The Women’s Engineering Society (WES) has announced the winners of the Top 50 Women in Engineering: Sustainability awards. Now in its fifth year, the 2020 WE50 celebrates women who have made a significant contribution within sustainability. Winning nominees were required to provide evidence of their successful support of UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals or the Net Zero Carbon Programme.

Even in the current climate, the number and standard of nominations were high, emphasising the exceptional achievements made by women in this field. The WE50 awards were judged by a panel of industry experts.

Sally Sudworth, WE50 head judge, the Environment Agency’s national programme manager for asset management  FCRM sustainability lead (Net Zero Carbon Programme) and WES honorary secretary said, “The panel of judges was thrilled by with the outstanding achievements demonstrated by all of the winners and were thrilled by the difference being made by the candidates”.

The WE50 awards seek to recognise the wealth of female talent within engineering and related disciplines and is an annual celebration aligned with the campaign International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) which takes place on 23 June and is also co-ordinated by WES. INWED celebrates the achievements of women in engineering and related roles and highlights the opportunities available to engineers of the future. 

Elizabeth Donnelly, chief executive officer of the Women’s Engineering Society explained why WES had chosen the theme of sustainability for 2020. “The 2019 climate emergency declarations followed unprecedented weather conditions across the planet. Engineers were instrumental in repairing the Toddbrook Dam after it collapsed in August last year and it will be engineers who will provide many of the solutions needed to address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We felt that it was the right time to showcase the amazing women who are already working on these issues.”

Despite the unusual set of circumstances the country finds itself in this year during the COVID-19 pandemic, WES will still be celebrating the WE50 winners. The 2020 winners are published on the INWED website and celebrated during WES’s own virtual INWED event on 23 June and across social media and press throughout the world.

The Top 50 Women in Engineering for 2020 are (in alphabetical order):

• Yasmin Ali, Energy Innovation Project Manager, UK Government, Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
• Laura Bishop, Director, Infinitas Design Ltd
• Laura Brown, Energy Research Programme Manager, Newcastle University
• Adele Carey, Senior Sustainability Engineer, Arup
• Dr Ellie Cosgrave, Lecturer in Urban Innovation and Policy, UCL
• Carla Denyer, Councillor, Bristol City Council
• Dr Pamela Dugdale, Engineering Teacher, International Study Centre Liverpool John Moores University
• Rhiannon Evans, Technician, Aecom
• Laura Frost, Associate, Cities & Climate Change, Arup
• Ritu Garg, Senior Transport Engineer, Arup
• Dr Barnali Ghosh, Technical Director, Mott MacDonald
• Dr Rachel Gomes, Associate Professor, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham
• Professor Deborah Greaves, Head of School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, University of Plymouth
• Professor Sandy Halliday, Director, Gaia Group Ltd
• Caireen Hargreaves, Associate Director Product Sustainability, AstraZeneca
• Kelly Harrison, Associate, Heyne Tillett Steel
• Martha Hart, Senior Consultant, Ove Arup & Partners Ltd
• Laura Hepburn, Director, Greenology
• Katherine Ibbotson, Programme Carbon and Cost Manager, Environment Agency
• Michelle Johnson, Technical Director, Wood Environment and Infrastructure UK Ltd
• Jennifer Kelly, Associate, Arup
• Eftychia Koursari, Civil Engineer, Amey
• Clare Lavelle, Energy Consulting Leader - Scotland, Arup
• Professor Claire Lucas, Associate Professor (Reader), University of Warwick
• Dr Xuanli Luo, Research Associate, The University of Nottingham
• Brogan MacDonald, Structural Engineer, Ramboll
• Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Champion UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC), Heriot-Watt University
• Dr Kerry Mashford, Non-Executive Director, Portfolio
• Senamiso Mathobela, Delivery Manager (TNCC), National Grid UK
• Mhairi McCann, Founder & CEO, Youth STEM 2030
• Gill Nowell, DSO Lead, Electralink
• Professor Rachel Oliver, Professor, Director of the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride, CSO of Poro Technology, University of Cambridge
• Jo Parker, Director, Watershed Associates
• Sally Povolotsky, Low Carbon Business Development Consultant, Straight 6 Design Ltd
• Philippa Ross, Associate Director, Atkins
• Anusha Shah, Director - Resilient Cities, Arcadis
• Sandra Šlihte, Head of Engineering, Vattenfall Heat UK
• Holly Smith, Civil Engineer, Skanska UK
• Chitra Srinivasan, Real Time Control Software Engineer, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
• Annie Stapley, Assistant Engineer, WSP
• Dr Alisa Stratulat, Innovation Manager, Groupe Atlantic
• Judith Sykes, Senior Director, Expedition Engineering
• Dr Petra Szilágyi, Lecturer in Functional Materials, Queen Mary University of London
• Dr Elizabeth Tennyson, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellow, University of Cambridge
• Dr Camilla Thomson, Chancellor's Fellow in Energy, The University of Edinburgh
• Dr Mi Tian, Lecturer, University of Exeter
• Professor Valeska Ting, Professor of Smart Nanomaterials, University of Bristol
• Kusum Trikha, Senior Engineer, WSP
• Jana Marie Weber, PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge
• Laura Williams, Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) advisor, Keller