Four new Royal Society Industry Fellowships connect academia and industry

The Royal Society announces four new fellowship grants aimed at strengthening links between academia and industry.

The grants are awarded to academic scientists who want to work on a collaborative project with industry and for scientists in industry who want to work on a collaborative project with an academic organisation.The latest awardees’ project topics range from technologies for high efficiency solar cells and cars which use artificial intelligence to interact with their drivers.

Dr Nathan Griffiths will be joining Jaguar Land Rover for a four year Royal Society Industry Fellowship. His research will use machine-learning to model drivers and passengers from data sources including smartphones, infrastructure and vehicles themselves. The research aims to improve the driving experience and increase safety and efficiency, by minimising driver distractions, personalising the driving experience, and developing strategies to influence driver behaviour.

Commenting on the fellowship, Dr Griffiths said:

"I am very excited to work with Jaguar Land Rover Research at the cutting edge of intelligent vehicle research. As vehicles become increasingly autonomous, using machine intelligence to understand and engage with drivers and passengers will be crucial. I look forward to collaborating with Jaguar Land Rover to develop novel intelligent techniques to improve the driving experience.”

The Royal Society Industry Fellowship scheme provides each scientist’s basic salary for the duration of their secondment, which lasts for up to two years full-time or four years part-time.

The full list of the latest Royal Society Industry Fellowships recipients is as follows:

• Dr Nathan Griffiths from University of Warwick to work on The Self-Learning and Connected Car at Jaguar Land Rover.
• Dr Nicholas Ekins-Daukes from Imperial College London to work on Near-Infrared Absorbers for High Efficiency Multi-Junction Solar Cells at IQE PLC.
• Dr Rachel Smith from University of Sheffield to work on Spray Coating of Powders and Liquid Contact Transfer: Prediction and Scale-Up at Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Ltd. Dr Smith has also been awarded funds for a Royal Society and Society of Chemical Industry PhD studentship
• Dr Mike Dodds from University of York to work on Principled Reasoning about Liveness at Microsoft Research Ltd.

The Royal Society Industry Fellowship scheme is funded by the Royal Society, EPSRC and Rolls Royce. The source of funding for the Royal Society and Society of Chemical Industry PhD studentship is the legacy of Dr Sydney Andrew a former Fellow of the Royal Society and Member of the Society of Chemical Industry.

The Royal Society Industry Fellowship scheme is funded by the Royal Society, EPSRC and Rolls Royce.