A Lancaster University engineer is one of seven ‘outstanding engineering researchers’ chosen by the Royal Academy of Engineering to receive one of its prestigious Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowships.

The newly appointed Senior Research Fellows, including Dr Rosa Letizia from Lancaster University, will work on a wide variety of engineering projects, from developing bioactive glasses for bone cancer therapy, to a solution for robust nanoelectronics, and digital hydraulic converters for next generation fluid power transmission technology.

The Fellowships, supported by the Leverhulme Trust, allow awardees to focus full-time on research by covering the costs of a replacement academic to take over their teaching and administrative duties for a year.

Not only does this enable mid-career engineers to reinvigorate their research interests, but it also gives a junior academic the opportunity to gain valuable teaching and administrative experience.

Dr Letizia, a Senior Lecturer from Lancaster’s Engineering Department, will focus on 3D printing methods to explore new manufacturing techniques for complex millimetre-wave components for space and wireless communications.

“I am honoured to have been awarded the Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship,” said Dr Letizia.

“This award will allow me to focus on a very exciting area of millimetre wave technology where new manufacturing approaches are sought to meet the critical demands of disruptive applications such as the next generation wireless communications and space.”

Professor Stephen McLaughlin FREng FRSE, Chair of the Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowships selection panel said: "Academic career progression can result in increased administrative and teaching commitments, at the expense of the time available for personal research projects.

“The Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowships are awarded to relieve mid-career academics of the additional workload to enable them to personally focus on their research.”

He added: “These are research projects that could deliver significant benefits to society and the economy."

Head of Lancaster University’s Engineering Department Professor Claudio Paoloni said: “We are delighted to hear about the prestigious Fellowship awarded to Dr Letizia for cutting edge research in millimetre waves.

“This is a topic of great relevance for the Engineering Department. I wish to thank the RAEng for the valuable opportunity it offers researchers enabling them to devote time and effort to high impact research projects.”

The Royal Academy of Engineering is the UK’s national academy for engineering and technology. They bring together the most successful and talented engineers from academia and business – their Fellows – to advance and promote excellence in engineering for the benefit of society.