Raffaella Ocone facts for kids

Raffaella Ocone is a highly respected Professor of Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. In 2006, she received the title of Cavaliere from the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. Later, in 2019, she was honored with the OBE award. These awards recognize her important contributions to engineering.

Early Life and Education

Raffaella Ocone was born in Morcone, Italy. She studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Naples Federico II. She earned her first degree there. Later, she went to Princeton University in the United States. She completed her Master's degree in 1989. In 1992, she earned her PhD from Princeton University.

Her Amazing Career

After finishing her PhD, Professor Ocone started her career as a lecturer. She taught at the University of Naples Federico II from 1991 to 1995. After that, she worked at the University of Nottingham. She also visited other universities as a professor. These included Louisiana State University in the US and the Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 in France.

Since 1999, she has been a professor of chemical engineering at Heriot-Watt University. She made history there by becoming the first female professor of chemical engineering in Scotland. In 2003, she became a Chartered Engineer. This means she is officially recognized as a highly skilled engineer. She is also a Chartered Scientist.

Her research focuses on understanding how different materials mix and react. This is called "modelling complex reactive systems." Her work helps design and run industrial systems. These systems involve how materials flow in factories. In 2013, she became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. She said this was "the greatest award for an engineer." She is an expert in complex systems. Her research has helped develop carbon capture and storage technologies. These technologies help reduce harmful gases in the air. She also helped write a report on the biofuels industry. This report was funded by the UK government.

Professor Ocone is also interested in ethics in engineering. Ethics means doing things in a right and fair way. She led a group at the Royal Academy of Engineering that taught about ethics.

Awards and Honors

Professor Ocone has received many important awards for her work:

• Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (2003)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2003)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2006)
• Cavaliere (Knighthood), Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity (2006)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2009)
• Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2013)
• Established Career Fellowship Heriot-Watt University (2019)
• Order of the British Empire (for services to engineering) (2019)

Sharing Her Knowledge

Professor Ocone also shares her ideas with the public. She wrote articles for The Conversation. This is a news source where experts share their research. She wrote about the 2040 ban on new petrol and diesel cars. She also wrote about the sustainability of BECCS, which is a way to capture carbon.

In 2016, she hosted an event in Edinburgh. She talked with author Roberto Constantini about detective stories. The year before, she had a similar talk with author Maurizio de Giovanni. In 2018, she gave a lecture about wet particle systems. This was part of a discussion on future energy sources. She has also questioned some ideas for solving the carbon crisis. For example, she has discussed converting power stations to use wood chips.

Selected Publications