IET Faraday Medal awarded to Professor Sir Martin Sweeting

26 November 2009

The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) most prestigious award, the Faraday Medal has been awarded to Professor Sir Martin Sweeting OBE FRS. The Medal, named after the pioneering scientist Michael Faraday, is given for notable scientific or industrial achievement in engineering or for conspicuous service rendered to the advancement of science, engineering and technology.

During the IET awards ceremony held at Lord’s Cricket Ground, Sir Martin, a world-renowned expert on satellites, signed the Roll of Honour and received the coveted medal.  It was awarded in recognition of “his visionary leadership, satellite expertise, ambition and drive, which among other things, brought the overheads involved in space exploration, down to earth. Sir Martin’s work includes establishing the viability of the use of small satellites for earth observation, communication and navigation purposes and his founding of a company to design and supply small satellites to organisations throughout the world”.

Sir Martin is the founder and Director of the Surrey Space Centre and Executive Chairman of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, a spin-off company he created in 1985.  Both are based at the University of Surrey where he is Distinguished Professor of Satellite Engineering. He became a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1996 and was awarded a knighthood by HM The Queen in 2002.

On receiving the award Sir Martin said, “I am particularly honoured to receive this medal from the IET as Michael Faraday was a remarkable experimentalist in a field close to my heart – electromagnetics.  It was my fascination with radio communications which, combined with a dream of space, brought me to work in the exciting field of small satellites and their ability to change the economics of space. It has been particularly satisfying to be able to work with many emerging space nations and enable them to their first affordable steps into space and share the benefits of its applications and opportunities.”

IET President, Professor Christopher Snowden, who awarded Sir Martin with the medal said, “The Faraday Medal is the highest accolade the IET gives and Sir Martin is a worthy recipient. His work and achievements embody much of what the IET stands for; advancing and sharing knowledge for the benefit of the world in which we live.”

Media enquiries to:

Pauline Duggan, Press Officer
T: +44 (0)1438 767226
M: +44 (0)7702 352225
E: pduggan@theiet.org