Professor Richard Dinsdale

Intelligent and resilient ocean engineering, new kinds of batteries and more precise x-ray scans are among the disruptive innovations being developed by the Royal Academy of Engineering’s latest Chairs in Emerging Technologies.  

The Academy has made awards totalling more than £22m in research funding through its Chairs in Emerging Technologies programme, providing long-term support to nine world-leading engineers across the UK to advance emerging technologies.

The innovations being developed by the Chairs in Emerging Technologies have the potential to considerably benefit society and the UK economy, and enable the nation to remain at the global forefront of engineering innovation.  

The areas of research funded reflect the UK’s wider technological priorities, with many of the projects directly aligned to the government’s Industrial Strategy and designed to tackle some of the biggest industrial and societal challenges of our time. 

The 10-year support provided to the Chairs will enable them to progress their pioneering ideas from basic science through to full deployment and commercialisation. 

Professor Richard Dinsdale, of the University of South Wales, is one of the recipients. 

He aims to develop and commercialise microbial bioelectrochemical systems for waste treatment and resource recovery. This innovative area of biotechnology manipulates the electrochemical properties of microbial cells to make industrial processes more efficient.  

This could enhance wastewater treatment, improve metal recovery and help convert carbon dioxide into renewable green platform chemicals. He will work with key industrial stakeholders to facilitate these developments.