Jump to content

Royal Academy of Engineering

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Royal Academy of Engineering
FormationJune 1976
Legal statusRoyal charter
HeadquartersLondon, SW1
Location
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom
Members2 Royal Fellows, Fellows, International Fellows, Honorary Fellows
Patron
HM the King[1]
President
Sir John Lazar CBE FREng[2]
CEO
Dame Tamara Finkelstein DBE
Main organ
Board of Trustees
Websitewww.raeng.org.uk

The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering.

The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior fellow and remained so until his death. The Fellowship was incorporated and granted a royal charter on 17 May 1983 and became the Royal Academy of Engineering on 16 March 1992. It is governed according to the charter and associated statutes and regulations (as amended from time to time).[3][4] In June 2024 His Majesty the King became Patron of the Academy.[1]

History

[edit]

Conceived in the late 1960s, during the Apollo space program and Harold Wilson's espousal of "white heat of technology", the Fellowship of Engineering was born in the year of Concorde's first commercial flight.[5]

The Fellowship's first meeting, at Buckingham Palace on 11 June 1976, enrolled 126 of the UK's leading engineers.[6] The first fellows included Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, the jet engine developer, the structural engineer Sir Ove Arup, radar pioneer Sir George G. MacFarlane, the inventor of the bouncing bomb, Sir Barnes Wallis, Francis Thomas Bacon, the inventor of the alkaline fuel cell, and father of the UK computer industry Sir Maurice Wilkes. The Fellowship's first president, Christopher Hinton, had driven the UK's supremacy in nuclear power.[7]

The Fellowship focused on championing excellence in all fields of engineering. Activities began in earnest in the mid-1970s with the Distinction lecture series, now known as the Hinton lectures. The Fellowship was asked to advise the Department of Industry for the first time, and the Academy became host and presenter of the MacRobert Award.[8]

In the 1980s, the Fellowship received its own royal charter along with its first government grant-in-aid. At the same time, it also received significant industrial funding, initiated its research programme to build bridges between academia and industry, and opened its doors to international and honorary fellows.[9]

In 1990, the Academy launched its first major initiative in education, Engineering Education Continuum, which evolved into the BEST Programme[10] and Shape the Future and Tomorrow's Engineers.[11]

The Academy's increasing level of influence – in policy, research and education – was recognized when it was granted a royal title and became The Royal Academy of Engineering in 1992.[12] In 2014 the academy launched its annual Africa Prize.[13]

The Academy's current logo[14] is inspired by the Neolithic hand axe, humans' first technological advance, which was taken to be a symbol appropriate to the Academy, supposedly representative of the ever-changing relationship between humanity and technology.[15]

Location

[edit]

The Academy's premises, Prince Philip House, 3–4 Carlton House Terrace, are in a Grade I listed building overlooking St James's Park, designed by architect John Nash and owned by the Crown Estate. The Academy shares the Terrace with two of its sister academies, the British Academy and the Royal Society, as well as other institutes. [citation needed]

The building was renamed Prince Philip House,[16] after renovation works were completed in 2012.

Activities

[edit]

The Academy supports engineering research and innovation, skills and entrepreneurship, policy development, international collaboration, and public engagement. Its 2025–2030 strategy groups these activities under three goals: Sustainable and Innovative Economy, Technology Improving Lives, and Engineering Community Fit for the Future.[17]

The Academy leads the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC), a partnership established in 2019 between professional engineering organisations to advise policymakers.[17] From 2022, the centre became the formal coordinating mechanism for engineering education and skills policy, a role previously served by Education for Engineering (E4E).[18][19]

The Academy receives government funding as one of the UK's four national academies. For 2025–26, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said it was investing £217 million across the four academies, mostly in talent schemes, following a £150 million endowment to the Academy itself in 2023–24 for its Green Future Fellowships.[20] National-academy funding also supported public engagement under the government's 2010–2015 policy on public understanding of science and engineering.[21]

The Academy has published Ingenia, a magazine about engineering and technology for non-specialist readers, since its launch in 1999.[22] The magazine was described by its editors in 2024 as aimed primarily at people aged 13 to 25 with an interest in STEM, and as reaching more than 4,000 schools across the UK.[23]

Presidents

[edit]

The president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the elected officer of the Academy, presides over meetings of the council. The president is elected for a single term of not more than five years.

