The awards are part of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) annual medals and prizes in research and teaching. They recognise companies, universities, and individuals for their exceptional contribution to chemical engineering research and teaching.

Like many of the IChemE medals and prizes, the awards are named after distinguished individuals who have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to chemical engineering.

The Sharma Medal is named after Man Mohan Sharma, a highly respected professor of chemical engineering from India, director of the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, and the first Indian engineer to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

The Warner Medal is named after Sir Frederick Warner, former IChemE president, a founding member of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK, and a key member of the team that investigated the Chernobyl disaster.

Prof. Kamelia Boodhoo, Director of Discipline (Chemical Engineering) said, “Congratulations to our distinguished colleagues on receiving these prestigious awards. It is great to receive external recognition for their hard work and outstanding achievements. I am grateful to the IChemE for the award of these medals and to all our staff, researchers and students for all their valued contributions in Chemical Engineering at Newcastle.”

Exceptional promise and making chemical engineering more accessible

The Warner Medal is presented to an individual, usually in the first decade of their career, who has shown exceptional promise in the field of sustainable chemical process technology and who has made chemical engineering more accessible to a wider scientific community, including efforts in working with organisations and the lay public to educate and inform through outreach.

Dr Mutch, a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow, published on a humidity-driven membrane to remove carbon dioxide from the air in Nature Energy in 2024, and was part of the team that led the successful bid for an £11M net-zero training centre at Newcastle. His engineering advocacy and outreach work includes contributions to the Tomorrow’s Engineering Research Challenges report, which set the forward-looking agenda for engineering research in the UK, and to the team that delivered the ENERGIES Exhibition, which explored how industrial change is affecting coastal communities in the North East.

Dr Mutch said, “Contributions from many people, from my first chemistry teacher to my students and colleagues today, are recognised by this award. It motivates me to further strengthen our excellent research and education in chemical engineering.”

Outstanding and sustained research contributions in chemical engineering

Professor Metcalfe, who was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2012, was awarded the Sharma Medal in recognition of numerous groundbreaking scientific and engineering research advances, especially in the fields of membrane engineering and catalysis, and for the underpinning understanding of the structure, chemistry and thermodynamics of materials.

Professor Metcalfe said, “It is an honour to receive this award from the IChemE for what has been a sustained, collective effort that depended very much on an excellent group of PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and collaborators.”