Jane Atkinson facts for kids

Jane Victoria Atkinson CBE FREng is a very important engineer. She is the Executive Director of Engineering and Automation at Bilfinger UK. This means she helps lead big projects that use engineering and machines to make things work better.

Her School and University Years

Jane Atkinson went to Loughborough University. There, she studied chemical engineering. This field is about designing and improving processes that change raw materials into useful products. Later, in 2011, she received a special degree. It was an honorary doctorate in business administration from Teesside University.

Her Amazing Career Journey

Jane's career started in 1990. She was an engineering student sponsored by British Steel. After finishing her first degree, she worked as a technical advisor. She helped at the Teesside blast furnace. A blast furnace is a huge oven used to make iron from iron ore.

She then moved into managing operations. In 2004, she made history. She became the first woman in the world to manage a blast furnace. This was the Corus cast house at Redcar. Later, she was also the second woman in the world to manage a coke oven. Coke ovens are used to make coke, a fuel for blast furnaces.

During her time in the steel industry, she managed many large production units. She even spent five years working with the company in Alabama, USA.

After her time in steel, she became a Senior Vice President. She worked for SembCorp Utilities UK. In 2014, she joined Cape plc. She helped merge Cape with two other companies, Hertel and NSG. This created a new company called Altrad. In 2019, she moved to her current role at Bilfinger.

Awards and Special Honours

Jane Atkinson has received many important awards. In 2007, the CBI named her Britain’s top female engineer. In 2010, she became the youngest woman to join the Royal Academy of Engineering. This is a very high honour for engineers.

In 2019, she was recognized again. She was named the first of the top 100 women leaders in engineering in the UK. She is also a Fellow of IChemE. This means she is a highly respected member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. She also has special status as a chartered and designated European Engineer.

See also

In Spanish: Jane Atkinson para niños