YearsPresident
1976–1981Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of BanksideOM, KBE, FREng, FRS
1981–1986Robin Inskip, 2nd Viscount CaldecoteDSC, KBE, FREng
1986–1991Sir Denis RookeOM, CBE, FREng, FRS
1991–1996Sir William BarlowFREng
1996–2001Sir David DaviesCBE, FREng, FRS
2001–2006Alec Broers, Baron BroersFREng, FRS
2006–2011John Browne, Baron Browne of MadingleyFREng, FRS
2011–2014Sir John ParkerGBE, FREng
2014–2019Professor Dame Ann DowlingOM, DBE, FREng, FRS
2019–2024Sir Jim McDonaldGBE, FREng, FRSE
2024-Sir John LazarCBE, FREng

Fellowship

[edit]

As of January 2025, the Academy reported 1,724 members of the Fellowship, excluding Royal Fellows: 1,265 Fellows, 81 International Fellows, 41 Honorary Fellows and 337 Emeritus Fellows.[24]: 6  Fellows are entitled to use the title Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the post-nominal letters FREng.[25]: 2  Election to the Fellowship is by nomination only; candidates are peer-nominated by two existing Academy Fellows.[24]: 18 

Royal Fellows are members of the royal family who accept an invitation from the Academy's Board.[25]: 5  The Duke of Kent became a Royal Fellow in 1986, followed by the Princess Royal in 2010; both support Academy events and activities.[26]

Diversity

[edit]

In 2002, a Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry into government funding of the Royal Society, the Academy and other scientific learned societies described the low representation of women in the Academy's Fellowship as "disappointing" and criticised the absence of ethnic monitoring; at the time, 15 of the Academy's 1,270 Fellows were women (1.2%).[27][28] The committee recommended fair and transparent selection procedures to improve representation and provide confidence that the Royal Society and Academy were not an "old boys' network", while finding no evidence that the low representation of women resulted from discrimination and noting that the Academy was already proactively encouraging nominations from areas of engineering underrepresented in the Fellowship.[27] The Academy subsequently said that it shared the committee's concern about the number of women Fellows and was reviewing its procedures for ethnic monitoring.[29]

The Academy states that its Proactive Nominations Panel was formed in 2007; it identifies and tracks potential candidates and engages existing Fellows as "champions" to support them through the nomination process.[24]: 7  In July 2020, the Academy launched its Fellowship Fit for the Future campaign to increase the election of candidates from four broad target groups: people from groups underrepresented in the Fellowship; those entering engineering through vocational or non-traditional routes; those achieving excellence at earlier career stages; and those working in emerging technologies and new industries.[30] The Academy set an aspiration that at least half of those elected each year would come from these groups.[30]

In January 2025, 149 of the Academy's 1,265 Fellows were women (11.8%).[24]: 6  Its 2024/25 annual report stated that 68% of Fellows elected in 2024 came from the initiative's target groups, compared with its aspiration of at least 50%.[31]

