MCEC director of research and strategic partnerships Ron Roy elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Ronald A. Roy, director of research and strategic partnerships for the University of Maine College of Engineering and Computing (MCEC), has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional honors for engineers in the United Kingdom.

Roy is one of 74 leaders in engineering and technology worldwide elected to the academy this year. Fellowship recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to engineering, advancing the profession through innovation, research and leadership.

The Royal Academy of Engineering is the U.K.’s national academy for engineering. Its fellowship, known as FREng, includes more than 1,700 of the world’s most accomplished engineers. Members advise policymakers, promote innovation and education, and help shape solutions to global challenges.

A Maine native and 1981 graduate of UMaine in engineering physics, Roy has held academic and research appointments across the United States and abroad. He earned advanced degrees at the University of Mississippi and Yale University before serving as chair of mechanical engineering at Boston University. In 2013, he was appointed professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Oxford, where he later served as head of the Department of Engineering Science from 2019 to 2024.

His research spans physical acoustics, ultrasonics and biomedical applications, with international recognition for advancing the understanding of bubble dynamics and acoustic wave propagation. Roy is also a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and recipient of its Helmholtz-Rayleigh Interdisciplinary Silver Medal.

Roy joined UMaine’s MCEC earlier this year as director of research and strategic partnerships.

“This fellowship is a supreme honor,” Roy said. “It recognizes not only individual accomplishments, but also the power of engineering collaboration across disciplines and continents.”

The 2025 class of fellows will be formally admitted at a ceremony on Nov. 18 in London.

Contact: Taylor Ward, taylor.ward@maine.edu