Engineering Science

Applying to St Hugh’s for Engineering Science

St Hugh’s welcomes applicants from any background who are interested in any, or all, of the Engineering disciplines taught in the undergraduate degree course ( Biomedical, Civil, Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical, or Information Engineering) and the joint courses.

Each year, the College admits around six undergraduates to the Engineering courses.

When admitting students, we look for an enthusiasm for the subject and an interest in solving Engineering problems. Physics and Mathematics are the most important requirements, and all of our students have studied these subjects at A-level or an equivalent standard. Any other subject in addition to Physics and Mathematics is acceptable. We encourage students to seek industrial sponsorship, which often includes a year working with the sponsor prior to starting the course. Candidates who opt for a gap year are not disadvantaged in the admissions process.

Choosing St Hugh’s for Engineering Science

St Hugh’s has significant strengths in Engineering, including three Fellows with undergraduate teaching responsibilities: Professor Chris Stevens, a Tutorial Fellow and Associate Professor of Engineering Science; Professor Antoine Jerusalem, a Fellow by Special Election in Engineering Science and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Professor Luca Furieri, a Tutorial Fellow and Associate Professor of Engineering Science (Control Engineering).

Chris’ research area is ultrafast electronics, a rapidly developing field in which he explores the ultimate speed limits of electronics. He uses a wide variety of techniques to manufacture novel circuits and systems. One among these is the laser micromachining tool. Antoine’s research activities focus on computational modelling of many types of materials and structures, ranging from metals to composite materials with a major focus on the multiphysics of neurons and brain and applications in Ultrasound Neuromodulation and TBI. He is also an Affiliate Researcher in the Mathematical Institute at Oxford and the co-director of the International Brain Mechanics and Trauma Lab. Luca’s research focuses on learning and optimal control for distributed decision-making and large-scale safety-critical applications.

In addition, St Hugh’s is home to other distinguished specialists in Engineering Science. Professor Martin Booth is a Professorial Fellow in Engineering Science and holder of the Chair of Optical and Photonic Engineering – a key part of the strategic plan to strengthen research and teaching in Optical and Photonics Engineering at Oxford. Dr Chris Willman and Dr Noël Hallemans hold College Lecturerships. Chris’ research involves the design and application of optical diagnostic techniques for flow measurements, Noël’s work focuses on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, battery modelling, and system identification.

Professor Chris Stevens

Professor Antoine Jerusalem

Professor Stephen Duncan

Studying and living at St Hugh’s

Our students are dedicated and enthusiastic. Recently, third-year Engineering students Daniel Costache and Huirui Dai’s experiments during their summer internships significantly contributed to the design of new engineering concepts for the future.

Daniel worked with Professor Tim Denison who holds a joint appointment in Engineering Science and Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford, where he explores the fundamentals of physiologic closed-loop systems. Daniel’s work has been crucial in developing a headband which will be used for Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) in relation to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. The headband Daniel was involved in developing has been part of a collaboration with the Neuroscience and Psychology of Sleep Lab at Cardiff University. He has been working consistently on developing and improving the headband with feedback from a patient advisory group as part of the collaboration. Daniel has designed the headband to be flexible allowing different electrode placement to cater for studies investigating different sleep stages and areas of the brain.

In December 2024, St Hugh’s fourth year Engineering undergraduate Tracey Saber was awarded the prestigious Michael von Clemm Fellowship by Corpus Christi College, Oxford. This award includes a fully-funded year as a Special Student at Harvard University. The Michael von Clemm Fellowship is highly competitive, with only a single Oxford student or recent alumnus selected annually to receive a fully-funded year of study.