List of female fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering facts for kids
The page lists female fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), elected by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK.
The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), founded in 1976, is the youngest of the five national academies in the UK. It represents the nation's best practising engineers, innovators, and entrepreneurs, who are very often in leading roles in industry, business, and academia. Fellowship of the RAEng is a national honour, bringing prestige to both the individual and any organisation the Fellow is associated with. In recent years between 50 and 60 new fellows have been chosen each year by peer review from nominations made by the current fellowship;. Those proposed for fellowship must come “from among eminent engineers regarded by virtue of their personal achievements in the field of engineering as being of exceptional merit and distinction”.
All 130 of the founding fellows in 1976 were men. Four women were elected in the first 20 years, the first in 1982. In all, 13 female fellows pre-date 2000, with a further 20 elected before 2010 and 65 in the decade before 2020. In 2010 the Council determined a policy that over time 10–20% of newly elected fellows should be women.
The Academy published a diversity and inclusion action plan for the five years from 2020 but does not regularly publish the proportion of female engineers in the current fellowship, estimated in 2019 to be less than 7%. In July 2020 it launched a campaign aimed at delivering a 'Fellowship that is Fit for the Future' by the time it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026 and set an aspiration that at least half of all candidates elected each year will be from under-represented target groups. In 2023 six of the 60 new Fellows were female.
As of 2023, 137 women have been elected to Fellowship, plus twelve international fellows, twelve honorary fellows, and one royal fellow.
Fellows
Year of election | Image | Fellow | Field(s) of work; academia/industry | RAEng appointments/awards and notes | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | Elizabeth Killick | Electronic engineering, marine technology; industry | Died 2019 | ||
1987 | Beryl Platt | Aeronautical engineering; industry | Died 2015 | ||
1992 | Agnes Kaposi | Electrical engineering; academia and industry | |||
1995 | Patricia Foster | Electrical engineering; industry | |||
1996 | Ann Dowling | Mechanical engineering, aeroacoustics; academia | First woman President of the RAEng, 2014–2019 | ||
Sue Ion | Nuclear engineering; industry | A vice-president of RAEng, 2002–2008; first woman to be awarded RAEng President's medal 2014 | |||
Rachel Spooncer | Chemical engineering; industry | First woman to win MacRobert Award, (with ICI, 1993) | |||
1997 | Joanna Kennedy | Civil engineering; industry | |||
Julia King | Fracture mechanics; academia | Led RAEng working party on ‘Educating Engineers for the 21st Century’ 2007 | |||
Susan Lyons | Manufacturing engineering; industry and academia | ||||
1999 | Yvonne Barton | Geotechnical engineering; industry and academia | |||
Julia Higgins | Chemical engineering; academia | A vice-president of RAEng, 2008–2011 | |||
Pamela Liversidge | Mechanical engineering; industry | ||||
2000 | Wendy Hall | Computer science; academia | First woman to be RAEng Senior Vice-President 2005–2008 | ||
2001 | Stephanie Shirley | Information technology; industry and philanthropy | |||
2002 | Polina Bayvel | Optical networking; industry and academia | |||
Amanda Chessell | Computer science; industry and academia | First woman to be awarded the RAEng Silver Medal 2001 | |||
Helen Stone | Civil engineering; industry | ||||
2003 | Lynn Gladden | Chemical engineering; academia | |||
Faith Wainwright | Structural engineering; industry | Editorial Board member of RAEng magazine Ingenia | |||
2004 | Maria Petrou | Signal processing; academia | Died 2012 | ||
2005 | Amanda Petford-Long | Materials science; academia | |||
2006 | (Kathleen) Elizabeth Tanner | Biomedical engineering; academia | Editorial Board member of RAEng magazine Ingenia; RAEng Trustee Board 2017- | ||
Jean Venables | Civil engineering; industry and academia | ||||
2007 | Helen Atkinson | Materials engineering; academia | A vice-president of RAEng, 2012–2014; RAEng Trustee Board 2014–2016 | ||
Dervilla Mitchell | Civil engineering; industry | A vice-president of RAEng, 2011–2014 | |||
2008 | Jo da Silva | Civil engineering; industry and international development | |||
Alison Noble | Biomedical engineering; industry and academia | ||||
Sarah Spurgeon | Control engineering; industry and academia | ||||
2009 | Sarah Springman | Geotechnical engineering; industry and academia | |||
Nina Thornhill | Chemical engineering; industry and academia | ||||
