Jo da Silva facts for kids

Dame Joanna Gabrielle da Silva (born 1967) is a leading engineer who helps make our world better and safer. She is the Global Director of Sustainable Development at Arup Group, a big company that designs buildings and infrastructure.

Early Life and Education

Where Jo da Silva Grew Up

Joanna Gabrielle da Silva was born in Washington, D.C., USA. Her parents were John Burke da Silva and Jennifer Jane da Silva.

Studying Engineering at Cambridge

She went to the University of Cambridge in England to study engineering. She was a student at Trinity College, Cambridge. After graduating in 1988, she traveled to see how engineers work in different parts of the world. She even worked in central India, helping with emergency management after disasters.

Career in Engineering

Starting at Arup Group

Jo da Silva joined Arup Group in 1989 as a new engineer. She helped with important projects like the Hong Kong International Airport and the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Helping After Disasters

In 1991, she started focusing on engineering work after disasters. She studies how people and their surroundings interact, especially how buildings and roads can help keep people safe. In 2001, she was recognized as one of Management Today's "35 Women Under 35," meaning she was a successful young leader.

Founding Arup International Development

In 2009, Jo da Silva started the Arup International Development group. This is a special part of Arup that works like a non-profit organization. It helps improve how buildings and services are developed in poorer countries.

She is also part of RedR, which stands for Engineers for Disaster Relief. This charity has thousands of engineers ready to help quickly after a disaster. Arup encourages people to "build back better" after a disaster. This means building homes and structures in a way that they won't be destroyed again if floods or other disasters happen.

Working with Global Organizations

Jo da Silva is an expert in reducing the impact of disasters. She has worked with many groups that help people. For example, she worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Sri Lanka. This was after the terrible 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. She helped organize over 100 aid groups and built more than 60,000 shelters in just six months.

From 2008 to 2017, she worked with Sabre Education to create early learning centers in Ghana. The Institution of Civil Engineers supported this work. More recently, she has been working with the World Bank on a program called "Global Program for Safer Schools." She also helped Tower Hamlets Council in East London create "Ideas Stores," which are places that offer computer and internet access to communities.

Awards and Recognition

Important Honors and Titles

Jo da Silva has received many important awards for her work. In 2009, she became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng).

She was given the title Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2011 for her services to engineering and helping people in need. In 2021, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours. This was for her work in engineering and helping with sustainable development around the world.

Lectures and Degrees

In 2012, she was the first woman to give the Institution of Civil Engineers Brunel International Lecture. She talked about how engineers help respond to disasters. Coventry University gave her an honorary Doctor of Technology (DTech) degree in 2014. Her career in engineering was also featured in campaigns by the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in 2015 and the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2016.

Promoting Resilience

She started and is on the board of "The Resilience Shift." This is a global program supported by Lloyd's Register and Arup. It aims to make important infrastructure stronger and more able to recover from problems. It does this by sharing ideas and giving grants.

In 2017, Jo da Silva received the Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers. This was for her work in making cities stronger and more able to handle challenges (called urban resilience). She gave a lecture about "Design, Disaster and Development" at Trinity College Dublin in 2018. She also gave the Judith Neilson Lecture at the University of New South Wales in 2018.

In November 2021, she was named a Royal Designer for Industry for her work in sustainable design.

Media Appearances

In November 2021, Jo da Silva was a guest on the famous BBC Radio 4 program Desert Island Discs. On this show, guests choose eight songs, a book, and a luxury item they would take if they were stranded on a desert island.