14 of the world's leading engineering and technology talent honoured in prestigious national awards

Pioneers in engineering and technology have taken centre stage at the Institution of Engineering and Technology's (IET) 2026 Achievement Awards, where innovators from across artificial intelligence, manufacturing sustainability, digital media technology, renewable energy and space communications were honoured for their outstanding developments and contributions.

The prestigious Faraday Medal is awarded to Professor Nick Jennings for his role as a founder of the field of agentic AI and multiagent systems, defining its fundamental concepts and developing its first real-world applications. An internationally recognised authority in AI, he develops systems that enable multiple agents and humans to collaborate effectively in complex environments. His work has been deployed to save lives in the aftermath of disasters, win Olympic medals and monitor climate change.

Professor Jennings said: "Over the past 100 years, the Faraday Medal has recognised so many influential engineers and scientists. It’s great to see this recognition for multi-agent systems as a rapidly maturing and important subfield of AI. I want to acknowledge the central contribution of the 100+ PhD students and research fellows who’ve worked with me on this exciting journey. I’ve always enjoyed teamwork and think important breakthroughs happen when you bring multiple disciplines together and attempt to connect theoretical contributions to real-world applications."

Another of this year's most significant awards, the Mensforth Medal, goes to Mamta Singhal for her exceptional contributions to global manufacturing. A recognised leader in manufacturing sustainability, packaging compliance and responsible supply chains, she has spent more than two decades driving operational excellence and sustainable transformation across the sector.

On receiving the award, she said: "Receiving the Mensforth Achievement Award is a tremendous honour and a significant personal and professional recognition. Engineering, product development and manufacturing require a holistic approach to people, processes and plant. Throughout my career, I have been passionate about bringing people, best practices and technology together to improve the way we design, build and deliver programmes of work, while overcoming some of the significant global challenges facing our industry. I hope my journey inspires others to see engineering and manufacturing as powerful forces for innovation, opportunity and a better future." 

Professor Alan Bovik is awarded the JJ Thomson Medal for pioneering the use of visual neuroscience to create systems that control the quality of much of the world's streaming video, television and social media content. His inventions have transformed the way image and video quality is measured and managed across digital platforms used by billions of people worldwide.

He said: "Winning the JJ Thomson Medal is wonderful and thrilling. He discovered the electron, the particle behind all we do in electronics. He was an amazing mentor, seven of his students (and also his son) went on to win Nobel prizes. To me, this is most admirable, since I view myself primarily as an educator. Like any good educator, I have learned more from my students than they from I, a sentiment I am sure the great Thomson would agree with. The work that my students and I have accomplished rose from our pure research interests, and it is almost serendipitous that it has had such an impact on people’s lives. This can be measured in significant reduction of internet bandwidth consumption (of which pictures and videos are more than 70%), improving its efficiency and lessening its impact on the global carbon footprint, all while improving the viewing experiences of billions of people worldwide, whether it be on television, streaming, social media, photography, or video telephony. This was all accomplished by applying neuroscience-based models of the human visual brain, how humans perceive distortions or low visual quality media. I think the lesson going forward, especially for AI-based systems, is to keep the human in the loop in the same way, and we will then find that more good is accomplished than harm."

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:

• Dr Qing-Chang Zhong is awarded an IET Achievement Medal for creating the Synchronised-and-Democratised (SYNDEM) architecture and Virtual Synchronous Machine technologies, helping electricity grids remain stable as renewable energy sources increasingly replace conventional generation.
• Professor Steven Shichang Gao is awarded an IET Achievement Medal for his outstanding contributions to antenna engineering and space technologies used in major international satellite missions.
• Professor Xiangjun Li is awarded an IET Achievement Medal for pioneering large-scale wind-solar-storage energy management systems that have significantly enhanced renewable energy grid integration.
• Lucy Wistow-Hughes is awarded the Paul Fletcher Award for her exceptional leadership and insight as Chair of the WISE Young Professionals' Committee, successfully guiding its transition into the IET and helping position it for long-term impact within the organisation.

IET President Sam Hubbard said: "We are proud to celebrate these outstanding individuals and their impact through our Achievement Awards. These awards recognise the engineers and technologists whose ideas, leadership and innovation are helping shape the future. From artificial intelligence and manufacturing sustainability to clean energy and digital communications, this year's winners demonstrate the extraordinary impact engineering has on society and the here and now."

Madeleine Warburton is named the IET's Engineering and Technology Apprentice winner; Corporal Adam Page wins the IET's Armed Forces Technician Award; and Ellie Owens 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.

Find out more about the Achievement Awards.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Full list of award winners

Prestige Medals

• The Faraday Medal is awarded to Professor Nick Jennings CB FREng FRS.
• The Mensforth Medal is awarded to Mamta Singhal MBE FIET CEng.
• The JJ Thomson Medal is awarded to Professor Alan Bovik HonFRPS.

Achievement Medals

• Dr Qing-Chang Zhong DIC FIET FIEEE FAAAS receives an IET Achievement Medal for developing the Synchronised-and-Democratised (SYNDEM) architecture and Virtual Synchronous Machine technologies, helping maintain power system stability as renewable energy increasingly replaces conventional generation.
• Professor Sanjit Mitra MNAE MAE FINAE FNASI receives an IET Achievement Medal for his seminal contributions to the theory and practice of digital signal processing, transformational leadership in engineering education and distinguished international service to the profession.
• Professor Steven Shichang Gao receives an IET Achievement Medal for his outstanding contributions to antenna engineering and space technologies, with innovations supporting major international satellite and space missions.
• Professor Xiangjun Li CEng FIET FIEEE receives an IET Achievement Medal for pioneering the development of large-scale wind-solar-storage energy management systems that have significantly enhanced renewable energy integration and grid reliability.

Early Career Awards

• The Mike Sargeant Medal is awarded to Dr Christine Enowmbi Tambe MEng AMIChemE.
• The Paul Fletcher Award is awarded to Lucy Wistow-Hughes MEng IEng AMRAeS MIET.
• The Sir Henry Royce Medal is awarded to Yazan Haidar MIET.

Volunteering

• The IET Achievement Medal for Volunteering is awarded to John Lorriman.

Special Recognition

• The Engineering and Technology Apprentice Award is awarded to Madeleine Warburton.
• The Armed Forces Technician Award is awarded to Corporal Adam Page.
• The Engineering and Technology Technician Award is awarded to Ellie Owens EngTech TMIET.

About the IET

• We are one of the world's largest engineering institutions, with a diverse membership spanning engineering and technology disciplines.
• 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.
• We work to build the profile of engineering and technology, challenge outdated perceptions and address the skills gap, including encouraging more young people and underrepresented groups to pursue engineering careers.
• Through our Awards and Scholarships programme, we recognise excellence across every stage of an engineering career, from apprentices and technicians through to internationally recognised leaders.
• For more information, visit www.theiet.org.
• Follow the IET on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram via @TheIET / @InstitutionofEngineeringandTechnology.

For media enquiries:

Sarah Jenkins 
External Communications & PR Lead  
SarahJenkins@theiet.org