Many congratulations to Professor Bill Steen on being inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at a special dinner held at the Institute in Birdcage Walk on 1st November 2017.  Bill has been honoured for his pioneering work in developing the subject of Laser Material Processing and is considered to be the 'father of laser processing'.  Engineering with optical energy is rapidly being recognised as one of the frontline areas of growth and one day there may be University faculties based on optical engineering as there are currently for electrical and mechanical energy.  Bill is delighted to be so recognised for his part in initiating this major development in engineering.

Bill is now one of the 215 or so engineers honoured in this way since 1866.  Other recipients include outstanding engineers such as Lord Rayleigh (1876), Sir Charles Algernon Parson (1925), Professor Sir William Chandler Roberts-Austin (1897), Lord Kelvin of Largs (1901), Gustav Eiffel (1922), Sir William Bragg (1934), Sir John Joseph Thomson (1932), Ernest Rutherford (1934), Dr F W Lanchester (1937), Herbert Austin (1938), Viscount Nuffield (1938), Henry Ford (1939), Orville Wright (1942), Frank Whittle (1944), Hounsfield (1947), Sir John Cockcroft (1951), Dr Barnes Neville Wallis (1965), Sir John Baker (1968), Lord Todd (1976), Sir Robert Telford (1983), Sir Hugh Ford (1984), Ross Braun (2002), Lord Sainsbury of Turville (2003),  Sir Alex Broer (2003), Sir Digby Jones (2005), Prof Dame Anne Dowling (2011), Ratan Naval Tata (2013, plus eight memb ers of the Royal family including three Kings (Georges V and VI and Edward VIII).