blinkx Founder Elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering

SAN FRANCISCO, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Suranga Chandratillake, Founder, President and Chief Strategy Officer of blinkx, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of his contribution to multimedia content discovery. A maximum of 60 Fellows are elected each year from nominations made by existing Fellows. Chandratillake, one of the youngest to ever receive the distinction, will hold the title 'Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering' and the designation 'FREng'.

Now a highly regarded expert on the convergence of the Web, television and advertising, Cambridge University graduate Suranga Chandratillake founded blinkx in 2004 and led the development of the original video search engine technology.  blinkx uses patented search technologies that listen to—and even see—video on the Web, helping users enjoy a breadth and accuracy of search results not available elsewhere. Earlier this year, he was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal for his technical and business achievements.

Chandratillake said: "It is a great honour to receive this recognition from my peers and the Academy.  Today and throughout history, engineers have been engaged in some of the world's most exciting and important work, as inventors, builders and leaders. Engineering improves lives and creates growth.  The Academy's mission resonates strongly with me as I believe it is vital that we continue to dedicate substantial resources and support to mathematics and science education, and that we encourage today's students to pursue these disciplines, to enable the next generation of great British engineers to flourish."

Sir John Parker GBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: "We welcome our new Fellows: the collective expertise and vision of the best engineers is what drives our ambitious agenda and makes so many good things possible. We are making progress in our aim to encourage a broader-based Fellowship that is more representative of the society we serve. But we cannot afford to be complacent and are continually reviewing our membership strategy to see how we might strengthen it."

The Academy promotes excellence in science, art and the practice of engineering. It aims to enhance the UK's engineering capabilities, to celebrate excellence and inspire the next generation, and to lead debate by guiding informed thinking and influencing public policy.