On the 18th January we were delighted to welcome members and supporters of WES to our annual Caroline Haslett Lecture where we announced the winners of our three awards.

The Karen Burt Memorial Award was won by Dr Emma Walton for her work in miniaturising the functions of an entire medical laboratory with her ‘lab-on-a-chip’. Her strong contribution to engineering coupled with a clear passion for her subject make Emma an inspiration for other female engineers to make a real difference in the world with the work they do.

The Amy Johnson Inspiration Award, which honours an individual who has made a truly remarkable achievement in furthering diversity within engineering was given to Natasha Kelly from Intel Corporation. Natasha has been a great advocate for diversity, ensuring representation at all levels, challenging leaders and sponsors to step up; she initiated and led the Fireside Chat with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger on WIN, gaining over 1200 views. What Tasha has done for women engineers at Intel is the gold standard for women engineers across the UK, and she is a well-deserved winner of the Amy Johnson Inspiration Award.

The Men as Allies Award was won by Stephen Gill from World Refrigeration Day. Stephen Gill has been a Men As Allies runner-up in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Each nomination stands on its own merit, each being different from the previous year which is remarkable in itself. One example of his work is a prize fund of $500 he donated to encourage women engineers across Africa to make videos of themselves working that can be used to encourage other women to consider engineering.

The Caroline Haslett Lecture and awards was held at the Geological Society in London, with over 60 attendees. We were delighted to be joined by Dr Bola Olabisi the founder of the Global Women Inventors & Innovators Network. The network puts the spotlight on the development of invaluable inventions and innovations from individuals, the workplace and the business environment with a special focus on empowering women.

It was a great night of celebration with some inspirational talks and lots of connections being made between people passionate about supporting women in engineering to reach their potential.