Swansea University’s Professor Serena Margadonna has been named one of the UK’s Top 50 Women in Engineering (WE50) by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES).
The annual WE50 awards take place on International Women in Engineering Day, 23 June, which this year celebrates inventors and innovators who can #ImagineTheFuture.
The award, in association with The Guardian and Ball Corporation, a global supplier of sustainable packaging, recognises the best and brightest women in the engineering sector.
It is a celebration of those who identify an unmet need and make it their purpose to create a solution or improve existing products and processes to make our lives easier.
Professor Margadonna holds a Chair in Chemical Engineering and is Head of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Swansea University.
Her work is inspired by the simple realisation that major technological advances require truly multidisciplinary research which continuously evolves, adapts, and innovates.
Following this ethos, in collaboration with industrial partners, Professor Margadonna is currently facilitating the commercialisation of next-generation sustainable rechargeable batteries for the electrification of transport.
Her vision is to contribute toward a green economy by developing batteries that use abundant and widely available materials designed to be recycled.
Professor Margadonna, said: “It is a great honour to be named as one of this year’s Top 50 Women in Engineering: Inventors and Innovators by WES.
“Innovation in engineering is fundamental in finding solutions to the global net-zero challenge, and these awards highlight the substantial impact women in engineering are making to achieve a more sustainable and fair society.”
WES received an extremely high standard of nominations this year, resulting in 100 Highly Commended Finalists, such as Swansea University’s Professor Cinzia Giannetti.
Through her research, Professor Giannetti, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, explores novel Machine Learning (ML) techniques and develops innovative toolkits to stimulate effective adoption and integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ML in industry.
Professor Giannetti works closely with industrial partners to help increase the digitalisation of their processes, improving the quality of products, reducing wastage and unnecessary costs, and contributing to sustainable manufacturing systems.
Professor Giannetti, said: “I am delighted to be named one of the top 100 Highly Commended Finalists in the WE50 awards.
“Working in engineering, both research and teaching, is a rewarding career as it allows us to make positive changes to our society by developing innovative technologies and tools.
“I am grateful to play a part in tackling global challenges such as climate change, developing cleaner processing technologies and forming new opportunities for more sustainable and equitable futures.
“As an educator, I am passionate about creating and building an inclusive community to ensure we have a large pool of talents from diverse backgrounds and perspectives in engineering. Only by doing this can we innovate responsibly and create solutions that can bring real societal benefits.”
WES will be holding an awards ceremony on Friday 24 June 2022.
