Department of Engineering

Professor Nathan Crilly’s book ‘Design thinking and other approaches’ focuses on what people from different disciplines bring to problem solving and creative work.

Shagun Garg, a second-year PhD student in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, has been recognised as a Geospatial World Rising Star 2025, joining an international cohort of young professionals who are shaping the future of geospatial science and technology.

The team behind Neela Biotech, a company co-founded by early career researcher Dr Deepanshu Singh and final-year PhD student Friederike Nintzel, have won the 2025 Cambridge Zero Climate Challenge for developing a method that turns multiple waste streams into highly valuable chemicals such as sustainable aviation fuels.

Researchers have successfully demonstrated the UK’s first long-distance ultra-secure transfer of data over a quantum communications network, including the UK’s first long-distance quantum-secured video call.

Tom Garnett is CEO and co-founder of Refute a tech startup focussed on fighting disinformation on behalf of organisations, detecting and responding to campaigns at the speed of the attackers. Refute uses data to model and score threat behaviours, in context and over time, enabling effective in-channel response.

A new AI weather prediction system, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, can deliver accurate forecasts tens of times faster and using thousands of times less computing power than current AI and physics-based forecasting systems.

The University of Cambridge has welcomed a high-profile Canadian technology delegation with the aim to strengthen UK-Canada collaboration in cutting-edge research and commercialisation in photonics and semiconductors.

New research involving a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge, Rice University and Stanford University, could make bioelectronic devices easier and more reliable to manufacture – all thanks to a chance discovery made during an experiment.

Using structural modelling and vibration measurements to help guide the thinking around ways of ‘saving’ the largest London Plane tree in the UK, this conservation project offers significant potential to inform the way in which we conserve our ancient trees.

An electric-aircraft-powertrain start-up, co-founded by alumnus Tobias Kahnert, is pushing the boundaries of innovation to develop and manufacture batteries and charging solutions for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – identified as a new niche market for the company.

Researchers have developed comfortable, washable ‘smart pyjamas’ that can monitor sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea at home, without the need for sticky patches, cumbersome equipment or a visit to a specialist sleep clinic.

Dr Dimitrios Kallifronas, Dr James Massey and Professor Nedunchezhian Swaminathan from the Department's Energy Group are part of a team that have recently received The Sugden Award from The Combustion Institute (British Section) for the best journal article published in 2023.

Researchers have developed a smartphone app that uses machine learning to accurately determine body composition – which is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and related conditions – from photographs.

The Department of Engineering’s Design and Technical Services team will bring mathematical beauty to life with a Fibonacci spiral wall, designed and built for the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (20-24 May, 2025).

Cambridge researchers are developing implants that could help repair the brain pathways damaged by Parkinson’s disease.

Mohamed Elzeadani has been awarded a prestigious Royal Commission of 1851 Fellowship for his research into connection design for timber structures.

The University of Cambridge is one of two UK participants named as part of the PIXEurope consortium, a collaboration between research organisations from across Europe, which will develop and manufacture prototypes of their products based on photonic chips.

Meet some of our researchers and thought leaders, enjoy free talks, films and exhibitions, and join in with hands-on activities for the whole family at the 2025 Cambridge Festival.

Your Life Is Manufactured, a new book by Tim Minshall, Head of the Institute for Manufacturing, is now available. In a fascinating exploration of the manufacturing world, Tim illuminates the complex and often unseen journeys of the products that shape our daily lives.

Meet Thomas Glenday – an engineer who sits at the helm of the Department’s Design and Technical Services, harnessing the creativity of 75 technicians, each with an eye on engineering precision and cutting-edge technologies.