Alumni recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering

Four alumni of Imperial College London, including two members of Imperial College staff, have been awarded Fellowships by the Royal Academy of Engineering

Each year the Royal Academy of Engineering, the UK's national academy for engineering, honours the most distinguished engineers in the UK by electing them to the Fellowship of the Academy.

Four alumni of Imperial College, two of whom are also members of Imperial staff, found themselves amongst 47 new Fellows elected to the Academy this year.

Professor Philip John (Mathematics 1977, PhD Mechanical Engineering 1980), Professor of Systems Engineering and Head of Department of Human Factors and Systems Engineering at Cranfield University, and Professor John Nicholls (Materials 1970, PhD 1973), Professor of Coating Technology and Head of Surface Science and Engineering and Director of the National High Temperature Surface Engineering Centre, also at Cranfield University, were both honoured for their outstanding contributions to engineering.

In addition, two members of Imperial College staff were recognised: Professor Nina Thornhill from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology and Professor Mehmet Imregun from the Department of Mechanical Engineering join 45 other new Fellows elected to the Academy this year.

Professor Thornhill (MSc Electrical Engineering 1983) joined the College in 2007 to take up a new research Chair of Process Automation, sponsored by engineering company ABB under the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chairs scheme. She is leading a five-year programme focusing on improving control and process monitoring in the oil, gas and electrical power industries, using signal processing and time series analysis techniques.

Her research aims to trace the root causes of inefficiencies in industrial systems, such as unstable flows in pipes and the build up of foam in distillation columns. She also looks at new ways of reducing energy consumption, boosting productivity and increasing profitability.

Professor Imregun (MSc Mechanical Engineering 1980, PhD 1984) has worked at the College since completing his PhD in 1984. He became Professor of Computational Engineering Dynamics in 2000 and his research looks at improving the design of aeroplane engines in terms of their structural integrity, reliability, performance and to produce less noise. Professor Imregun is also the Director of the Vibration University Technology Centre, based at the College and funded by Rolls Royce plc, which carries out vibration research for the aerospace and power generation industries.

The new elections bring the total number of Fellows of the Academy at Imperial to 76.

For a full list of the new Fellows, please visit: www.raeng.org.uk/about/fellowship/newfellows.