About the Awards

The Sir Misha Black Awards have been supported since their inception in 1978 by the founding bodies. The present committee members represent the Royal Designers for Industry (RDI), the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), Imperial College, London, the College of Medallists, and since 2020 is administered by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.

Professor Malcolm Garrett MBE RDI FISTD, Chairman
RSA Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry

The title Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) was introduced by the RSA in 1936 to honour designers of excellence and promote the important contribution of design in manufacturing and industry. The RDI award is the highest accolade for designers in the UK and is conferred to those who have shown sustained design excellence, work of aesthetic value and significant benefit to society. The Faculty is comprised of prestigious, leading-edge designers of all disciplines including engineering, graphic, interaction, product, furniture, fashion, textiles, theatre and film design.

Professor Peter Childs FREng FIMechE FASME
Imperial College London

Imperial College London is a world top ten university with an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research.
Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial is committed to developing the next generation of researchers, scientists and academics through collaboration across disciplines.
Located in the heart of London, Imperial is a multidisciplinary space for education, research, translation and commercialisation, harnessing science and innovation to tackle global challenges.

Professor Geoffrey Kirk RDI FREng
College of Medallists

The College of Medallists comprises the recipients of the Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education. Elevation to the College is effective on presentation of the Medal and the position is held for life. The College thus brings together a distinguished international group of men and women, each of whom has made an outstanding contribution to design education. Members of the College have, not only fulfilled their professional obligations extraordinarily well but have accomplished extraordinary work in visionary ways. The College was established in 2000 when Professor David Hamilton was Chairman of the Awards Committee.

Professor P John Clarkson FREng
Royal Academy of Engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors in the UK, in order to advance and promote excellence in engineering. The Academy was founded in 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first Senior Fellow. The Academy’s activities are focused on positioning engineering at the heart of society through encouragement and support for entrepreneurial and innovative developments, nurturing engineering education, advising on government policy, inspiring new generations of engineers and leading the engineering profession.

Professor Chris Wise RDI FREng
Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 awards some 35 postgraduate fellowships and scholarships a year, for advanced study and research in science, engineering, the built environment and design. It also makes a small number of special awards to support projects consistent with its overall aims. Many of these are focused on raising the awareness of the young to the opportunities presented by science and engineering. It was established in 1850 by Her Majesty Queen Victoria to organise the first world trade fair: The Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. In just sixteen months a site was chosen in Hyde Park, the iconic Crystal Palace (the largest covered structure on earth at that time) was designed, manufactured and erected and 100,000 exhibits assembled so that the Great Exhibition opened on time on 1 May 1851.

Dr Nick de Leon, Co-opted Member
Royal College of Art

Patrons
The Awards are extremely grateful for the generous support of our Patrons: Rolls-Royce, Ove Arup, IDEO and the Design & Industries Association Education Trust.

Sponsors
The Awards have in the past enjoyed support from many generous sponsors of the annual awards ceremony. These have included Apple Computer, Allied Irish Bank, The British Cement Corporation, the Chilean Embassy, John Lewis Partnership and the Mexican Embassy.

The Awards are especially grateful for the continuing support of The Bugatti Trust.

‘Fitness For What Purpose? – Essays on design education celebrating 40 years of the Sir misha Black Awards’ was officially launched at the 40th Anniversary Awards Ceremony in 2018. The Awards thank G . F Smith papers for their generous support of the book, along with publishers and distributors Design Manchester and Eyewear Publishing.