Pioneering Professor made CBE in New Year’s honours list

A pioneering professor from the University has been made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year’s honours list

Professor Keith Ridgway CBE, is Research Director of the University’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing and Executive Dean of Manufacturing at the Advanced Manufacturing Institute (AMI). He was given the honour for services to manufacturing research.

Keith said: “I am greatly honoured to have been awarded a CBE which pays tribute to an extraordinary journey not just by myself, but in partnership with colleagues in the world's best manufacturing companies and the high tech supply chain that supports their aims.

“The work we have begun at the AMI is marking a new kind of collaboration which builds growth in our economy but also offers real job prospects for a large number of young people who we are offering the opportunity to build the skills to support this growth.

“It is a source of great pride to me that this work is being led in a part of the world always known for its skilled craftsmanship and expertise in making the very best products and that we are showing what this means for the next century in major industries such as aerospace and energy."

Keith, who was made an OBE in 2005, worked in industry before moving to academia in 1980. He joined the University of Sheffield as a lecturer in 1988, and went on to become Professor of Design and Manufacture in 1997. He worked with businessman Adrian Allen to launch the AMRC with Boeing in 2001. In 2009, he helped launch the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.

The AMI was created in 2011 in response to the continued success and growth of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing. It includes the AMRC with Boeing, the Nuclear AMRC (a collaboration between the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester) and the new Knowledge Transfer Centre.

For more information on the AMRC visit: http://www.amrc.co.uk/

For more information on the NAMRC visit: http://namrc.co.uk