Two Cambridge researchers have been named Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of their exceptional contributions to their fields.
Professor Cecilia Mascolo, Professor of Mobile Systems in the Department of Computer Science and Technology and Professor Swami Swaminathan, Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Engineering, are among 74 leading figures in the field of engineering and technology elected to a Fellowship.
This year's group consists of 60 Fellows, nine International Fellows and five Honorary Fellows.
They are drawn from every specialism from within the engineering and technology professions and cover sectors ranging from energy and defence to new materials. They have made exceptional contributions to their field: pioneering new innovations within academia and business, providing expert advice to government, and fostering a wider comprehension of engineering and technology.
Professor Cecilia Mascolo, who is also a Fellow of Jesus College, is a pioneer in devising frameworks to collect sensing data from devices such as phones and wearables with the purpose of developing models to understand behaviour and health. During the pandemic, she and her colleagues developed the COVID-19 Sounds App, which collects and analyses short recordings of users coughing and breathing to detect if they are suffering from COVID-19.
Since then, she has been working on ways to turn the devices we wear - such as earbuds - into mobile monitors that can collect data about our state of health, and developing cutting edge machine learning tools to evaluate that data on the device itself.
Professor Swami Swaminathan, who is also a Fellow of Robinson College, is an expert in the physics and chemistry of turbulent reacting flows, their modelling and simulations. His significant finding in turbulence-scalar-chemistry interaction led to a robust and accurate modelling framework enabling quantitative estimates of temperature distribution, emissions, combustion noise and instabilities in combustors using single simulation. His work helps engineers find robust designs of 'green combustion systems' for power generation using low- and zero-carbon fuel and helps devise simple models for complex fundamental phenomena.
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. 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.
"As we approach our 50th anniversary next year it's a good time to reflect on how much we have achieved," said Sir John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering. "The Academy is built on the foundation of our Fellowship, and that remains as true today as half a century ago.
"Today's cohort join a community of around 1,700 of some of the most talented engineers and innovators in the UK and around the globe. Their knowledge and experience make them uniquely well placed to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world, and our determination to advance and promote excellence in engineering remains undimmed."
The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony in London on 18 November.
