Indian-origin physician wins award for COVID-19 work in UK

An Indian-origin physician is among 19 winners of UK’s Royal Acemy of Engineering President’s Special Awards for Pandemic Service for exceptional engineering achievements in tackling COVID-19 throughout UK.

Ravi Solanki, a physician working on neurodegenerative diseases, along with Raymond Siems, an engineer working in machine learning, were awarded for ir volunteer work to help build a secure and fully functioning website for a new National Health Service (NHS) charity HEROES.

duo were praised for working in record time to make platform sophisticated and efficient, ensuring it could enable funding, provide counselling and wellbeing services, childcare support and sustainable personal protective equipment (PPE) to NHS workers.

“Ravi and Raymond’s round--clock contributions allowed new charity to tap into public sentiment and collect donations quickly so that NHS workers could receive support y needed when COVID-19 crisis was at its peak in UK,” tes Acemy in its citation.

“ir technical kw-how allowed HEROES to support 90,000 NHS workers in three months. team’s work to expand digital platform and support provided to healthcare workers is ongoing,” it ds.

In less than two days, team including Evan Martin and Wilson Griffiths turned an idea into a "genuine impact" secure website through which more than 543,000 items of much-needed support have been provided to NHS workers, from sustainable PPE to counselling services and child care.

hours anunced on Monday have been awarded to teams, organisations, individuals, collaborations and projects across all technical specialities, disciplines and career sts within UK engineering community who have contributed to dressing challenges of COVID-19 pandemic and specially commissioned silver medals will be presented to all 19 winners later this year.

“ COVID-19 pandemic is biggest public health crisis of our time and has presented society with multiple challenges. Engineering expertise and invation has been central to global fight to save lives and protect livelihoods,” said Professor Sir Jim McDonald, President of Royal Acemy of Engineering.

“I am also incredibly proud of engineers everywhere who have worked round clock to maintain essential services, critical supply chains and infrastructure in unprecedented circumstances, using ir training and skills to find invative solutions to a host of problems and to help mitigate impact of COVID-19 on our daily lives,” he said.

or awards covered invative ventilator devices, breathing aids, respirators and face shields as essential equipment required in fight against dely virus. President’s Special Awards for Pandemic Service were overseen by Acemy’s Awards Committee.

Professor Raffaella Ocone, Chair of Acemy’s Awards Committee, ded: “Engineering skills — including invation and interdisciplinary collaboration — have proved to be of vital importance during current pandemic.

“While I am delighted that we are able to recognise some of se outstanding achievements with se awards I am mindful that important work of vast majority of engineers will remain largely outside public’s consciousness. y are all deserving of our thanks and miration for ir continuing positive contribution to society.”

Im credits: Twitter/ @RAEngNews