Awards and prizes

[edit]
  • With the support of the Worshipful Company of Engineers, the Academy manages the annual Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award, the premier prize for UK innovation in engineering. First presented in 1969, the award honours the winning company with a gold medal and the team members with a prize of £50,000. [citation needed]
  • The Academy oversees the awarding of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize). The QEPrize is an international, £1 million engineering prize that "rewards and celebrates the engineers responsible for a ground-breaking innovation that has been of global benefit to humanity". The objective of the prize is to "raise the public profile of engineering and to inspire young people to become engineers".[32]
  • The Academy's Sir George Macfarlane Medal is an annual award that "recognizes a UK engineer who has demonstrated excellence in the early stage of their career".[33]
  • The President's Medal [citation needed]
  • The Prince Philip Medal, named after Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and "awarded periodically to an engineer of any nationality who has made an exceptional contribution to engineering as a whole through practice, management or education."[34]
  • The Africa Prize For Engineering Innovation has been awarded annually since 2014. In its first ten years it provided a million pounds of finance in addition to assistance with legal, IT and networking.[13] The 2015 prize was won by Tanzanian Askwar Hilonga who had devised a novel water filter[35]
  • Chair in Emerging Technologies, a scheme providing long-term support to visionary researchers in developing technologies with potential to deliver benefits to the United Kingdom.[36]
  • Engineering Leadership Scholarship, awarded to engineering undergraduate students in the UK with high potential for leadership in the sector. Awardees undertake an accelerated personal development programme to assist awardees in becoming future leaders.[37]
  • The Princess Royal Silver Medal celebrates an outstanding personal contribution made to UK engineering by an early to mid-career engineer, resulting in market exploitation and up to four medals are awarded each year. It is named in honour of the Academy's Royal Fellow, HRH The Princess Royal, acknowledging her exceptional role in championing engineering. [38]
  • The Bhattacharyya Award: Established in 2019 in tribute to Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, this award highlights projects that embody his vision of academia-industry cooperation to drive societal impact. [39]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "His Majesty The King to become Patron of the Royal Academy of Engineering". Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "Dr John Lazar confirmed as President of the Royal Academy of Engineering". Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "RAEng: Charter, Statutes and Regulations". Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "The Royal Academy of Engineering". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 1 September 2002. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  5. ↑ Celebrating Concorde. Britishairways.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
  6. ↑ "Founder Fellows" (PDF). Royal Academy of Engineering. 10 June 1976. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2011.
  7. ↑ History of The Academy - Early Days. Raeng.org.uk (1976-06-11). Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
  8. ↑ History of The Academy - 1976–1981: Establishing a track record. Raeng.org.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
  9. ↑ History of The Academy - 1981–1986: Growing influence and activities. Raeng.org.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
  10. ↑ "Education - Best Programme". www.raeng.org.uk. Archived from the original on 18 February 2002. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Shape the Future". www.raeng.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  12. ↑ History of The Academy - 1991–1996: From Fellowship to Royal Academy. Raeng.org.uk (1992-07-02). Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
  13. 1 2 "Africa Prize 10th Anniversary". africaprize.raeng.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  14. ↑ "Academy logos".
  15. ↑ Visual Identity Guidelines. Raeng.org.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
  16. ↑ Home | Prince Philip House
  17. 1 2 Engineering better lives: Strategy 2030 (PDF) (Report). Royal Academy of Engineering. 2025. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "New National Engineering Policy Centre to enhance government access to engineering expertise". Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "Education and skills policy". National Engineering Policy Centre. Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  20. ↑ Lord Vallance (24 June 2025). "Letter to the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee". UK Parliament. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "2010 to 2015 government policy: public understanding of science and engineering". GOV.UK. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "About Ingenia". Ingenia. Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Reframing Ingenia for the next generation" (PDF). Ingenia. No. 100. Royal Academy of Engineering. September 2024. p. 4. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Becoming a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (PDF) (Report). Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  25. 1 2 "Royal Charter, Statutes and Regulations" (PDF). Royal Academy of Engineering. 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Royal Fellows". Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  27. 1 2 House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (1 August 2002). Government Funding of the Scientific Learned Societies (Report). Fifth Report of Session 2001–02. House of Commons. paras. 85–90. HC 774-I. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  28. ↑ Connor, Steve (1 August 2002). "Royal societies not recruiting enough women, say MPs". The Independent. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  29. ↑ House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (16 December 2002). Government Funding of the Scientific Learned Societies: Government Response to the Committee's Fifth Report of Session 2001–02 (Report). First Special Report of Session 2002–03. House of Commons. Appendix 2: Response of the Royal Academy of Engineering. HC 53. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  30. 1 2 "Fellowship Fit for the Future". Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  31. ↑ Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25 (PDF) (Report). Royal Academy of Engineering. 2025. p. 36. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  32. ↑ "Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering - Royal Academy of Engineering". Raeng.org.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  33. ↑ "Sir George Macfarlane Medal - Royal Academy of Engineering". www.raeng.org.uk. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  34. ↑ RAE: Prince Philip Medal
  35. ↑ "Tanzanian low-cost water filter wins innovation prize". BBC News. 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  36. ↑ "Academy funds global research visionaries to advance emerging technologies". Royal Academy of Engineering. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  37. ↑ "Engineering Leaders Scholarship".
  38. ↑ "Princess Royal Silver Medal".
  39. ↑ "Bhattacharyya Award".
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_Academy_of_Engineering&oldid=1371768420"