World leading engineers win at IET Achievement Awards

• 11 of the world’s top engineering and technology talent honoured with medals and trophies for services to the industry.
• The Faraday Medal goes to Professor Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj for his contributions to wireless technology.

One of this year’s most significant awards, the Faraday Medal, goes to Professor Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj for the invention, advancement, and commercialisation of Multiple-antenna Input, Multiple-antenna Output (MIMO) wireless technology. MIMO is a fundamental breakthrough technology that multiplied the link speed and improved the range and reliability of wireless networks. The performance of today’s extensive 4G/5G mobile and WiFi networks would not be possible without MIMO.

On winning his award, Professor Paulraj said: “The Faraday Medal is such an honour. I am humbled to be included in this distinguished cohort of former recipients. Though the prize is presented to an individual, it also recognises the field of wireless communications systems and the thousands of researchers and engineers who contributed to MIMO technology for the benefit of humanity.”

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.

Other notable winners include:

• Professor James Collins was awarded an IET Achievement Medal in Biomedical and Healthcare for his pioneering work on synthetic gene circuits and programmable cells – which has helped to establish the field of synthetic biology, enabling engineers to program biological systems with novel functions for a variety of applications.
• Professor David Cumming was awarded an IET Achievement Medal in Electronics for his internationally recognised work in semiconductor sensors and microsystems. He has pioneered metabolomic sensing for diagnostic applications, allowing multiple disease markers to be measured simultaneously on a single chip for cancer diagnosis and blood disorders.
• Professor Mark Lythgoe was awarded an IET Achievement Medal in Medical Imaging for his pioneering work in developing cutting-edge imaging technologies in advancing the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Gopichand Katragadda, IET President, emphasised the importance of Engineering Excellence achieved through knowing and practising the fundamentals, being systems-oriented and detailed, and having a delivery mindset while preparing for the next.

He said: “We’re honoured to present these talented individuals with our Achievement Awards. Our medal winners are innovators and pioneers, making a difference to the world in which we live. The apprentices and technicians recognised and awarded are fantastic, already achieving great things in their careers and inspiring others around them. They should all be proud of their achievements – they are incredible role models for the next generation.”

Luke Kwan is named the IET’s Engineering and Technology Apprentice winner; Lance Corporal (LCpl) Connor O’Neill wins the IET’s Armed Forces Technician Award; and Isaac Jones is the winner of the IET’s Engineering and Technology Technician Award.

The Achievement Awards are part of the IET’s Awards and Scholarships programme, which 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.

Notes to Editors

Full list of award winners 

• The Faraday Medal is awarded Professor Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj

Achievement medals

• IET Achievement Medal in Biomedical and Healthcare is awarded to Professor James Collins
• IET Achievement Medal in Electronics is awarded to Professor David Cumming
• IET Achievement Medal in Medical Imaging is awarded to Professor Mark Lythgoe

Early career

• The Sir Henry Royce Medal is awarded to Arnold Nyendwa
• The Mike Sargeant Career Achievement Award is awarded to Daniel Wei Liang Vong
• The Paul Fletcher Award is awarded to Jeremy Lai

Volunteering

• IET Achievement Medal for Volunteering is awarded to Ir Professor Wai Yie Leong CEng FIET

Special recognition

• Engineering and Technology Apprentice Award is awarded to Luke Kwan
• Armed Forces Technician Award is awarded to Lance Corporal (LCpl) Connor O’Neill
• Engineering and Technology Technician Award is awarded to Isaac Jones

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