Green tech engineers and data science leader elected as new Fellows

Professor Ricardo Martinez-Botas

Three Imperial academics have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Professors Timothy Green, Yi-ke Guo, and Ricardo Martinez-Botas from Imperial College London were among 50 new Fellows admitted to the Academy this week.

“I am delighted and deeply honoured to have been elected to the Academy.”Professor Yi-Ke GuoData Science Institute

They will join nearly 1,600 other world-leading engineers from both industry and academia.

Becoming a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering is one of the highest honours that an engineer can receive in the UK. It recognises outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession.

Professor Nigel Brandon, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, said: “The Fellows of the Royal Academy represent the nation’s leading engineering researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs, and it is a great honour to have the contributions of three of our academic staff recognised in this way. Congratulations to Tim, Yi-Ke and Ricardo for this fantastic achievement.”

The announcement brings the total number of Imperial Fellows at the Academy to 87.

Professor Timothy Green

Professor Green is co-director of Imperial’s Energy Futures Lab, our cross-disciplinary energy institute. It develops strategies that tackle the broad range of energy challenges that the world faces.

He has led the Lab since 2014. He also works to integrate low-carbon

technologies in electricity supply networks such as interfaces for renewable generators and electric vehicle charging.

Professor Green said: “I’ve always been proud to call myself an engineer; solving problems and creating products is very rewarding personally but it’s also how we tackle the problems facing the world. For me it’s about finding ways to harness power electronics to help decarbonise the electricity system.

“To have my work recognised by the Royal Academy is a thrill. I also want to say that I’ve had the pleasure of working with some very talented students and researchers over the years and they’ve played a big part in any successes I’ve had.”

Professor Yi-Ke Guo

Professor Guo, of Imperial’s Department of Computing, is Director of Imperial’s Data Science Institute, a leading institute in big data management, data mining, machine learning, modelling, simulation and

visualisation. Its work has broad impacts on data driven scientific research at Imperial, including astrophysics, particle physics, biology, meteorology, environment, medicine, finance healthcare and social sciences.

Professor Guo’s main research focuses on developing technologies for knowledge discovery, data mining and large-scale data management for data driven scientific research.

He said: “I am delighted and deeply honoured to have been elected as a Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering. I have been working at Imperial for more than 30 years, during which time my work has benefitted greatly from the College’s culture of interdisciplinary research.

“Data science is inherently multidisciplinary and I would not have been able to get to where I am today without the support and collaboration I have received from colleagues, and for this I am extremely grateful.”

Professor Ricardo Martinez-Botas

Professor Martinez-Botas, of Imperial’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, works towards making turbochargers environmentally

friendlier. He has helped design and build new turbines with better performance and fuel economy.

He said: “I am excited to be elected, and feel privileged to have such a great team at Imperial. Together we have advanced our understanding of exhaust turbochargers for cleaner engines and energy recovery. It has enabled us to create new concepts that are a making huge impact with our industrial partners.”

Professor Dame Ann Dowling, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said she was “delighted to welcome all our new Fellows to the Academy – together they epitomise the very best of UK engineering. Representing the country’s most innovative and creative minds from both academia and industry, the achievements of our new Fellows highlight the critical role engineering has in addressing major societal challenges and ensuring our readiness for the future.”

See the press release of this article