How does your research and its outcomes impact on wider society?
Direct emissions from aviation account for more than 2% of global emissions. UQUAFA can contribute to stabilise CO2 emissions by designing lighter aerostructures. UQUAFA has the potential to realise societal, environmental and economic impact leading to benefits for academia, industry and society. The design of new composite aerostructures will lead to cost-savings and evolutionary development in the aerospace industry, while having strong impact on environmental concerns (less gas emissions). UQUAFA will focus on thermoplastic composites, which enable attaining recyclable eco-friendly structures. The transportation sector will benefit with recyclable, lighter, greener and safer aerostructures.

What is your proudest career achievement?
I am extremely proud of being a current recipient of a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship. The selection process was very tough and competitive. As I am sure RAEng only funds excellence, I am proud to hold this prestigious Fellowship and deliver excellence.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
Be patient; work hard; never give up; ask advice from experts and non-experts in your field.

Pure: Dr Humberto Almeida Jr

What is your proudest career achievement?
My proudest career achievement was being awarded with a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship, which has made possible carrying out the project so far. Moreover, I am particularly proud of how much I have learned from the post-conflict context of Northern Ireland by engaging community members with the project.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
Although it is widely shared, a piece of advice that has been always useful to me is "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst", which condenses the relevance of being positive and meticulous without forgetting that there are forces beyond our control.

How does your research and its outcomes impact on wider society?
By enabling a diverse group of scientists to use AMO physics software, the project will enhance research in many diverse areas including drug design, fusion and solar energy, fundamental quantum dynamics, astrophysics and industrial plasmas.

What is your proudest career achievement?
Although I am immensely proud of gaining the EPSRC Research Software Engineering fellowship, my proudest achievement has been watching my PhD students flourishing in their academic careers.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
Remember that everyone feels like they're making it up. I never pursued big projects before because I felt like an imposter. But once I realised that most people feel that way, I was able to back myself to propose more and more ambitious plans. 

Pure: Dr Andrew Brown

How does your research and its outcomes impact on wider society?
My research will develop and test software-based security threat mitigations for IoT devices, which will provide future-ready protections against cyberattacks. It will also involve a multi-disciplinary collaboration with University College London into IoT-based tech-abuse for vulnerable sectors of society.

What is your proudest career achievement?
Gaining the joint first RSE Research Fellowships in QUB.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
Start generating your idea early, outside of a call, and talk to others as early as possible.  The research development managers at Research & Enterprise are invaluable, as are links to industrial and academic partners. 

Pure: Dr Domhnall Carlin

What is your proudest career achievement?
I'm proud of receiving the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship in 2015, the Queen’s Vice Chancellor’s Research Prize for Early Career Researcher in 2016, the Newton Prize 2017, and the Queen’s Vice Chancellor’s Research Prize for Innovation in 2018.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
A Queen's Fellowship will leverage your research career. Be ambitious to truly make a difference.

What is your proudest career achievement?
My proudest career achievements are being awarded the Royal Academy Fellowship and being involved in the ICE invisible superheros exhibition.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
Make your research independent and engage with industry and government to develop your research ideas and solutions.

How does your research and its outcomes impact on wider society?
New innovations in nanoscale thermal management will be important for supporting technological advances in several sectors, while also trying to keep future devices energy efficient. Relevant sectors and applications include consumer electronics, medical devices, telecommunications, automotive and aeronautical industries, and efficient waste heat harvesting.

What is your proudest career achievement?
I feel very proud to have started my own research group and to be responsible for the training and mentoring of young scientists. This has only been possible due to the joint support of my host department at QUB and my UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
The advice of a trusted mentor who knows you well can be really valuable.

Pure: Dr Raymond McQuaid

What is your proudest career achievement?
My proudest career achievement was being awarded this Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship. I learned a lot while going through the selection and application stages. I actually had a lot of fun during the interview at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London!

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
My main piece of advice for someone considering applying for a Fellowship at Queen’s is to be themselves. Your personality and your vision should come through to anyone that comes in contact with your application. And don't be afraid to ask for help, we have great colleagues here at Queen's!

