Cranfield University is a British postgraduate-only public research university specialising in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Through the 1950s and 1960s, the development of aircraft research led to growth and diversification into other areas such as manufacturing and management, and in 1967, to the founding of the Cranfield School of Management. In 1969, the College of Aeronautics was renamed the Cranfield Institute of Technology, was incorporated by royal charter, gained degree awarding powers, and became a university. In 1993, it adopted its current name.
Julia Elizabeth King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, is a British engineer and a crossbench member of the House of Lords, where she chairs the Select Committee on Science and Technology. She is the incumbent chair of the Carbon Trust and the Henry Royce Institute, and was the vice-chancellor of Aston University from 2006 to 2016.
Sir Peter John Gregson, FREng was a British research engineer and Chair of the Henry Royce Institute. He was previously the Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University from 2013-2021 and President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast from 2004. Prior to that he was deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton from 2000-2004.
Sir David GrantFLSW is a British academic who was the vice-chancellor of Cardiff University in Wales from 2001 to 2012. Following his appointment, Grant oversaw the merger between Cardiff University and the University of Wales College of Medicine, which was completed in 2004, and the award of university status to Cardiff.
Sushanta Kumar Bhattacharyya, Baron Bhattacharyya,, was a British-Indian engineer, educator and government advisor. In 1980, he became Professor of Manufacturing Systems at the University of Warwick and founded the Warwick Manufacturing Group. In 2004, he was made a life peer and became a member of the House of Lords.
Dame Jean Olwen Thomas, is a Welsh biochemist, former Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and Chancellor of Swansea University.
Dame Ann Patricia Dowling is a British mechanical engineer who researches combustion, acoustics and vibration, focusing on efficient, low-emission combustion and reduced road vehicle and aircraft noise. Dowling is a Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and from 2009 to 2014 she was Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, where she was the first female professor in 1993. She was President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2014 to 2019, the Academy's first female president.
Jason Meredith Reese (24 June 1967 – 8 March 2019 was a British engineering scientist, and Regius Professor of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh.
Dame Helen Valerie Atkinson is Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University's School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing. She was previously Head of the University of Leicester's Department of Engineering and later Leicester's Graduate Dean. In 2010, she was designated one of the UKRC's Women of Outstanding Achievement and featured in the Women of Outstanding Achievement Photographic Exhibition. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2007, was a vice-president of the Academy from 2012 to 2014 and was elected to its Trustee Board in 2014.
Prof John Neil Loughhead CB OBE FREng FIMechE FIET is a British businessman and Chief Scientific Adviser to Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Chair of the Energy research partnership and was formerly the Executive Director of the UK Energy Research Centre. He was appointed an OBE for services to Technology in 2011. In 2014, he was voted as one of the Top 500 Most Influential People in Britain by Debrett's and The Sunday Times.
Colin P. Smith CBE FRS FREng FRAeS FIMechE was director of engineering and technology at Rolls-Royce plc.
John Fisher, CBE, FREng, FMedSci is a British biomedical engineer who was Director of the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering until he stepped down from the role in Summer 2016. He remains Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leeds.
Isobel Anne Pollock-Hulf is visiting professor in Engineering and Design at the University of Leeds.
In 2016 the Women's Engineering Society (WES), in collaboration with the Daily Telegraph, produced an inaugural list of the United Kingdom's Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering, which was published on National Women in Engineering Day on 23 June 2016. The event was so successful it became an annual celebration. The list was instigated by Dawn Bonfield MBE, then Chief Executive of the Women's Engineering Society. In 2019, WES ended its collaboration with the Daily Telegraph and started a new collaboration with The Guardian newspaper.
Dame Dawn Elizabeth Childs is a British engineer who has moved between several engineering disciplines including mechanical engineering, aeronautical engineering and civil engineering. She has been the first woman engineer in several posts in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the first female head of engineering at a major international airport. Childs has a track record of developing women within her organisation as well as working to bring more women and girls into the discipline. Childs is currently the chief executive officer of Pure Data Centres Group Ltd, following her role as UK Change Director at National Grid plc.
Anne Neville was the Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in emerging technologies and Professor of Tribology and Surface Engineering at the University of Leeds.
Wendy SadlerFInstP FHEA FLSW is a British science communicator and lecturer at Cardiff University. She is the founding director of Science Made Simple, which focuses on engaging audiences with the physical sciences. Her areas of interest include inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers and communicators; women in STEM; and making STEM subjects accessible to diverse audiences.
Lucy Elizabeth Rogers is a British author, inventor, and engineer. She is a visiting professor of engineering, creativity and communication at Brunel University London and has served as a judge on the BBC Two show Robot Wars from 2016 to 2018.
Carolyn Griffiths is a railway engineer. She founded and lead the UK's Rail Accident Investigation Branch, where she had the position of Chief Inspector, reporting directly to the Secretary of State for Transport. She was president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for 2017/18.
David Mba is the vice chancellor of Birmingham City University, UK. He was awarded the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Ludwig Mond Prize in 2010 for his contributions to the chemical industry. He serves on the advisory board of the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK).
