The Royal Academy of Engineering have elected two Queen Mary engineers, Professor James Busfield and Professor Yang Hao, as fellows.
Professor Busfield was acknowledged for his extensive work with industry partners to develop a wide range of innovative elastomer products and his commitment to supporting the next generation of graduate engineers.
Professor Hao was recognised for his research in the areas of body-centric wireless communication and metamaterials, which has revolutionized satellite antenna technology and high throughput wireless connectivity.
In total 53 leading UK and international engineers have been elected as Fellows, in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession.
Commenting on the news, Professor James Busfield said: “I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to become a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. When I look at the eminent and renowned list of fellows, I am truly honoured to be joining their number. I hope that this recognition will enable me to contribute to their mission of engineering a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. This aligns perfectly with my own aspirations as an academic at Queen Mary.”
Professor Yang Hao added: “I am honoured and thankful for being elected as a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, especially on the 20 year anniversary of my service at Queen Mary. Fortunately, throughout my career I’ve been blessed by the generous support of many mentors and research funding bodies that have helped me to pursue my research in the field of antennas and electronics.”
All the new Fellows will be formally admitted to Fellowship at the Academy’s online AGM on Tuesday 22 September 2020. They join a Fellowship of almost 1,600 eminent engineers from both industry and academia and join an Academy on a mission to use the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and create an inclusive economy that works for everyone.
Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “As the UK’s National Academy for engineering and technology, we bring together an unrivalled community of leading business people and industrialists, entrepreneurs, innovators and academics from every part of engineering and technology.
“The new Fellows who join us today are among the most talented and successful engineers working in the field today, leaders in areas from transport and our essential data infrastructure to lifesaving developments in medical research. We look forward to working with them and benefiting from their ideas and insight as we strive to inform public debate and provide workable solutions to our shared national and global challenges.”
Throughout his career Professor Busfield has worked extensively with industrial partners to develop a wide range of innovative elastomer products and improve the performance of elastomer materials. This includes helping rubber companies such as Bridgestone improve the fuel efficiency of their tyres, and oil & gas companies such as Schlumberger to create more robust deep-sea sealing systems. He’s passionate about preparing the next generation of graduate engineers for work using real world problems within his teaching, and was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship for his innovative teaching approach in 2009.
Professor Hao is distinguished for his seminal contributions to the fields of body-centric wireless communication and metamaterials, especially those employing spatial transformation. He has applied his knowledge to revolutionize satellite antenna technology and enhance high throughput wireless connectivity. His innovative approaches have been taken up by start-up companies and industry within the UK and he has won worldwide acclaims for his multi-disciplinary research which is reshaping the future of UK manufacturing and electronics.
Speaking on his research and future plans, Professor Hao said: “Looking to the future, my ambition is to help revolutionise antennas and electronics to enhance future wireless connectivity and continue to work with industry to support the UK to become the best place for technology innovation with ever-increasing visibility and long-lasting impact. I still have a few ideas to develop, and I am keen to take these new concepts from a state of raw potential to the point where they can have a real impact on technology worldwide.”
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