Six pioneers shortlisted for £350,000 AF Harvey prize

The prize is awarded annually in recognition of an outstanding achievement in engineering research in the fields of medical, microwave and radar or laser/optoelectronic engineering, with the prize fund awarded to support further research led by the recipient.

For this year’s theme is radar and microwave, the 2024 shortlist includes: 

• Professor Andrea Alù of City University of New York (CUNY) professor Andrea Alù. The Einstein Professor of Physics at the Graduate School of CUNY and Founding Director of the Photonics Initiative at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Centers work includes enhanced wireless communications, radar technologies and efficient signal processing based on wave propagation. 
• Johannes Fink, professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria for his studies of quantum coherent effects in superconducting, mechanical and optical chip-based devices to integrate quantum technology for communication, simulation, sensing and metrology. 
• Texas Tech University professor Changzhi Li specialising in portable radar sensor technologies that have significantly advanced healthcare, smart living, structural monitoring, and wireless human-machine interfaces.
• University College Cork Electrical and Electronic Engineering professor Dimitra Psychogiou. The head of Tyndall National Institute, Cork’s Advanced RF Technology Group, she examines significant communication challenges through the realisation of highly-versatile and high-frequency RF component technologies.
• University of Exeter professor Jensen Li – Director of the Centre for Metamaterials Research Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for his work on the tailor-made material properties of metamaterials and metasurfaces 
• Professor Nils Pohl of Ruhr University Bochum for his research to develop radar circuits, system configurations, and algorithms for millimetre-waves and the terahertz spectrum, impacting various application areas, including automotive, industrial, medical, security, and communication.

Chair of the selection panel Sir John O’Reilly, said: “We’re incredibly proud, through the generous legacy from the late Dr A F Harvey, to be able to recognise and support the development of pioneering engineering research and the subsequent impact this has on advancing the world around us. I’d like to congratulate our six finalists for this year.”

Named after Dr A F Harvey who bequeathed a substantial sum to the IET for a trust fund to be set up in his name to further research in the specified fields, the A F Harvey Prize winner will be announced in January and will have the opportunity to deliver a keynote lecture on their research in the spring.

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