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Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering
Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering
The Top 50 Women in Engineering was first launched in 2016 to coincide with National Women in Engineering Day. The inaugural list was published in the Daily Telegraph on 23 June 2016 and continues this year with a slightly different theme. On International Women in Engineering Day, this year, the Daily Telegraph will once again publish a list of outstanding female engineers, however this time it will be women under the age of 35 who have made a significant contribution.
Nominations are now open for the 2017 list. To nominate someone for the list, or to self-nominate please visit the nomination page on the Daily Telegraph's website. If you missed the launch supplement in the Daily Telegraph in February, you can still see it online here.
Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering List 2016
The list (given below) compiled by the Telegraph in collaboration with the Women’s Engineering Society features the UK’s top influential female engineers chosen from almost 900 nominations.
Dawn Bonfield, former Chief Executive of the Women’s Engineering Society who is also the founder of National Women in Engineering Day commented: ‘We had a very high response to this campaign and were hugely impressed with the entries. This list of amazing role models is a great way of raising the profile of our talented women engineers and making them more visible both within the industry and to the next generation.”
The list includes many familiar senior engineers’ names such as Dame Ann Dowling OM DBE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Naomi Climer, President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and Dame Judith Hackitt DBE, former Chair of the Health and Safety Executive and now Chair of EEF the Manufacturers’ Organisation. It also, however, includes some names that may come as a surprise, including Steph McGovern from BBC Breakfast, a former engineer who continues to do a huge amount to encourage the next generation into engineering, and Chi Onwurah MP – the only female engineer in the House of Commons.
The candidates on the list represent the broad range of engineering roles available including industrialists from the traditional built environment, energy and transport sectors, but also including names from Hilton Worldwide, the Merlin entertainment group and many representatives from academia. The list also includes women who are no longer working as practicing engineers but are nevertheless still influential in the sector.
Judge Allan Cook CBE, Chairman of Atkins commented: “I was really impressed with the calibre, quality and quantity of the submissions. Reading through the entries it was incredibly exciting to see the breadth of talent we have in our engineering community.”
The winners were announced in the Daily Telegraph on 23 June 2016 and at a breakfast launch at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London.
Sponsors of the campaign in 2016 were Scottish Power, Mars Petcare, Prospect Union, Jaguar Land Rover, SEMTA, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and BAE Systems.
The LIST
- Roma Agrawal CEng, MIStructE, MIET, FRICS Structural Engineer, Interserve
- Professor Helen Atkinson CBE, FREng Head of Department of Engineering, University of Leicester
- Danella Bagnall Chief Product Engineer, Jaguar Land Rover
- Faye Banks FIET, FCMI, FinstLm, CEng, Cmgr Head of Operations North East, National Grid
- Alison Baptiste CEng, FICE, BEng, MSc, MCIWEM Director of Strategy and Investment, Flood and Coastal Risk Management, Environment Agency
- Jayne Bryant FREng, CEng, FIET, FWES Engineering Director Defence Information, BAE Systems
- Muffy Calder OBE, FRSE, FREng Vice-Principal and Head of College of Science and Engineering, University of Glasgow
- Liv Carroll DIC, CGeol, FGS, FIMMM Chartered Geologist, Geological Society
- Jacqueline Castle CEng, FIMechE, FRAeS Chief Engineer A330neo Wing, Airbus UK
- Amanda Chessell CBE, FREng Distinguished Engineer, IBM
- Naomi Climer FREng, CEng, FIET President, IET, Institution of Engineering and Technology
- Susan Dio Chief Executive Officer, BP Shipping Limited
- Dr Michèle Dix CBE, CEng, FICE, FCIHT, FCILT Managing Director, Crossrail 2, Transport for London (TfL)
- Professor Dame Ann Dowling President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge
