A Lancaster academic has received a prestigious five-year research fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Dr Michael Thompson, of Lancaster University’s Department of Physics, is one of 18 academics across the UK to receive the new research fellowships announced the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Academy’s Research Fellowships aim to advance excellence in engineering by enabling early-career researchers to concentrate on basic research in any field of engineering. Awardees also receive mentoring from experienced Academy Fellows, providing valuable advice and industry links that will enable the researchers to establish themselves as future leaders in their fields.

Professor Philip Nelson CBE FREng, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowships Steering Group, said: “I am delighted to announce these five-year Research Fellowships to 18 of the most promising engineering academics working in the UK today. Engineering research plays a vital role in addressing societal and industrial challenges, both today and in the future, and the variety and impact of the research being done by these awardees demonstrates the depth and breadth of world-leading engineering expertise we have within our universities.

“We have been able to appoint a record number of new engineering Research Fellowships this year, thanks to the Government’s Investment in Research Talent initiative, which has provided the Academy with a significant increase in funding over the next few years to attract and retain the best research talent in the UK and support their work.”

Dr Thompson’s Fellowship will be to research graphene transistors for cryogenic electronics – which could lead to benefits in areas such as medical scanning, quantum computing and scientific research.

Dr Thompson said: “I’m honoured to have been awarded a Research Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Engineering. This award will allow me to focus on my research into low-temperature electronics that will improve the performance of low-temperature quantum sensors and detectors, and enable scalability in quantum computing."