 September 2024 the Royal Academy of Engineering elected 71 leading figures in the field of engineering and technology to its Fellowship. The group consists of 60 Fellows, six 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.
This year’s new Fellows continue to reflect the Academy’s ongoing 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 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 new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a special ceremony in London on 27 November, when each Fellow will sign the roll book. In joining the Fellowship, they will lend their unique capabilities to achieving the Academy’s overarching strategic goal to harness the power of engineering to create a sustainable society and an inclusive economy for all. The AGM also confirmed the election of Dr John Lazar as the new President of the Academy for a five-year term.
Dr John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:
“Our new Fellows represent some of the most talented people in the world of engineering and are taken from the ranks of those who are aiming to address some of our most critical problems. We are proud to say that many of our newly elected Fellows have come from underrepresented groups in engineering and related sectors and we hope this helps to tackle some of the issues around a lack of diversity within the profession. There is ample evidence that a wider pool of ideas and experiences helps to improve decision-making and develop novel solutions to global challenges.”
The complete list of Fellows elected in 2024 (in alphabetical order) can be found here.
