Academy honours two Manchester engineers
29 Jul 2013
Two University of Manchester scientists have been elected Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Professor Adisa Azapagic, from the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, and Lin Li, Professor of Laser Engineering in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering,
Professor Azapagic (pictured) is the UK’s first Professor of Sustainable Chemical Engineering and leads the Sustainable Industrial Systems research group at the University.
She is world-renowned for her work on lifecycle analysis of products and industrial processes, and has won numerous awards for the development of the CCaLC (Carbon Calculations over the Life Cycle) carbon footprinting tool. CCaLC enables swift analysis of sustainability by measuring greenhouse gas emissions along supply chains, from extraction of raw materials and manufacture of products right through to their use and disposal.
Other work by Professor Azapagic in the sustainability area has included assessments of the sustainability of nuclear power and renewable energy as well as on urban and indoor pollution. Currently, she is Co-Director of the £7.5m Centre for Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains, funded by UK Research Councils. She also chairs the Sustainability Section of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE).
She said: “I am honoured to have been elected to Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering. I am particularly pleased that sustainability has been recognised as an integral and important part of engineering and I look forward to working with the Academy on helping engineers embed sustainability into their everyday practice.”
Professor Lin Li founded the Laser Processing Research Centre at the then University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 2000 and has been its director ever since, now under The University of Manchester. He is also head of the Manufacturing Research and Resource Group at the University, deputy head and director of research of the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, and a member of the University’s Senate.
Professor Li is a world-renowned expert on laser-based advanced manufacturing processes used in welding, cutting, drilling, additive manufacturing, micro/nano fabrication and surface engineering and his work has applications across a range of industry sectors including aerospace, automotive, medical and security industries. He has has received the Charles Main award from IMechE for research in applying laser technologies in nuclear decommissioning, and is an inventor or co-inventor with 47 patents to his credit. He has been highly active in academic publishing as author or co-author of more than 500 published papers and as a member of the editorial boards of ten scientific journals.
Earlier this month he received one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest accolades – the Sir Frank Whittle medal – for his outstanding and sustained research achievements for engineering innovations in manufacturing that have directly benefitted the UK economy.
In total, 60 new Fellows were elected at the Royal Academy of Engineering AGM. They include some of the UK's most accomplished engineers from academia and business; five new International Fellows and one Honorary Fellow.
Sir John Parker GBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “We warmly welcome our new Fellows to the Academy. With their expertise, knowledge and vision we will continue to strengthen our ambition of providing authoritative, impartial, and expert engineering advice to government and to develop the Academy’s growing impact and influence on a global stage.”
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