24 Sep 2026
Professor Martin Booth one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s 75 new Fellows
New Fellows are nominated and elected by existing Fellows in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession
At its AGM on 23 September 2026 the Royal Academy of Engineering elected 75 leading figures in the field of engineering and technology to its Fellowship. The Fellowship brings together leading engineers and technologists from academia, industry and the public sector, all committed to using engineering to address some of society's most important challenges.
Statutory Professor of Electrical Engineering Martin Booth is one of the new Fellows announced yesterday. A Professorial Fellow at St Hugh’s College and founder director of Opsydia Ltd., Professor Booth’s research focuses on optics and, in particular, on developing new ways to control and manipulate light. A major strand of his work is adaptive optics, where optical systems are adjusted to correct distortions in a beam of light. This has important applications in high-resolution microscopy, helping researchers to obtain clearer images from deep within biological specimens.
His wider research spans advanced microscopy, including techniques used in biomedical and neuroscience research, as well as ophthalmic imaging and laser-based microfabrication. Much of this work centres on using precise control of light to improve how we can image, measure and manipulate materials at microscopic scales.
Professor Booth is also Founder Director of Opsydia Ltd, an Oxford University spin-out company that uses advanced laser technology to create microscopic structures and features within transparent materials, including security features in diamonds and glass-based devices for optical computing.
He says, “I’m honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. This recognition reflects not only my own work, but the support, collaboration and achievements of many colleagues over the years. I look forward to contributing to the Academy’s community and its work to advance engineering for the benefit of society”.
The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a special ceremony in London on 19 October, when each Fellow will sign the roll book. In joining the Fellowship, they will lend their unique capabilities to achieving the Academy’s overarching strategic goal to engineer better lives.
Sir John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “This year’s cohort will be joining a community of over 1,700 top engineers and innovators in the UK and around the world. Together, we ensure that bright ideas are supported, scaled and shared, turning ambition into innovation and innovation into impact. We aim to strengthen education, skills and inclusion to inspire and equip the engineers of today and tomorrow.”
