Faculty of Science and Engineering Research Awards 2024
Vice Principal's Award
For overall excellence and collegiality across multiple areas
Dr Marcella Bona is a Reader in the Centre for Fundamental Physics in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences. She is an outstanding and collegiate member of staff delivering both world-leading researcher and education. She leads the innovative and impactful SAPIENS research programme that provides hyper-local, dynamic air quality forecasts for Mexico City using existing open data sources.
In addition, Marcella has been instrumental in developing the new MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Science. This innovative multi-disciplinary program is proving very attractive to potential students, helping to create our largest ever PGT cohort in Science and Engineering.
Research and Innovation Excellence Awards
For academic staff delivering world leading research in each of our five schools
Dr Tarek Anous is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematical Sciences whose research examines the mathematics of black holes and quantum gravity. He has recently secured a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and is also recognised for his groundbreaking contributions to holography in a recent paper published in the Journal of High Energy Physics entitled: 'De Sitter at all loops: the story of the Schwinger model'. Terek is also highly collegiate and actively involved in supporting PhD Students throughout the School of Mathematical Sciences.
Dr SaeJune Park is a Senior Lecturer in Terahertz Electronics in the School of Electronics and Computer Science and an emerging research leader in his field. He has recently secured an EPSRC New Investigator Award and, in 2024, won the Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award from the Korean Scientists and Engineers Association in the UK (KSEAUK). He is highly collegiate, driving research funding initiatives with Korea and leading on health and safety within the antennas lab.
Dr Nadine Lavan is a Lecturer in Biological Psychology specialising in research into voice perception for which she was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship. She has published extensively on this subject with high impact papers, many involving her project students. In 2022, she has won the Experimental Psychology Society award, and in 2023 she won the American Psychological Society rising star award. Within the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences she is also actively involved in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion as an essential part of a successful research culture.
Dr Edward Gillen is a Reader in Astrophysics who uses ground- and space-based observatories to understand the evolution, diversity and habitability of planetary systems. This ground breaking research has recently been funded by a major ERC Starting Grant. Dr Gillen is also active in several high profile international research consortia pioneering new discoveries in this exciting area of physics and astronomy.
Dr Stefaan Verbruggen is a Lecturer in Medical Technology whose computational and experimental research examines the mechanobiology of bone and the development of organ-chip models of cancer metastasis. He is an active member of the Centre for Bioengineering and the cross-faculty Centre for Predictive in vitro Models, supporting major initiatives such as the new EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Organ-on-a-chip Technology. He is PI on a project grant from EPSRC and CoI on a large MRC grant in this field. Dr Verbruggen is also actively involved in developing the Biomedical Engineering degree programmes and supporting EDI and Outreach activities across the School of Engineering and Materials Science.
Research Impact Awards
For a member of staff or student translating research into beneficial societal impact
Prof Joe Briscoe is a Professor of Energy Materials and Devices, holder of an ERC Consolidator Grant and head of The Centre for Sustainable Engineering. He wins this award in recognition of his work on the development of manufacturing techniques using aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition that has lead to the spin-out company: AeroSolar. This company applies Prof Briscoe's technology to manufacture next generation solar cells.
Outstanding Post Doctoral Researcher Award
For a post doctoral researcher delivering highest quality research in the Faculty.
Dr Adele Leggieri
Centre for Brain and Behaviour
Dr Tim Hopkins
Centre for Bioengineering
Dr Adele Leggieri is a post doc using zebrafish to study cell development underlying vulnerability to disease and psychiatric disorders. As well as conducting her own high quality research project she is hugely collegiate in supporting the rest of Prof Caroline Brenan’s group. This includes, training PhD students, managing facilities, supporting undergraduate project students, enabling multidisciplinary collaborations, and helping with grant applications. She has contributed to recent papers submitted to Science, Nature Communications and Small and led the presentation of research at the Royal Society Summer Science Festival 2023 and the British Science Festival in 2024.
Dr Tim Hopkins is a Versus Arthritis Research Fellow working on development of organ-on-a-chip models to study osteoarthritis aiming to stratify patients for personalised therapy. He has helped secure a BBSRC-NC3Rs grant to develop a model of the growth plate, a £1.7M EPSRC grant to further develop techniques to create complex biological tissues within organ-chips, and a major organ-chip infrastructure grant from NC3Rs. Dr Hopkins is hugely collegiate supporting the research teams led by Prof Martin Knight and Prof Hazel Screen, training PhD students, managing the labs, building industry collaborations and presenting to Government.