Speakers

Jan Peters

Jan is Managing Director of Katalytik a small business specialising in inclusion and engagement in science and engineering. Recent work includes research Different Women, Different Places looking at the inspirations and strategies for success of black and minority ethnic women leaders which used both quantitative online survey, face to face interviews and roundtable discussions. Jan is currently the UK Ambassador to the American Association for Computer Machines – Women’s Group (ACM), she is also a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry Diversity Committee.

Jan was a founding member of the European Commission’s Helsinki Group, as the UK National Expert on women in science and has recently (2008) been an expert evaluator for the Commission. As well as working in higher education, the public and private sector Jan was the Equality and Diversity Manager at the Royal Society and has been associated with leading a number of high profile reports including Maximising Returns, (DTI, 2002), SET Fair, DTI (2002), Taking a Leading Role, The Royal Society (2005) and Different Women, Different Places (Diversity Practice and Katalytik 2007).

As well as five years contract research at the University of Southampton, Jan worked as an Applications Engineer on semiconductor characterisation, interfacing between R&D, customers, production and the sales team at BioRad Microscience providing technical support and training of customers. Broader skills and expertise developed from 15 years work in the public and private sector include knowledge transfer, steering group management, project management and direction, facilitation of focus and discussion groups in many formats, from mini groups in schools, with women returners, black and ethnic minority scientists and other professionals at conferences, as part of consultations and in thought leader debates. In particular drawing conclusions from discussions and translating them into themes, strategies and action points.

 

Carol Marsh

Carol is a Lead Hardware Engineer at Selex Galileo and is completing an Engineering Doctorate in System Level Integration. In 1985 Carol was one of the first females to complete an HND in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Edinburgh Napier University. In 1990 she passed the MSc in Digital Techniques exams at Heriot Watt University then in 2003 Carol returned to do an MSc in System Level Integration which was converted to an Engineering Doctorate.

Carol’s career in electronics started at Marconi Instrume nts in Donibristle Fife and within 10 years she gained experience in writing test programs, working in the test department, implementing RF, analogue and mechanical designs before finally specializing as a digital and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) engineer. In the early 1990s Carol moved to GEC at Silverknowes in Edinburgh and joined the Analogue and Digital Engineering Group (ADEG) where she became a Principal Digital Engineer and took the lead in several projects. In 2000 Carol started working in the telecommunications field for ECS Technology which was part of the Agilent camp were she set up an FPGA group.

In 2005, Carol started an Engineering Doctorate sponsored by the FPGA Super Computer Group at Edinburgh University and Dr Tom Kean of Algotronix. The thesis subject was detecting unlicensed intellectual property using cryptography. During the Engineering Doctorate, Carol and Algotronix won three awards: Elektra European Electronics Industry "Student Engineer of the Year Award" in 2007, Electronic category at the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Innovation Awards in 2008 and the Emerging Technology Company award at the NMI award ceremony in 2008.

Carol has 2 teenage boys and is a member of the IEEE, IET, IACR, student member of the IoP and a Science and Engineering Ambassador (SEA).

 

Tanya Ewing

Tanya Ewing was recognised as “British Female Inventor of the Year 2008” for her creation of a real time energy monitor Ewgeco (pronounced You-gee-co). Tanya wanted to bring meter information out of cupboards for all to gain a greater understanding of household & small business energy and water consumption. Unable to find such a device, she took it upon herself to develop one using a unique traffic light display system.

With no previous engineering or design experience, Tanya worked with technicians who could make her idea a reality. This all came at a hugely challenging time in her personal life. Due to a debilitating illness, Tanya had been unable to work for 7 years and was undergoing IVF treatment.

Now with a two-year old son, Coll, and Ewgeco now on sale to businesses with the consumer market due for launch early next year, her business is expanding and her story is held up as an example of pure determination in pursuit of a good idea. Tanya is passionate about the impact that Ewgeco can have on reducing the utility bills alongside the environmental benefits of reducing consumption and taking energy-conservation methods.

 

Nazish Islam

 

Alison McClure

Alison McLure is the National Officer (Scotland) for the Institute of Physics. Following graduating in physics from the University of Aberdeen, she went on to work for the Meteorological Office for ten years. Her variety of jobs included researching and developing instruments for the tops of mountains and forecasting the weather for the RAF, the BBC and British Antarctic Survey. Her next job was to manage a yacht marina in the West Coast of Scotland, before returning to the city to join the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. She was seconded to the Scottish Leadership Foundation as their People Exchange Manager, before applying for her current post in the Institute of Physics. She is currently studying for a Masters in Outdoor Environmental and Sustainability Education and is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.

 

Ally Price

Ally Price has recently completed her thesis 'New perspectives on wave energy converters' at the University of Edinburgh. During her PhD she worked on the interaction between wave energy converters and the wave resource, control strategies, and a new classification system that informs on engineering challenges and performance. There is a long history of wave energy research at the University of Edinburgh, starting in 1973 with Stephen Salter's work on the 'Edinburgh Duck'. Ally has reviewed and offered fresh interpretations of many of the historical technical reports from the pioneering days of wave energy.

