The leader of a North East research institute has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Chris McDonald, chief executive of the Materials Processing Institute, is named on a list of new fellows of the organisation that also includes Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, a prominent public figure during the Covid pandemic.
Mr McDonald has led the Middlesbrough-based Institute, which aims to lead research and innovation for advanced materials and decarbonisation, since 2014. He grew up in Blackhall, County Durham, where both sides of his family had roots in the mining industry.
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After discovering an aptitude for science and engineering, he was supported by British Steel to study chemical engineering at Cambridge University and went on to work with Corus and Tata Steel before leading the divestment of the Institute and re-establishing it as a not-for-profit organisation. As well as his main job at the Institute, he holds a number of advisory roles and is chair of the Redhills charity in Durham.
He said: “Being elected a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering is a tremendous personal honour and it also reflects the work of national significance that is being led by the Institute. These range from hydrogen innovation in green steelmaking and developing the world’s first zero emission cement, to improving waste heat recovery in industrial processes.
“I’d also like to dedicate this accolade to the many inspirational people who have supported me throughout my career, and I hope it encourages others to consider engineering as a profession. I have long advocated the need to develop a much stronger UK manufacturing and industrial base, to build a strong and resilient UK economy that provides good jobs and helps us to pay our way as a nation. As a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, I will continue to strongly champion this cause.”
Projects the Institute is currently involved in include a £6.5m study that is aiming to develop the world’s first zero emission cement on an industrial scale, and a collaboration with the Carbon Re organisation to adapt AI technology to steelmaking.
Announcing new fellows, Sir Jim McDonald, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “I am delighted to welcome such an array of enormously talented people to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering. From industry and enterprise to education and government – both national and international – these are some of our most pioneering and distinguished engineers and technologists.”
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