Professor Clemens Kaminski elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Head of Department Professor Clemens Kaminski has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, one of the highest honours in engineering.

The Professor of Chemical Physics joined the University in 2001 and became Head of Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology in 2020. He has been recognised for his significant contributions to advanced optical imaging and sensor technologies, as well as his leadership in engineering research and education. The fellowship recognises exceptional contributions to the profession.

Professor Kaminski’s research has pioneered the use of light to study chemical processes across a wide range of scales and systems. Methods developed by his research group, Laser Analytics, are used in applications ranging from clean energy technologies to pharmaceutical research, supported by close collaborations with scientists and clinicians across disciplines.

Professor Clemens Kaminski FREng said: “I am delighted to have been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. It is wonderful to receive this recognition and, whilst I am extremely proud on a personal level, it is really a reflection of the hard work of the many outstanding students, researchers and collaborators I have had the privilege and joy of working with over the years.

“I have been very fortunate to work in a highly collaborative environment where engineers alongside physical and biological scientists have come together to tackle important challenges, and it motivates me to continue exploring new ways of using light to understand the world around us.”

Professor Dame Lynn Gladden, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, said: “Clemens’ election to the Fellowship is richly deserved. His work in optical imaging and sensing has advanced their application to clean energy technologies and biomedical research, and enabled important new approaches to tackling disease.

“Alongside his research achievements, he has made an outstanding contribution to the University through his leadership of the Department and his commitment to developing the next generation of researchers in sensor technology.”

Professor Kaminski is among the cohort of Fellows elected during the Royal Academy of Engineering’s 50th anniversary year.

After completing his PhD at the University of Oxford in 1995, Professor Kaminski held a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship and an Associate Professorship at Lund University in Sweden before joining Cambridge. Alongside leading the Department, he recently completed a 12-year tenure as Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies, hosted in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology.

Professor Kaminski’s achievements have previously been recognised through numerous awards, including the Cyril Hinshelwood Prize, the Philip Leverhulme Prize, and the Institute of Physics’ Rosalind Franklin Medal and Prize. He is also a Fellow of Optica, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Institute of Physics.

More on this from the University: Cambridge researchers named Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering | University of Cambridge