World leading engineers win IET Achievement Awards

• 16 of the world’s top engineering and technology talent honoured with medals and trophies for services to the industry.
• Top medals go to Professor Bashir M Al-Hashimi CBE FREng FIET for his significant contributions to computing and systems engineering and Dr Tong Boon Tang BEng (Hons) PhD SMIEEE for his pioneering work in the advancement and promotion of neurotechnology and its applications in mental healthcare.
• Other prestigious medallists include Professor Keith Ridgway CBE BSc (Eng) CEng MIET for his significant contribution to manufacturing and Professor Kei May Lau for fundamental work in compound semiconductor materials and device physics. Professor Lau is the first woman winner of the JJ Thomson Medal for Electronics.

One of this year’s most significant awards, the Faraday Medal, goes to computer and systems engineer Professor Bashir M Al-Hashimi CBE FREng FIET for his significant contributions to semiconductor manufacturing test of system-on-chip, pioneering new test data compression and low power methods.

The IET Achievement Awards exist to recognise individuals from all over the world who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of engineering, technology and science in any sector. This can be through research and development in their respective technical field or through their leadership of an enterprise.

Currently as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Natural & Mathematical Sciences at King’s College London, and previously at the University of Southampton, Professor Al-Hashimi has made seminal theoretical and experimental contributions to manufacturing test of system-on-chip, pioneering new test data and low power compression methods and algorithms for energy-efficient computing.

He has been extremely successful in connecting academia, industry and entrepreneurship for the benefit of the UK. In 2008, he founded the Arm-ECS Research Centre, recognised as an exemplar for industry-academia collaboration. He has successfully led several national, large-scale interdisciplinary research programmes in engineering and physical sciences funded by the EPSRC and industry. He continues to raise the UK’s position in engineering higher education through various national and international leadership and advisory roles. 

On winning his award, Professor Al-Hashimi, said: “I am honoured to receive the Faraday Medal from the IET in recognition of those students, colleagues and collaborators who have contributed so much to my research and leadership. It is both humbling and inspiring to be acknowledged in this way.”

Another top accolade this year goes to Dr Tong Boon Tang BEng (Hons) PhD SMIEEE, who received the Mountbatten Medal for his outstanding contribution to the advancement and promotion of neurotechnology and its applications in mental healthcare. Dr Tang is instrumental in creating a closed-loop system of cognitive training for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, which at present has no known cure. He is also recognised for his pioneering work on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in Malaysia. Funded by HITACHI Japan, he set up OT- HUB, an international collaboration platform to promote fNIRS related research.

On receiving his award, Dr Tang, said: “It is with great honour that I accept the Mountbatten Medal from the IET as a mark of my accomplishments in the advancement of neurotechnology and its applications across the Asian region. I have been extremely fortunate to work with many brilliant collaborators and graduate students. Congratulations to all the other engineers and technologists recognised for their pioneering work.”

Other prestigious medallists include Professor Keith Ridgway CBE BSc(Eng) CEng MIET who received the Mensforth Manufacturing Gold Medal for his significant contribution to manufacturing in founding the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing in 2001 at the University of Sheffield.

Professor Kei May Lau received the JJ Thomson Medal for Electronics for fundamental work in compound semiconductor materials and device physics. She is the first-ever woman recipient of this award.

Professor Danielle George MBE, IET President, said: “We are honoured to present these talented individuals with our Achievement Awards. They have each excelled in their professions and have made a vast contribution as pioneers of important areas in the engineering and technology industries. They should all be very proud of their achievements – they are amazing difference makers.”

All four medallists join 12 other winners, who were nominated by their peers as leading engineers and technicians in their field.

Jessica Reading, an Engineering Degree Apprentice at Siemens, is named the IET’s Apprentice of the Year. Lance Corporal Lucyanne Leo, a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) Electronics Technician, is named the IET’s Armed Forces Technician of the Year and Chloe Garland, Deputy Project Certification Manager (PCM) and Structures Subject Matter Expert for the Military Aviation Authority (MAA), is named the IET’s Technician of the Year.

The Achievement Awards are part of the IET’s Achievement Awards and Scholarships programme, which this year provided over £1million in awards, prizes and scholarships to celebrate excellence and research in the sector and encourage the next generation of engineers and technicians. All IET awards seek to inspire and reward engineering excellence, including apprentices at the start of their careers, through to reputable, established professional engineers and technicians.

Find out more about the Achievement Awards here: www.theiet.org/achievement.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Full list of award winners

(longer citations for winners can be found here www.theiet.org/achievement)

• Faraday Medal awarded to Professor Bashir M Al-Hashimi CBE FREng FIET FIEEE
• Mountbatten Medal awarded to Associate Professor Dr Tong Boon Tang BEng (Hons) PhD SMIEEE
• Mensforth Gold Medal for Manufacturing awarded to Professor Keith Ridgway CBE BSc(Eng) CEng MIET
• J J Thomson Medal for Electronics awarded to Professor Kei May Lau
• Achievement medal for Vison Engineering awarded to Professor Sean Gong DPhil FIET
• Achievement Medal for Ultrasonic Technology awarded to Professor Margaret Lucas FRSE
• Viscount Nuffield Silver Medal for Manufacturing awarded to Dr Paul Needham PhD CEng FIET
• Achievement Medal for Biomedical Engineering awarded to Professor Molly Stevens FRS FREng
• Achievement Medal for Telecommunications awarded to Dr Mallik Tatipamula FIET
• IET Volunteer Medal awarded to Susan Jones MEng CEng FIET CQP MCQI MWES
• Young Professionals Excellence Award awarded to Siddha Ganju for her incredible achievements in Artificial Intelligence
• Mike Sargeant Career Achievement Award for Young Professionals awarded to Rebecca Sell TMIET for her outstanding career achievements
• Paul Fletcher Award for Young Professionals awarded to Dilani Selvanathan for her dedication to volunteering
• Armed Forces Technician of the Year awarded to Lance Corporal Lucyanne Leo
• Technician of the Year awarded to Chloe Garland
• Apprentice of the Year awarded to Jessica Reading 

More about the IET Awards

• The IET provides over £1,000,000 per annum in awards, prizes and scholarships, to celebrate excellence and innovation in the sector and encourage the next generation of engineers and technicians.
• The portfolio of awards includes Diamond Jubilee scholarships, Apprentice and Technician awards, the Present around the World competition and the IET A F Harvey Engineering Research Prize.
• For more information visit http:/www.theiet.org/awards

About the IET

• We inspire, inform and influence the global engineering community to engineer a better world.
• We are a diverse home for engineering and technology intelligence throughout the world. This breadth and depth means we are uniquely placed to help the sector progress society.
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