Jane Wernick | Structural engineering; industry and academia | ||||
Sophie Wilson | Computer science; industry and academia | ||||
2010 | Jane Atkinson | Chemical engineering; industry | |||
Jayne Bryant | Chemical engineering; industry | ||||
Carol Burke | Manufacturing engineering; industry | ||||
Carole Goble | Computer science; academia | ||||
Judith Hackitt | Chemical engineering; industry | ||||
Anne Neville (engineer) | Mechanical engineering; academia | Died 2022; RAEng chair in Emerging technologies, University of Leeds | |||
2011 | (Sarah Regina) Ginny Clarke | Civil engineering, highway engineering; industry | Editorial Board member of RAEng magazine Ingenia | ||
Lianne Deeming | Materials engineering; industry | ||||
Eileen Harkin-Jones | Polymer engineering; academia | Bombardier-RAEng chair in Composites Engineering at Ulster University from 2014 | |||
Michelle McDowell | Civil engineering; industry | ||||
Jeni Mundy | Electronic engineering; industry | ||||
Frances Saunders | Electronic engineering; industry | RAEng Trustee Board 2015- | |||
Abigail Sellen | Human-computer interaction; industry | ||||
Liane Smith | Materials science, corrosion engineering; industry | ||||
2012 | Serena Best | Materials science; academia | |||
Cynthia Carroll | Mining engineering; industry | ||||
Jane Jiang | Precision engineering; industry and academia | Renishaw-RAEng chair in Precision Metrology at the University of Huddersfield from 2015 | |||
Elaine Martin | Chemical engineering; academia | Formerly Editorial Board member of RAEng magazine Ingenia; RAEng Trustee Board 2014- | |||
Jane Plant | Geochemistry; academia | Died 2016 | |||
2013 | Adisa Azapagic | Chemical engineering, sustainable engineering; academia | |||
Muffy Calder | Computer science; academia | ||||
Naomi Climer | Media technology; industry | RAEng Trustee Board 2017- | |||
Janice Crawford | Chemical engineering; industry | ||||
Carolyn Griffiths | Mechanical engineering, railway engineering; industry | ||||
Raffaella Ocone | Chemical engineering; academia | ||||
Molly Stevens | Biomaterials science; academia | ||||
2014 | Patricia Connolly | Bioengineering; academia and industry | |||
Pratibha Gai | Electron microscopy, nanotechnology; academia and industry | ||||
Karen Scrivener | Materials science; academia | ||||
2015 | Claire Adjiman | Chemical engineering; academia | |||
Karen Holford | Mechanical engineering, acoustic emission; academia and industry | ||||
Mary Ryan | Electrochemistry; academia | Shell-RAEng chair in Interfacial Nanoscience for Engineering Systems, Imperial College London from 2015 | |||
Angela Sasse | Computer science, information security; academia | ||||
2016 | Jane Butler | Electronic engineering, computer science; academia and industry | |||
Sarah Hainsworth | Forensic materials engineering; academia | ||||
Barbara Lane | Fire protection engineering; industry and academia | ||||
Catriona Schmolke | Civil engineering; industry | ||||
2017 | Joan Cordiner | Chemical engineering, agrochemicals; industry | |||
Alicia El Haj | Biological engineering, regenerative medicine; academia | ||||
Caroline Hargrove | Mechanical engineering, human–machine interaction; industry and academia | ||||
Rachel Hurst | Manufacturing engineering; industry | ||||
Ursula Martin | Computer science; academia | ||||
Angela Strank | Chemical engineering, petroleum engineering; industry | ||||
Eleanor Stride | Biomedical engineering; academia and industry | ||||
Anne Trefethen | Computer science; academia | ||||
Sarah Williamson | Structural engineering; industry | ||||
2018 | Judith Driscoll | Materials Science; academia | |||
Susan Gray | Aviation engineering; Royal Air Force | ||||
Rebecca Lunn | Civil engineering, geotechnical engineering; academia | BAM Nuttall-RAEng chair, University of Strathclyde from 2017 | |||
Hilary Mercer | Mechanical engineering, project management; industry | ||||
Rachel Thomson | Materials engineering; academia | ||||
Rachel Williams | Biomedical engineering; academia | ||||
2019 | Shirin Dehghan | Electronic engineering; industry | |||
Bridget Eickhoff | Railway engineering; industry | ||||
Luisa Freitas dos Santos | Chemical engineering; industry | ||||
Alice Gast | Chemical engineering; academia | ||||
Rebecca Lingwood | Fluid dynamics; academia | ||||
Catherine McClay | Electrical engineering; industry | ||||
Máire O'Neill | Cyber security; academia | RAEng Silver Medal (2014) | |||
Maja Pantić | Artificial intelligence; academia | ||||
Fiona Rayment | Nuclear power; industry | ||||
Leigh-Ann Russell | Petroleum engineering; industry | ||||
Dimitra Simeonidou | Telecommunications engineering; academia | ||||
Rachel Skinner | Transportation engineering; industry | ||||
Lila Tachtsi | Highway engineering; industry | ||||
2020 | Julie Bregulla | Fire engineering, Structural engineering; industry | |||
