Tuesday 23rd June marks the 7th International Women in Engineering Day and, unsurprisingly, we didn’t have to look too far to find some brilliant women engineers to inspire us!
1. “All the evidence shows girls are just as capable as boys in science subjects and achieve as well in exams.” So says Dr Helen Bridle, associate professor of engineering and physical sciences at Heriot-Watt University in the UK, who is currently working with sensor technology. She is exploring the relationship between antimicrobial resistance and pollutants – a significant endeavour and one which highlights her assertion that women engineers achieve great things.
2. “As humanity faces mounting and diverse challenges, the field of environmental engineering must build on its unique strengths,” explains Linsey Marr, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech in the US. Helen says, “Studies also show a more diverse workforce produces better outcomes.” Engineering challenges require a multitude of people and skills for them to be addressed effectively; women are a part of that.
3. “Engineering is no longer a single-track discipline,” states Professor Elena Gaura, an expert in pervasive computing at Coventry University in the UK, who has worked on an inspirational humanitarian engineering project providing energy to displaced peoples. Modern day engineering needs to incorporate a range of disciplines – and a range of engineers – to tackle global issues.
4. “Being an engineer is a commitment to finding new solutions. Engineering is an absolutely fascinating field and very rewarding. It has nothing to do with gender or ethnicity,” states Dr Marianna Maiaru, of the Center for Wind Energy at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the US. Young women need not worry that their gender is an issue in this field – innovative problem solving is key.
5. Terri Camesano, professor of chemical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the US, tells us, “One of my chemistry professors in my freshman year told me about chemical engineering and suggested that there would be more opportunities, and that it was going to be a great fit for me…I can’t imagine being anywhere else.” Engineering is a rewarding career for young women – even if they don’t know it just yet!
That the Women’s Engineering Society launched the International Women in Engineering Day in 2014 to mark its 95th anniversary is a good reminder that women have been playing their significant role in engineering for many, many years. The WSE asks that we all, “celebrate the outstanding achievements of women engineers throughout the world… get involved and help us #ShapeTheWorld this year!”
As one of the amazing women engineers shaping our world, Helen says, “What I love the most is the freedom to explore things.” What we love is that we get watch and learn as these ground-breaking explorations take place.
Read more about this:
To read more about International Women in Engineering Day visit: http://www.inwed.org.uk/
To learn more about Helen’s work, read: https://futurumcareers.com/what-if-we-could-develop-a-sensor-that-can-detect-pollutants-like-heavy-metals
To learn more about Linsey’s work, read: https://futurumcareers.com/environmental-engineering-for-the-21st-century-addressing-grand-challenges
To learn more about Terri’s work, read: https://futurumcareers.com/the-need-for-antimicrobial-peptides-in-a-world-of-antibiotic-resistance
To find out more about Elena and Marianna’s work, watch this space – their Futurum articles are landing soon!
