Ben Metcalfe

Dr Ben Metcalfe PhD FIPEM FIET FRSA FHEA CEng MEng

I’m proud to be a Fellow of IPEM, and even prouder of the role this community has played in shaping my career. In my day job I serve as Head of Department for the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering at the University of Bath, where I lead a team of engineers and researchers working at the cutting edge of healthcare technology. I’m also Deputy Director and founder of the Bath Institute for the Augmented Human – an inter-disciplinary institute seeking to develop technology that restores and enhances human health and performance across multiple sectors.

My core research area is in neurotechnology, and much of my work has involved working alongside clinicians, the NHS, and national funders to translate innovation into better patient outcomes. Alongside academia, I’ve spent many years volunteering in the charity sector with charities such as Designability, helping bring life-changing assistive technologies to people who need them most.

Within IPEM I have served two terms as a Member Trustee (2016–2022) and currently serve as Vice-President (Academic). During this time, I have chaired the Prizes and Awards Committee, revitalising the portfolio and significantly increasing engagement, and previously chaired and established the Journals Working Group, strengthening oversight of a crucial part of IPEM’s activity. These roles have given me deep insight into governance, finance, and member engagement, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing the Institute.

I am standing for President Elect because I believe in IPEM’s mission to improve health through physics and engineering, and I want to continue giving back to the community that has shaped my career. IPEM occupies a unique position at the interface of academia, healthcare, and innovation. At a time of rapid technological change, increasing workforce pressures, and growing expectations around impact and inclusion, IPEMs role as a professional body has never been more important. I am motivated to lead IPEM in a way that is both strategic and pragmatic: protecting its core values while ensuring it remains relevant, responsive, and ambitious.

If elected, I would bring strategic leadership, a strong track record of charity governance, and experience working across diverse stakeholder environments. My leadership style is one of generous leadership, in other words my goal is to ‘will the good of another’ whether the other is an individual, a department, or an entire organisation. I do not come with a set agenda or a list of problems to be solved or opportunities exploited – doubtless there will be many, but rather my approach is to empower and support the entire IPEM community to achieve our shared Mission and Vision.

I am seeking the presidency not as a culmination, but as a continuation of service. I care deeply about IPEM, its members, and its future, and I would be honoured to lead the Institute.