Caroline Hargrove facts for kids

Caroline Hargrove is a very talented engineer and a leader in technology. She was born in March 1968. Currently, she is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Ceres Power. This company develops amazing fuel cell and green hydrogen technology.

Before joining Ceres Power, Caroline Hargrove was a CTO at other exciting companies like Zedsen and Babylon Health. She also worked at McLaren Applied Technologies and was a visiting professor at the University of Oxford.

Early Life and Education

Caroline Hargrove grew up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She loved learning about math and how things work.

Studying Engineering

She went to Queen's University in Ontario. There, she studied both mathematics and mechanical engineering. She finished her studies in 1989.

Advanced Studies

After Queen's University, she moved to the University of Cambridge in England. She earned her PhD, which is a very high university degree, in 1993. Her research was about using computer models to understand how tiny particles, like sand, move.

Career in Technology

After getting her PhD, Caroline Hargrove stayed at the University of Cambridge for a while. She then joined McLaren in 1997. McLaren is famous for its fast Formula One cars!

Working at McLaren

At McLaren, she worked on how vehicles move. For ten years, she was in charge of the McLaren F1 simulator. This is a special machine that helps drivers practice and engineers test new ideas without being on a real track.

In 2007, she helped start McLaren Applied Technologies. She became a director and later the Chief Technology Officer in 2018. Her job was to lead new research and develop new inventions.

Big Data and Sports

Caroline Hargrove was a big supporter of using big data in motor racing. Big data means collecting and analyzing huge amounts of information. This helped McLaren cars become even faster and safer.

She also helped use McLaren's racing technology to improve medical services. Her team developed tools to analyze health information and help people.

Helping Athletes

She worked with Olympic athletes and the UK track cycling team. She created a special device that attaches under a bicycle seat. This device collects information like speed, power, and how the bike tilts. It then sends this data to the coach, helping athletes train better.

Her team also turned 3D sensors from Formula One cars into sensors for people. They worked with GlaxoSmithKline to see how patients reacted to medicines. In 2016, she announced that their simulator could even be used to test regular cars for everyday driving.

Teaching and New Roles

From 2015 to 2018, she was a visiting professor at Oxford University.

In 2018, she became the CTO of Babylon Health. This company focuses on using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help diagnose patients. AI helps computers learn and make smart decisions.

In April 2021, she became the CTO of Zedsen. This UK startup develops technology to check blood sugar levels without needing needles.

Later in 2021, she joined Ceres Power as Chief Technology Officer. She had already been a non-executive director for the company for three years. She also continued to be a non-executive director at Zedsen.

Caroline Hargrove is passionate about encouraging more girls and women to become engineers. She visits schools and offers work experience to inspire young people.

Awards and Recognitions

Caroline Hargrove has received many important awards for her work in engineering.

• In 2016, she was named one of the Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering by the Women's Engineering Society and The Daily Telegraph.
• She was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2017. This is a very high honor for engineers.
• Also in 2017, she was named one of the Top 50 Innovators in the World by Codex.
• In 2020, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her great contributions to engineering.
• In 2023, her old university, Queen's University, gave her an honorary degree.

Media Appearances

Caroline Hargrove has shared her knowledge on various radio shows.

• In 2014, she appeared on BBC Radio 4. She talked about how Britain became a world leader in Formula One cars.
• On November 20, 2018, she was featured on The Life Scientific on BBC Radio 4. This show is hosted by Jim Al-Khalili.
• On March 6, 2020, the BBC World Service featured her on their World Wise Web series. A 16-year-old motor racing fan interviewed her about the F1 simulator.