Paul Newman
Also known as Paul M. Newman, Paul Michael Newman
Paul Newman is a professor at the University of Oxford whose RobotCar project became the first autonomous vehicle on UK roads in 2013. He trained at Oxford and Sydney, did field robotics work at MIT, and returned to Oxford in 2003. His techniques let machines know where they are and what surrounds them, and in 2014 he co-founded Oxbotica, now Oxa. He founded the Oxford Robotics Institute in 2016, received the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal in 2019, and was appointed a CBE in 2023. As of October 2026, he is the founder and CEO of Oxa.
- Now at
- University of Oxford and Oxa
- Works
- 242
- Citations
- 18,713
- h-index
- 60
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.
Timeline
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1995–2000
An MEng and a Sydney PhD
He completes an MEng at Balliol College, Oxford, in 1995, and then a PhD in autonomous navigation at the University of Sydney. He works as a navigation engineer at Sonardyne International in 1999 and 2000, where he writes algorithms for autonomous sub-sea vehicles.
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2000–2003
A postdoc at MIT
He leaves industry for MIT in 2000, where he works with John J. Leonard on large-scale field robotics on land and in the ocean. In early 2003 he returns to Oxford as a departmental lecturer in engineering science.
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2013
RobotCar on UK roads
His RobotCar project, developed during an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Leadership Fellowship, becomes the first autonomous vehicle on UK roads in 2013.
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2014
Co-founding Oxbotica
He co-founds Oxbotica with the RobotCar team in 2014, and the spin-out is later renamed Oxa. He is elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and of the IEEE in 2014 for work on robot navigation.
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2016–2022
Founding the Oxford Robotics Institute
He founds the Oxford Robotics Institute in 2016 and directs it until 2022. His techniques let machines know where they are, what surrounds them and what they should do next.
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2019
A Royal Academy of Engineering medal
He receives the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal in 2019 for innovations in navigation and autonomous vehicles.
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2023
A CBE for engineering
While BP Professor of Information Engineering at Oxford, he is appointed a CBE in 2023 for services to engineering and technology.
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As of October 2026
Founder and CEO of Oxa
In August 2026, Oxa and Dubai Future Foundation launch the SHIFFT joint venture, and he comments as founder and CEO of Oxa.
Sources and credits
Photo: ori.ox.ac.uk; Oxford Robotics Institute | People - Paul Newman; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: ori.ox.ac.uk. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.
- Paul Newman (engineer) - Wikipedia
- Oxford Robotics Institute | People - Paul Newman
- Royal Academy of Engineering awards Silver Medal to 'pioneering engineer' Professor Paul Newman
- Fellow awarded Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal - Keble College
- Engineering Fellow recognised in King's Birthday Honours - Keble College
- Dubai Future Foundation and Oxa Launch Joint Venture, Transforming Dubai into Global Hub for Autonomous Logistics