What is your proudest career achievement?
My key career achievements include the award of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship in 2019, and three prestigious research prizes: the IEEE ComSoc Stephen O. Rice Prize in 2015, the IEEE ComSoc Leonard G. Abraham Prize in 2017, and the Best PhD award 2018 by the European Association for Signal Processing (EURASIP).

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
You need to emphasise "why you?".

How does your research and its outcomes impact on wider society?
Glycans are significant biomarkers for a variety of disorders, and their abnormalities are linked to a number of pathological illnesses. Glycan recognition with high specificity will lead to a wider range of innovative medicines and diagnostics in the future.

What is your proudest career achievement?
I'm proud of receiving the Marie Curie Individual Fellowship and securing the Illuminate Vice-Chancellor’s Fellowship at Queen’s.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
In your application, try to articulate how your expertise and proposed research will benefit and complement the research efforts of your selected school and Queen’s University. 

How does your research and its outcomes impact on wider society?
It is expected that the results of this work will be used across the field to underpin the development of the next generation of nanomaterials with improved functionality made possible by the ability to rationally design and then create systems with optimised surface properties.

What is your proudest career achievement?
Besides my recently awarded Fellowship, my proudest achievement so far is being the recipient of the 2019 Kathleen Lonsdale Royal Irish Academy Prize for the most outstanding PhD research in chemical science in Ireland.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?
Plan ahead, choose wisely, go all in.

Pure: Dr Yikai Xu

What is your proudest career achievement?

I am proud of receiving the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship.

How does your research and its outcomes impact on wider society?

Computer arithmetic depends on number formats, and it lays the foundation of digital systems by defining the primitive operations out of which software is built. Therefore software-defined number formats can improve the performance of computing devices around us such as electronic gadgets and health monitoring devices.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?

Being passionate and persistent about your ambitious ideas in science and engineering.

Pure: Dr Amir Sabbagh Molahosseini

What is your proudest career achievement?

My research has been enabled by independent fellowships in the United Kingdom and abroad, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. These have afforded me the academic freedom to pursue a variety of research questions. My research was also recognised by recent disciplinary and interdisciplinary awards (e.g., Francesca Gherardi Memorial Prize in invasion biology).

How does your research and its outcomes impact on wider society?

Translation and outreach is a major component of my science. My research has both fundamental and applied components. Most recently, it has informed policy around the management of biological invasions, highlighting that by investing early and proactively in this growing global change, we can save sums at the multi-trillion-£ level worldwide and safeguard ecosystems.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?

Be proactive in finding funding opportunities and plan well-ahead.

Pure: Dr Ross Cuthbert

What is your proudest career achievement?

Being awarded the Royal Society University Research Fellowship!

How does your research and its outcomes impact on wider society?

Particle accelerators are a vital tool in advancing scientific research as well as near term industrial applications. By developing automated plasma accelerators I hope to impact manufacturing by providing novel diagnostic capabilities.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?

Work on your 1 minute summary of your proposal. You will probably need to convince non-experts that your work is interesting with a short description - so try it out on people outside your field of work and incorporate their feedback.

How does your research and its outcomes impact wider society?

Future proofing our civil engineering infrastructure, much of which was built over 50 years ago, is a financially challenging strategic requirement for UK resilience. The projected spend to address deficient UK civil engineering infrastructure in the next decade is £600 billion and will intensify in our drive towards a net-zero carbon agenda, greater sustainability, durability and efficiency. This is truly innovative research as it will create technology that can deliver interconnected and automated bridge safety ratings through advanced structural health monitoring techniques for informed and strategic decision making by infrastructure stakeholders. 

What is your proudest career achievement?

I am very proud to have been awarded the Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowship, which has enabled me to become part of an esteemed research community at Queen's University Belfast, with the Royal Society and EPSRC as my sponsors. Being a member of the Fellowship Academy within QUB is an extraordinary privilege.

What one piece of advice would you give to those considering applying for a Fellowship?

 Embarking on the journey to secure a research fellowship is both an exciting and challenging endeavour. Remember, this journey is uniquely yours, and your strongest assets are your unique experiences, perspectives, situation and research interests. Be authentic in your applications and choose to apply for fellowships that align well with your goals and values. Pursue your applications with passion, dedication, and resilience. Remember, networking plays a crucial role in this process, opening doors and providing insights that can significantly enhance your chances of success.

Pure: Dr Tahreer Fayyad