- Elizabeth Eastaugh Global Head - Customer Experience, Expedia
- Dawn Elson CEng, FICE, FIMechE, FRAeS, FWES Group Engineering Director, Merlin Entertainments Group
- Jane Gartshore FInstR Director, Cool Concerns Ltd
- Professor Lynn Gladden CBE, FRS, FREng Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge
- Dr Paulina Bohdanowicz-Godfrey Director Energy and Environment, Hilton Worldwide
- Dame Judith Hackitt CBE, FREng Chair, EEF
- Professor Dame Wendy Hall DBE, FRS, FREng Director, Web Science Institute, University of Southampton
- Eur Ing Louise Hardy CEng, FICE, CMgr, FCMI, FWES Non Executive Director, Sirius Minerals Plc
- Professor Caroline Hargrove CEng, MIMechE Technical Director, McLaren Applied Technologies
- Professor Karen Holford FREng, FWES, FLSW, CEng, FIMechE Pro Vice-Chancellor, Cardiff University
- Ying Hu Manufacturing Systems Engineer, Rolls Royce Plc
- Dame Sue Ion FREng, FRS Chair NIRAB, Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board
- Lady Barbara Judge CBE Chairman Emeritus, UK Atomic Energy Authority
- Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE, FREng Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Aston University
- Ailie MacAdam FICE, MIChemE Managing Director, Europe and Africa, Infrastructure, Bechtel
- Dr Cathy McClay, Head of Commercial, Electricity, National Grid
- Steph McGovern Presenter, BBC Breakfast
- Linda Miller PEng (USA) Senior Project Manager, Bechtel
- Dervilla Mitchell CBE Director, Arup
- Heidi Mottram OBE Chief Executive Officer, Northumbrian Water Group
- Alison Nimmo CBE Chief Executive, The Crown Estate
- Belinda Oldfield FICE, AMIoW General Manager, Scottish Water
- Chi Onwurah MP, CEng, FIET, FCGI MP, UK Government
- Isobel Pollock-Hulf OBE, CEng, Hon DSc, FIMechE, FCGI Master, Worshipful Company of Engineers
- Dr Haifa Ross Head of School of Engineering, Solihull College and University Centre
- Helen Samuels United Utilities
- Dr Angela Seeney FEI, CEng, CEng, CPet Eng Director Technology, Supply Chain and Decommissioning, Oil & Gas Authority
- Dr Nina Skorupska CBE, FEI Chief Executive, Renewable Energy Association
- Jane Simpson Chief Engineer, Network Rail
- Dana Skelley OBE Director of Asset Management, Transport for London
- Rachel Skinner CEng, FICE, TPP, MCIHT Director, Development, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff
- Dr Debbie Smith OBE, FIFE, CPhys, MInstP Managing Director, BRE Global
- Vicky Stewart MIOA, MWED Associate Acoustic Consultant, Atkins
- Professor Eleanor Stride Professor of Engineering Science, University of Oxford
- Dr Alison Vincent Chief Technology Officer, Cisco International Ltd
- Katherine Ward CEng, MICE Group Head, Offshore Wind, Atkins
• The campaign was jointly coordinated by the Telegraph and the Women’s Engineering Society and sponsored by Scottish Power, Mars Petcare, Jaguar Land Rover, SEMTA, IET and BAE Systems.
• Judges of the competition in 2016 were:
- Dawn Bonfield MBE Chief Executive, Women's Engineering Society
- Allan Cook CBE Chairman of Atkins, Chairman of SEMTA, Non-Executive Director of BIS
- Professor John Perkins CBE FREng Previously BIS Chief Scientific Adviser
- Michelle Richmond Membership and Professional Development Director of the Institution of Engineering and Technology
- Fiona Tatton Founder and Editor of Womanthology
Their biographies of the judges can be seen at http://www.wes.org.uk/50wejudges
• International Women in Engineering Day (#NWED2017) is now an International awareness campaign sponsored by UNESCO to raise the profile of women in engineering and focus attention on the amazing career opportunities available to girls in this exciting industry. It takes place annually on 23 June celebrates its fourth year in 2017. It is coordinated by the Women’s Engineering Society and was established in 2014 to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Society. See more at www.inwed.org.uk
• Many other events take place across the UK and internationally to mark International Women in Engineering Day and these can be seen here: http://www.inwed.org.uk/events.html
• The Women’s Engineering Society is a charity which was established in 1919 to promote diversity in engineering. It is a membership organisation and supports women engineers; encourages the engineering education; and supports corporate engineering diversity and inclusion. www.wes.org.uk
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