James Clayton Prestige Lecture – Racing to the Rescue: From 0 to 10,000 Breathing Devices in 1 Month - How Formula 1 teamed up with a University in a Global Crisis

Professor Rebecca Shipley OBE: Professor of Healthcare Engineering, UCL Mechanical Engineering

Since graduating from the University of Oxford with degrees in Applied Mathematics (MMath, DPhil), Becky has established a multidisciplinary research programme at UCL around mathematical and computational modelling in medicine and biology. Becky works in diverse areas such as nervous system repair, cancer and physiology of critically ill patients, with a focus on better understanding the biology of disease as well as designing interventions which will change patient outcomes. She holds an extensive grant portfolio in collaboration with academics and medics across UCL and partner hospitals, and her work has been recognised through numerous prestigious prizes (for example, Rosetrees Trust Interdisciplinary Prize 2016; Women’s Engineering Society Top 50 Women in Engineering 2021).

Becky has been Director of the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering since 2018 and has established the Institute as an internationally recognised centre for excellence in medical and digital technologies. The Institute spans UCL engineering, medical sciences and the hospitals within the UCL Partners academic health system, providing a vehicle for technology development and deployment. She is co-director of the UCL-UCL Hospital Biomedical Research Centre theme in Healthcare Engineering and Imaging and has been Non-Executive Director at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust with a focus on research and innovation since 2020.

From March 2020 Becky co-led the UCL-Ventura programme which designed and delivered 10,000 non-invasive ventilators to the NHS. By supporting local manufacturing hubs globally, the devices are now being used to treat patients in at least 30 countries.

In Summer 2021 Becky was awarded an OBE for services to the pandemic both nationally and nationally. She is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and an invited Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

Professor Tim Baker MBE: Professor of Mechanical Engineering Design, UCL Mechanical Engineering

In March 2020 Tim co-led the UCL-Ventura group that manufactured 10,000 breathing aids in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The designs have since been licenced free-of-charge to over 2,000 organisations in more than 100 countries worldwide.

The manufacturing programme for UCL-Ventura owed its success to Tim’s extensive experience in high-precision design and manufacture. After graduating from UCL Mechanical Engineering with a PhD, Tim worked in motorsport for over 20 years. Starting with Formula 1, he saw his career evolve from engine development to engine design. After a stint working for the Ford World Rally team, Tim was a founding member of Advanced Engine research, where he was Technical Director with responsibility for design and manufacturing. During this time, his team created engines that won races and championships at global level, notably class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Since 2004 Tim has run a design consultancy that has helped clients in disparate sectors turn concepts into reality. His expertise inspires companies to take their ideas from a clean-sheet through to production. The support he offers is tailored to suit every project and can involve everything from project management to finance, to ensure that programmes are delivered on time and to budget. Tim’s hands-on approach delivers solutions by working alongside in-house teams.

Tim returned to UCL to share his practical engineering knowledge, and his experience of prototype design and manufacture has contributed to several medical research projects. Under his leadership, the department has opened a new student workshop, MechSpace, in central London, dedicated to teaching hands-on engineering, and industry collaboration. Tim’s close links with Formula 1 led to the partnership with Mercedes AMG HPP for the UCL-Ventura project.

In October 2020 Tim was awarded an MBE for services to Healthcare in the UK and Abroad during Covid-19. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers awarded Tim the James Clayton Prize for 2021 “for his work in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 and for his exceptional contributions to mechanical engineering education”. Tim is a Fellow of the IMechE and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Institution of Engineering Designers.