During her doctoral studies she visited Ecole Centrale de Nantes in France to conduct a study on the use of artificial neural networks for prediction of future waves. This research prompted the question of what the physical limits on prediction accuracy were. Her current research focuses on the viability and usefulness of forecasts for improving the performance of wave energy converters.

 

Professor Sudipta Roy

Sudipta Roy is the Professor of Electrochemical Nanomaterials at the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials at Newcastle University. She was attracted to science from and early age and was passionate about natural sciences. Her focus remained constant through school years and she received a BEng (1985) in India, and MS and PhD (1991) from Tulane University, Louisiana, US followed by a post doctoral position at The Swiss Federal Institute, Lausanne (1992-1994). She started her academic career in 1994 at Newcastle University and took up a personal chair in 2005.

Her research has focused mainly on understanding electrochemical processes used for electronics and materials fabrication. She spent two years in industry and acts as a consultant for process development, corrosion and effluent treatment. She has been the recipient of a SMART award for developing a corrosion sensor. EnFACE is another invention arising from her academic and commercial enterprise, which is being spun out currently. Her contribution to UK science and engineering led to an invitation from the Queen’s Christmas Reception in 2006. She will speak about her interests which drives her work and life.

 

Maria Kelly

 

Sandra Cairncross

Dr Sandra Cairncross was appointed as Dean of Engineering, Computing & Creative Industries in April 2008. Prior to that she was Associate Dean with responsibility for Academic Quality and Customer Service. Her role is to le ad the strategic development of the Faculty, building on its excellent track record in supporting Scotland’s knowledge based economy through providing a portfolio of academic programmes and engaging in research and knowledge transfer which are relevant to the needs of students, business and industry and other stakeholders.

Dr Cairncross is Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institute of Educational Technology and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy with a background in Interactive Media Design. She is a Senior Teaching Fellow at Edinburgh Napier and the focus of her doctoral students was how best to use new learning technologies to enhance teaching and learning and the student experience and has published in this area.

 

Nisha Kethees

Nisha was born and brought up in France. After her Baccalaureate in France, she came to the University of Leeds in September 2002 to study Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering. Nisha graduated in July 2006 with a First Class MEng degree in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering at Leeds University in the School of Mechanical Engineering.

In October 2006 Nisha began her PhD under the supervision of Prof P.H. Gaskell, Dr Thompson and Dr Kapur. She is currently doing my research on the rheological study of Non-Newtonian flow through microchannels.

 

Raffaella Ocone

Raffaella Ocone, FRSE, holds the Chair of Chemical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University where she was the Academic Head of Chemical Engineering from 2002 to 2007. Before joining Heriot-Watt University, she was a Reader in Chemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Nottingham, Lecturer at the University of Naples, Italy, and Visiting Professor at Louisiana State University, USA and the University Claude Bernard in Lyon France. She has more than 20 years of experience in modelling complex systems, spanning from the hydrodynamics of solid/gas suspensions, to complex reaction networks. Recent work includes the modelling of biological systems.

She has an interest in the teaching of Ethics to Engineers and she is the Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Teaching Ethics working group. Raffaella has been the coordinator of the Athena Research Project awarded to Heriot-Watt University and aimed to recruit and retain women in SET. She has experience in the realm of the public understanding of science; this has included initiatives that bring the importance of science and engineering to wider audiences including school children.

 

Susan Clarke

 

Heather Rea

Heather is the project manager on the Edinburgh Beltane Beacon for Public Engagement, a culture change project improving the participation in and perception of public engagement activities in academia. She has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada and did her PhD at Edinburgh Napier in Advanced Manufacturing Systems. During 11 years of research in engineering information management tools at Heriot-Watt University she also gained experience in producing and delivering pubic engagement with engineering projects for science festivals, museums and schools.

 

Jenny Tizard

Jenny Tizard is the Manager of the Scottish Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, based at Edinburgh Napier University. The Scottish Resource Centre works with students, qualified women and employers to increase women’s participation in science, engineering and technology.

Jenny Tizard was the first woman in Britain to complete an apprenticeship as an electrician in 1979. She worked in construction in Yorkshire for seven years, where she was usually the only woman on site. She has taught in Universities and Colleges and spent nine years working on the University of the Highlands and Islands Project.

Jenny can be contacted at j.tizard@napier.ac.uk

 

Morna Simpson

Morna came to academia through industry where she was a Lead Designer. Interactive communication and social web featured strongly in her role. She has approximately five years of industry experience, including three years of full time involvement working in interactive media in start-up environments.

She has been involved in the start-up through to programme review (2002-2008) of the BSc in Interactive Media Design at the University of Dundee. She is an investigator on ‘TOTeM, Tales of things and electronic memory’, which explores social memory in the emerging culture of the Internet of Things. She is PI on ‘The Placement Pitch’, a web-based social networking system that facilitates employer, student communication and aims to help students find their first job.

She is the founding member of Girl Geeks Scotland, which held its first meeting in early 2009. Plans for 2010 include a series of high profile speakers at our Dinners from Europe, Silicon Valley and beyond who will inspire our younger generation of women in technology related industries. To find our more follow Tweets @girlgeeks.