Herts bioengineer receives Royal Academy of Engineering fellowship for ingenious industry collaboration

The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) has announced eight new recipients of its Industrial Fellowship, awarded to talented UK engineering researchers who are using ingenious collaboration between academia and industry to tackle societal issues – including Herts engineer Dr Amit Pujari.

The new fellows are all pursuing research projects that tackle a wide range of national and global challenges, from increasing food security and production to improving the resilience of buildings to explosions.

Dr Pujari, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, is working to develop non-invasive devices to support the treatment and rehabilitation of stroke victims. His current research focuses on the optimisation of neuromodulatory stimuli to strengthen muscles and restore sensation for people who have had strokes. His work also supports rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy and Parkinson's, using a range of neurophysiological and engineering tools.

On being named as one of the new Industrial Fellows, Dr Pujari said:

“I am absolutely delighted to receive the Industrial Fellowship. What makes this award even more exceptional is this being a second prestigious fellowship awarded to me by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

“The fellowship will enable me to continue progressing the work from my recently completed RAEng Leverhulme Trust Fellowship, in developing potentially life-changing neurotechnologies for people with stroke and spinal injury. I thank the Royal Academy of Engineering for their confidence in me and my work.”

The fellowship will enable Dr Pujari to collect systematic feedback from patients, their carers and clinicians, and work with industry partners to develop devices that will be effective in real-world settings and ready to use in clinical environments and at home.

For more information about the Industrial Fellowships and a full list of this year’s recipients, visit the Royal Academy of Engineering website. Watch this short film to learn more about Dr Pujari’s work.