Professor Sarah Spurgeon, Head of Engineering and Digital Arts, was presented with her award during a Buckingham Palace ceremony on 6 May.
Professor Spurgeon was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to engineering in the New Year’s Honours 2015.
A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) and President of the Institute of Measurement and Control, she has a national and international track record as a control engineer.
She initially worked with the aerospace industry to develop and improve its control strategies, specifically with BAE Systems and Lucas Industries.
Away from aerospace, Professor Spurgeon has brought insights to the control of robotic limbs, monitoring of the restoration of function to human limbs and control of a range of vehicles.
Her research contributions were recognised by the award of an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Millennium Medal (2000) and the InstMC’s Honeywell International Medal (2010).
She has published more than 200 papers on control engineering.