Heriot Watt University

The Royal Academy of Engineering is to award the prestigious Princess Royal Silver Medal to Professor Robert Thomson FREng, Professor of Photonics at Heriot-Watt University.

Professor Thomson is one of only three leading UK engineers being awarded the prestigious medal, which celebrates an outstanding personal contribution made to UK engineering by an early to mid-career engineer, less than 22 years in employment, resulting in market exploitation.

HRH The Princess Royal, Royal Fellow of the Academy, champion for engineering and a vocal and long-standing supporter of women in engineering and science, will make the presentation at the Academy Awards Dinner in London on 8 July.

Throughout my career, I have been motivated by the challenge of translating fundamental discoveries into technologies that create tangible benefits for society.

The other recipients are Dr Ian Campbell, Co-founder of Breathe Battery Technologies and Dr Liucheng Guo, Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of TG0.

Luke Logan FREng, Chair of the Academy’s Awards Committee, said: “This year’s winners of The Princess Royal Silver Medal have each pushed the boundaries of engineering. Through their research and innovative ideas, they have supported the UK in being a leader in engineering and sustainability, making significant contributions to our national economy through inspiring entrepreneurship and collaboration.”

By applying photonics to astronomy, Professor Thomson invented the integrated photonic lantern, redefining what is possible in fibre optics.

Conventional optical fibres carry data as pulses of light. Across longer distances, these are typically single mode fibres that rely on light having a single pattern as it travels. Using single mode optical fibres to collect light in astronomy is challenging because most telescopes create signals inherently composed of multiple patterns. This leads to a loss of signal and increased noise.