Dawn Childs | Mechanical engineering, Aeronautical engineering; industry | ||||
Philippa Gardner | Computer science; academia | ||||
Deborah Greaves | Marine engineering; academia | ||||
Esther Rodriguez-Villegas | Wearable technology; academia and industry | RAEng Silver medal (2020) | |||
Lucy Rogers | Mechanical engineering, Fluid dynamics; Science communication | RAEng Visiting professor at Brunel University | |||
Tong Sun | Sensor engineering, Photonics; academia | RAEng Silver medal (2016); RAEng Research professor (2018) | |||
Alison Vincent | Cyber Security, Software engineering; industry | ||||
2021 | Jade Alglave | Computer Science; academia and industry | RAEng Silver medal (2018) | ||
Ruth Allen | Civil engineering, Infrastructure; industry | ||||
Alison Atkinson | Nuclear engineering, Project management; industry | ||||
Alice Delahunty | Electrical engineering; industry | ||||
Penelope Endersby | Physics, Artificial intelligence; academia and industry | ||||
Elspeth Finch | Entrepreneur; industry | RAEng Silver medal (2013) | |||
Jarmila Glassey | Chemical engineering; academia | ||||
Paola Lettieri | Chemical engineering, Fluidisation; academia | ||||
Margaret Lucas | Civil engineering, Ultrasonics; academia | ||||
Aimee Morgans | Mechanical engineering, Thermofluids; academia | RAEng/EPSRC Research Fellow (2004–09) | |||
Catherine Noakes | Mechanical engineering, Environmental engineering; academia | ||||
Rachel Oliver | Materials science; academia | ||||
Tiziana Rossetto | Structural engineering, Earthquake engineering; academia | ||||
Julia Sutcliffe | Computer science, Aeronautical engineering; academia and industry | ||||
Patricia Thornley | Environmental engineering; academia and industry | ||||
Rebecca Weston | Nuclear engineering; industry | ||||
2022 | Dawn Bonfield | Aerospace materials; diversity and inclusion | RAEng Visiting professor of Inclusive engineering | ||
Suzanne Farid | Bioprocess engineering; academia | ||||
Susan Gourvenec | Offshore geotechnical engineering; industry | RAEng chair in Emerging Technology | |||
Christine Ourmières-Widener | Aerospace engineering; industry | ||||
Yoge Patel | Artificial intelligence; industry | ||||
Honor Powrie | Artificial intelligence; industry | ||||
Elena Rodriguez-Falcon | Mechanical engineering; academia | ||||
Judith Sykes | Infrastructure; industry | ||||
Niki Trigoni | Software engineering; academia and industry | ||||
2023 | Ruth Cameron | Biomaterials; academia and industry | |||
Rosemary Francis | Computer architecture, Software engineering; industry | ||||
Caroline Hazlewood | Hydraulic engineering; industry | ||||
Gwen Parry-Jones | Nuclear physics; industry | ||||
Catriona Savage | Naval architecture; academia and industry | ||||
Barbara Shollock | Materials science; academia |
International Fellows
International Fellows are engineers of international distinction who are not of British nationality and who are not resident and working in Britain. The number of International Fellows cannot exceed one-tenth of the number of Fellows, and no more than ten may be elected in any year.
Year of election | Image | Fellow | Field(s) of work; Academia/Industry | Notes | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Jane Grimson | Computer science; academia | |||
2011 | Anne Lauvergeon | Chemical engineering; industry | |||
2012 | Shirley Ann Jackson | Particle physics; academia | |||
Allyson Lawless | Civil engineering; industry | ||||
2013 | Ursula Burns | Mechanical engineering; industry | |||
2018 | Frances Arnold | Chemical engineering; academia | Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018 | ||
2022 | Rebecca Enonchong | Entrepreneur; industry | |||
Andrea Goldsmith | Electrical engineering; academia and industry | ||||
Grazia Vittadini | Aeronautical engineering; industry | ||||
2023 | Nadine Aubry | Fluid mechanics; academia | |||
Marlene Kanga | Chemical engineering; industry | ||||
Viola Vogel | Bioengineering; academia |
Honorary Fellows
Persons not being Fellows who have made or are making a distinguished contribution to the practice of engineering are eligible for election as Honorary Fellows. Their number cannot exceed fifty and no more than five may be elected in any year.
Year of election | Image | Honorary Fellow | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Anne Glover | ||
Vanessa Lawrence | |||
2021 | Roma Agrawal | ||
Yewande Akinola | |||
Anne-Marie Imafidon | |||
Steph McGovern | |||
2022 | Nike Folayan | ||
Hannah Fry | |||
Damilola Ogunbiyi | |||
2023 | Kate Bingham | ||
Martha Lane Fox | |||
Angela McLean |
Royal Fellows
Royal Fellows are such members of the Royal Family as on the invitation of the Board shall agree to become Royal Fellows.
Year of invitation | Image | Royal Fellow | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Anne, Princess Royal |