Professor Tom Melham (Professor of Computer Science and Fellow and Tutor in Computation) has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is one of 75 leading figures in engineering and technology joining the Fellowship in 2026, as the Academy celebrates its 50th anniversary.
The Fellows elected this year have been recognised for their significant impact across the engineering and technology sectors, with contributions spanning areas including clean energy, AI, medicine, and public health. Collectively, they have influenced academia and business, worked to widen participation in engineering, and provided expert advice to government.
Professor Melham’s research develops mathematical and computational methods for making complex digital systems reliable and trustworthy. He specialises in automated reasoning and formal verification, particularly techniques for finding subtle design errors in computer chips before manufacture. His work combines foundational research with sustained, hands-on collaboration across the semiconductor and electronic design automation industries. This has influenced industrial verification practice and led to new techniques being incorporated into commercially deployed tools used by chip designers worldwide. More recently, his group’s verification of secure processor designs has helped improve their quality and accelerate their adoption in commercial products.
Reflecting on his election, Professor Melham said: ‘I am delighted and honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. I see this recognition as reflecting the work of the many colleagues, students and industrial collaborators with whom I have had the privilege to work – and our shared commitment to translating rigorous academic research into practical engineering impact.’
Sir John Lazar (Balliol 1983), President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: ‘Our Fellowship has been at the core of our work for the past 50 years, connecting the business leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers and policymakers who are at the heart of the UK’s technological progress. This year’s cohort will be joining a community of over 1,700 top engineers and innovators in the UK and around the world.’
Professor Melham, along with the other newly elected Fellows, will be formally admitted to the Academy at a special ceremony in London on 19 October.