Oxford researchers awarded prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowships
Three Oxford early-career researchers who are creating innovative solutions to modern problems have been chosen for Research Fellowships by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
The Radcliffe Camera, University of Oxford. Photo credit: Getty Images.
Dr Jack Aspinall, Dr Emma Edwards and Dr Maha Yusuf have each been awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship, which are funded by the Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST). These support outstanding early-career researchers to become future research leaders by providing funding for an ambitious five-year programme of independent research.
About the Oxford recipients:
Dr Jack Aspinall, Department of Materials
Dr Aspinall’s Fellowship will fund research to discover new magnesium alloys that are lightweight, strong and resistant to corrosion. Cutting weight is a top priority for car makers, because a lighter electric vehicle travels further on each charge and performs better. Magnesium is the lightest structural metal: about a quarter of the weight of steel and a third lighter than aluminium - yet it is also strong and ductile. Two things hold back its wider use: it can corrode, and it is hard to cast without defects such as tiny gas bubbles that weaken parts.
Dr Aspinall will tackle both by developing new corrosion-resistant alloys designed for thixomolding, an injection moulding process where the metal enters the mould as a semi-solid slurry rather than a liquid, reducing the likelihood of trapped air bubbles. Beyond cars, these new magnesium alloys could be used to make lighter and more efficient robots, drones and aircraft.
“I’m delighted and grateful to receive this award which gives me the freedom to move into an exciting new research area. It is also a recognition of how important metals and metallurgy research are to UK industry and the economy. Magnesium is attracting considerable international interest and investment, and I hope this fellowship will help put the UK at the forefront of next-generation lightweight alloys.”
Dr Emma Edwards, Department of Engineering Science
Floating offshore wind is critical to achieve Net-Zero targets, as 80% of the world’s offshore wind resources lie in waters too deep for fixed foundations. Current designs, however, are highly expensive, limiting scale up. Dr Edwards’ Fellowship project aims to generate fundamental knowledge to enable cheaper, more efficient and easier to build floating wind turbine platforms.
A key focus will be exploring whether several connected floating structures can be more stable than a single large, heavy platform. Potentially, the supporting floating structures could also capture energy from waves, allowing the system to generate electricity from both waves and wind. Dr Edwards will use mathematics and computer simulations to assess how different floating shapes behave in waves. Working with industry partners, she aims to establish viable designs that can progress towards physical prototypes.
“What excites me most about this award is the opportunity to tackle a research challenge that addresses a problem I am deeply passionate about: making offshore renewable energy more viable and affordable. The award will also provide exciting opportunities to expand my public engagement activities, helping to raise awareness of offshore renewable energy and inspire more people from under-represented groups to pursue careers in engineering.”
Dr Maha Yusuf, Department of Materials
Intensive agriculture depends on fertilisers based on ammonia, most of which is produced using the Haber-Bosch process. This method, developed over 100 years ago, is energy-intensive, using high temperatures and pressure, and is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. It also requires large, centralised infrastructure which can be inaccessible for small-scale farmers.
Dr Yusuf’s Fellowship project will develop new chemistries for converting nitrogen gas into ammonia sustainably and energy-efficiently. She will also design new reactor architectures that could enable modular ammonia production units close to where fertilizer and fuel are needed, including, ultimately, on farms. To achieve this, she will bring together four areas of science and engineering: in situ 3D neutron and X-ray imaging, electrochemistry, reactor engineering and AI-enabled advanced manufacturing.
Dr Yusuf was also recently awarded a £1.87 million Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship from the Royal Society to establish her group at Oxford.
“At a time when geopolitical events can shape our food security and energy prices, rethinking how we produce ammonia feels more important than ever. I am delighted that the Royal Academy of Engineering believes in this vision and is giving me the opportunity to take a real shot at something ambitious: fundamentally rethinking how we make ammonia and seeing just how far this idea can go.”
Further information about the Fellowships can be found on the Royal Academy of Engineering website.
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