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Isobel Houghton named among Top 50 Women in Engineering

The Women’s Engineering Society (WES) named Clare alumna Isobel Houghton (née Piper, 2003) as one of the ‘Top 50 Women in Engineering 2018’ on International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), 23 June. Begun in 2014 as National Women in Engineering Day, WES received UNESCO patronage and widened its scope to the international community in 2017. With the introduction of INWED, the “WE50” campaign was launched which: “…aims to raise awareness of the skills shortage facing the industry and the huge discrepancy between the number of men vs. women currently in engineering professions, to change perceptions and encourage young women to consider engineering as a viable and rewarding career.”


 


Isobel exemplifies their theme this year, “Returners or Transferrers”, having begun her career as a physicist. Her work has since ranged from optics to nuclear power, with design, experiment, analysis and computational modelling as key themes. While employed at the Met Office, she was responsible for the rollout of a national network of sensors that was key in the response to the 2011 volcanic ash cloud in UK airspace. 


 


She is currently a Senior Engineer at Atkins, “…one of the world's most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies” where she works as a consultant to the nuclear industry, providing complex analysis through sector standard and bespoke tools. Isobel manages numerous shareholders, mentors her team and serves as Atkins’ representative to the Women in Nuclear Western group. She has a commitment to delivering technical excellence and supporting diversity in her field that goes beyond gender, having created a specific role in her team to enable a young person with disabilities to complete an internship, and sharing best practice with others at various conferences and events.


 


You can keep up with Isobel’s inspiring journey by following her on Twitter: @isobel_houghton.


 


Read more about IWED and WE50 below:


IWED www.inwed.org.uk/


The Telegraph’s Women in Engineering page www.telegraph.co.uk/business/women-in-engineering/




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