Three outstanding Oxford University researchers are among 74 leading figures elected by the Royal Academy of Engineering to its Fellowship this year.
Fellows are elected for having made exceptional contributions to their own sector, pioneered new innovations, lead progress in business or academia, provided high level advice to government, and/or promoted wider understanding of engineering and technology.
Sir John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: '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.'
Professor Jim Naismith , Head of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division at the University of Oxford, said: 'I am delighted that three outstanding MPLS colleagues - Professors Ronald Roy, Andrea Vedaldi and Michael Wooldridge - have been elected Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering. This honour recognises not only their individual achievements and that of their co-workers and students at the forefront of engineering and computer science, but also the breadth of excellence across our Division. Their election is richly deserved, and I warmly congratulate them on this national recognition of their pioneering contributions.'
Emeritus Professor Ronald Roy , Department of Engineering Science:
It is a supreme honour to be named Fellow of one of the world's premier engineering academies and I am thankful to those colleagues who supported my nomination. As a senior academic I worked diligently to advance the position and impact of engineering at Oxford, and Fellowship in the Royal Academy of Engineering will provide an ideal platform to continue this effort.
Emeritus Professor Ronald Roy , Department of Engineering Science
Trained as a physicist and an engineer, Professor Roy studies how the principles of sound can be applied to challenges in medicine, industry, and the study of the ocean. However, his true passion is the interaction between sound and bubbles. Areas of his current and previous research include how bubbles can emit flashes of light when excited by sound (sonoluminescence), the violent collapse of bubbles when exposed to high-intensity sound waves, and medical treatments that combine ultrasound with bubbles to target body tissues. More recently, he joined colleagues to develop new techniques that use ultrasound to genetically manipulate biofilms and that image soft tissues by combining light and sound (acousto-optic imaging). He is currently exploring novel ways to use nanoparticles in conjunction with laser illumination and high-intensity focused ultrasound to facilitate optical imaging, focused ultrasound surgery, and chemical reactions that are triggered or accelerated using sound waves (sono-chemical processes).
Professor Andrea Vedaldi , Department of Engineering Science
This milestone is not only a personal achievement but also a recognition of the impact and quality of the work carried out by my team and many collaborators. I am inspired by the Academy's commitment to leadership, innovation, and creativity, and I look forward to the new opportunities and responsibilities that come with joining the Fellowship.
Professor Andrea Vedaldi , Department of Engineering Science
Andrea Vedaldi is Professor of Computer Vision and Machine Learning at the University of Oxford, where he co-leads the Visual Geometry Group (VGG), one of the most influential computer vision groups worldwide. He is also a technical lead at Meta, working on 3D computer vision and generative AI. Professor Vedaldi has made valuable contributions to multiple areas of computer vision and machine learning, including explainable AI, deep internal learning, unsupervised learning, and visual tracking. His work also covers geometry-based methods for understanding 3D structure in images and videos, as well as mathematical techniques, known as kernel methods, that help computers recognise complex patterns in data.
Professor Vedaldi has also developed highly impactful open-source research platforms. His recent research focuses on Spatial AI: the problem of developing AIs with a robust understanding of the physical world, and of using this knowledge for 3D content generation, robotic control, and physical engineering and design.
Professor Michael Wooldridge , Department of Computer Science:
I am deeply honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. For me, this recognition is not only a personal milestone, but also a testament to the growing impact of artificial intelligence. To be admitted to a community of such distinguished engineers is both humbling and inspiring, and I look forward to contributing to the Academy's mission of promoting excellence in engineering.
Professor Michael Wooldridge , Department of Computer Science
Professor Wooldridge has worked in AI for more than 35 years. He is one of founders of the field of multi-agent systems - concerned with building AI programs ("agents") that operate on our behalf, possibly working with other AI agents while doing so. While current popular agents - such as Siri, Alexa, and Cortana - interact only with humans, it is widely believed that in future, agents will interact with other agents. Agents that can do this will need social skills, including the ability to cooperate, coordinate, and negotiate with each other. Professor Wooldridge's work over the past 35 years has been directed around building agents with these skills. The rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT present many new opportunities for multi-agent systems, and Professor Wooldridge's work is mainly focussed around these.
Besides a prodigious scholarly output, Professor Wooldridge has significantly advanced public understanding of AI. He has written several books, gives frequent public lectures on AI, and has presented evidence on AI to multiple government committees.
Further information about the new Fellows can be found on Royal Academy of Engineering's website .
