News

All at IES were thrilled to hear of IES Honorary Fellow, Professor Sir Jim McDonald's recent elevation to the Order of the Thistle, the highest chivalric honour associated with Scotland.

It is wonderful to see such an accolade being awarded to such a prominent member of the Scottish engineering field and an inductee of our Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.

We believe that Sir Jim is the first Engineer to have been given such an honour.

The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) has announced that its Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Remi Zante, will undertake a long-term secondment with Renewable Parts in the role of Chief Engineer, supporting the company’s continued growth through parts remanufacture.

Type One Energy, Tokamak Energy and AECOM collectively pursue the first private-sector-led fusion power plant in the UK.

Anthony Brown. Born 30 January 1935 in Baldernock. Died 2 June 2026 in Newton Mearns, Glasgow, aged 91.

Anthony was one of the three creators of Star Refrigeration, and held the position of Managing Director from 1970 until his retirement in 1997. He remained as a director and continued to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors until handing over to John Rowell in 2015.

Newly published research from a leading computer scientist warns that the use of generative AI to design, train or perform steps within a machine learning system could increase serious risks.

Michael Lones, professor at Heriot-Watt University’s School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, has argued in a new paper that generative AI could expose organisations and the public to unintended harm.

A new network involving Strathclyde will fast-track innovation across nucleic acids research including DNA, by bringing together UK-based researchers, industry partners and policymakers.

A laser-etched, AB-silicone film with sunlight-absorbing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is designed to keep surfaces ice-free down to temperatures of -50°C.

Engineers at Diodes Incorporated in Greenock are improving how production data is used on the factory floor through a collaboration with the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), unlocking faster decision-making, reducing manual analysis, and improving efficiency in semiconductor manufacturing.

Scotland’s cask ageing expertise could help reveal greater complexity in spirits distilled from potatoes and other non-grain raw materials, a new project has found.

Arbikie Distillery in Angus, the first in Scotland to produce potato based vodka, worked with chemists at Heriot-Watt to analyse the aroma of their experimental 10-year-old potato-based spirit.

Major progress has been made in the Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigate programme, with two important milestones achieved at the Rosyth shipyard in Scotland—delivered by SMC member, Babcock.

A new endoscope could tackle “cable spaghetti” in operating theatres by transmitting data via light, its developers have claimed.

The University of Strathclyde is partnering on SNUG (Smarter Network Upgrades), a project to trial retrofit measures in up to 300 homes, helping social landlords lower electricity demand at the busiest times of day.