Department of Engineering

Research Fellow Dr Babak Bakhit has encountered one of his most challenging projects to date – contributing to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission.

Professor Daping Chu has been elected a Fellow of Optica by the Society’s Board of Directors.

Unsteady effects occur in many natural and technical flows, for example around flapping wings or during aircraft gust encounters. If the unsteadiness is large, the resulting forces can be quite considerable. However, the exact physical mechanisms underlying the generation of unsteady forces are complex and their accurate prediction remains challenging. One strategy is to identify the dominant effects and describe these with simple analytical models, first proposed a hundred years ago. When used successfully, this approach has the advantage that it also gives us a conceptual understanding of unsteady fluid mechanics.  

New paper tackles one of the most pressing challenges in neurotechnology today: how to ensure ground breaking developments are shaped not just by researchers, but also by the people whose lives they will impact most.

Yacht racing is a rewarding yet gruelling challenge, but what does it take to win? Alumni Simon Corkery and Ignacio Andreu Angulo were part of the design team behind the ‘fastest yacht’ that won the 37th America’s Cup recently – yachting’s most coveted prize.

Department receives one of the two 2024 BHF Translational Awards from the British Heart Foundation.

Emma Houiellebecq, Engineering PhD student and Gates Cambridge Scholar, has been announced as a winner of the Gates Cambridge Impact Prize 2025.

Cambridge researchers and industry partners Costain Group have won an award in recognition of their teamwork on a mobile mapping dataset, which has generated positive societal impact.

The University’s overseas research centre in Singapore has launched a new project that will investigate non-fossil fuel-based pathways for the country’s chemical manufacturing industry and energy systems.

The Cambridge 2024 International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) team was awarded a Gold Medal at the iGEM2024 Synthetic Biology competition finals. The Cambridge team, which included two engineering students, Lisa Milne (1st year Engineering) and Gus Molyneux (3rd year Engineering), were awarded the medal for their project ‘MaGenTa’ developing tools for magnetogenetics, an approach using magnetic fields to remotely and precisely control gene activation.

A portrait of Professor Richard Prager, Head of the Department of Engineering from 2018–2023, was unveiled at a ceremony in the Department’s Boardroom and will be displayed alongside portraits of the previous Heads of Department since 1875.

A taskforce set up by the School of Technology to simplify and streamline grant management processes using a new transformative system, has been recognised in the University’s Professional Services Awards 2024.

Chris Tagnon, who is currently studying an MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management (ISMM) at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), is one of eight graduates of Black and mixed Black ethnic backgrounds to be awarded a Masters in Motorsport Scholarship.

James Lazenby, a PhD student in the Energy, Fluids and Turbomachinery Division, has been announced the winner of the Department’s 2024 Helios Prize – awarded for research on sustainable energy and/or energy efficiency.