Professor Eric Yeatman honoured by the Royal Academy of Engineering – News

Monday 23 May 2011
By Colin Smith

An Imperial College London engineer who has pioneered research into the development of microscopic devices was today honoured for his work by Britain’s national academy for engineering.

Professor Eric Yeatman has been awarded the 2011 Silver Medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering. The Imperial professor was one of only four engineers in the UK to be awarded the medal, which annually recognises an outstanding and demonstrated personal contribution to British engineering.

Professor Yeatman, who is also Deputy Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, is a world-leader in the field of micro-engineering. This field of research focuses on developing tiny devices, which can be smaller than a human hair, for use in a range of areas including electronics and communications.

Professor Yeatman said: “I am really honoured to receive the Silver medal. Any achievements I have made in engineering are also due to the efforts of my colleagues and co-workers to whom much of the credit belongs.”

Professor Stephen Richardson, Deputy Rector of Imperial College London, added:

“Eric has played a key role in the creation and growth of the internationally regarded micro-engineering research activity at Imperial. He is an innovative and entrepreneurial engineer who has made many influential contributions in micro-engineering. Eric’s combination of engineering insight and commercial vision has made him a sought-after advisor and consultant to large and small companies.”

Professor Yeatman has developed microscopic devices that select information encoded in light in fibre optic cables

Professor Yeatman is currently working on tiny energy-harvesting tools that produce electrical energy from movement. Professor Yeatman says these energy harvesters are ideally suited to conditions where other energy sources are scarce. These kinds of tools could be used in technology such as body sensors that are worn on the body to monitor health, with the movements of the body powering the sensor.

Professor Yeatman is also credited with developing new technologies for use in telecommunications. He has developed devices for use in fibre optics that can be used in a similar way to a knob on the TV that enables people to switch to different channels. These “tunable fibre optic filters” are used to select information encoded in the light travelling down a fibre optic cable. By tuning into a different light frequency, using the tunable fibre optic filter, different information can be sourced.

In 2001, Professor Yeatman co-founded the Imperial spin-out company Microsaic Systems plc, which develops desk-sized Mass Spectrometer instruments that can measure the masses and relative concentrations of atoms and molecules in substances. The company, which was admitted to the London Stock Exchange in 2011, also develops devices that can measure liquids for analysis in scientific research.

Professor Yeatman has also made other important contributions to British engineering, including serving on the boards of venture capital firms, advising start-up companies and acting as a consultant to many leading players in the sector.

Professor Dame Julia Higgins, from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology, who also chairs the Award’s Panel at the Royal Academy of Engineering, concludes:

“We are delighted to award one of the four 2011 Silver Medals to Eric for his work in developing micro-engineering and successfully taking principles to market.”

Professor Yeatman will receive his Silver medal at the Academy’s annual awards dinner in London’s Guildhall on Monday 6 June 2011.