From a young age I have always been interested in STEM subjects. My father is a Mechanical Engineer in my native Spain, and he always told me to focus on studying science because ‘it is the future.’ And he’s right.
After school I studied Chemistry at University in Barcelona before going on to become a Quality Manager.
Read more about Anna's career here.
Bethany HaynesAs a young child I was always playing with Jenga blocks and Lego. Each Christmas we would go to the German festive market where I was drawn to the wooden toy stalls. I was fascinated by how the toys were made.
It came as no surprise that, at secondary school, I excelled in practical subjects, coming out with top marks for Product Design. After taking A levels in Drama, Geography and Product Design, I went on to study Joinery at College. I was the only female on the course, but I grew up with three brothers so I’ve always felt at ease in male company.
Read more about Bethany's career here.
Dr Claire Dancer
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Dr Claire Dancer is an Assistant Professor in WMG's Nanocomposites Research Group. She studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge before gaining her doctorate at the University of Oxford for a thesis on processing methods for the superconducting material magnesium diboride. Her postdoctoral research at Oxford included projects on ceramic armour and electromagnetic materials, and she was a College Lecturer in Materials Science at St Anne's College, Oxford from 2009 to 2013. Find out more about Claire's career here.
Dr Connie QianMy mother is my role model. She’s retired now, but previously worked as an Engineer. I always thought she was pretty cool, her work fascinated me and it still does.
Growing up, I never realised that there was such a low percentage of women in engineering. It didn’t seem a big deal then, but looking back my mother was the only female engineer (at her company) leading an all-male team. It was her career that inspired me to study Mechanic Engineering followed by a PhD at the University of Nottingham.
Read more about Connie's career here.
I studied Psychology at Swansea University before starting a PhD at the University of Warwick.
My PhD focused on virtual environments and how they can be applied to education. As part of this I had the opportunity to collaborate with WMG, giving me my first experience with the department.
My first impressions were very good. I had access to high end cutting-edge equipment, and got to work with some extremely talented people – which opens up so many possibilities.
Read more about Devon's career here.
I had the choice of three very different PhDs – one in the marine industry, the second in material science, and the third industry sponsored (at WMG). My degree was in the marine industry so this was naturally appealing, and material science was ultimately a career I would be interested in pursuing. But, after much deliberation I opted for the WMG one, sponsored by Tata Steel, as I felt it could open up lots of new opportunities. Find out more about Elspeth's career here.
Evé Wheeler-JonesGrowing up my parents, particularly my mum, always instilled in me the importance of getting a good education. In the school holidays, we would spend our days at science museums, National Trust sites or at archaeology digs. I loved watching Time Team and I originally had my heart set on becoming an Archaeologist.
Find out more about Evé's career here
I grew up in Pakistan where my family were all teachers or medical doctors but my interests lay more in maths and engineering. It was very difficult, because engineering is seen as a male profession back home, therefore I had to think very carefully about the academic path I chose.
I opted to study for a degree in Information and Communications Systems Engineering. After university I was lucky enough to win a scholarship enabling me to undertake a Master’s in Computer Science at Leicester University. As a single female, I had to work really hard again to convince my family that it was the right decision to allow me to go to the UK to study. Find out more about Freeha's career here.
Professor Irene NgIrene Ng is a Professor of Marketing and Service Systems and the Director of the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation (IIPSI) at WMG. She is also an adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore and College Research Associate at Wolfson College, Cambridge. Irene studied physics, applied physics and computer programming as an undergraduate and became an entrepreneur and practitioner for 16 years before switching to an academic career. During her time in industry she occupied a number of senior positions in industry rising to become CEO of SA Tours and Travel group of companies (Singapore, Malaysia, China and UK) and founded Empress Cruise Lines, a company with an annual turnover of $250m which she sold in 1996. Both an entrepreneur and an academic, Irene is passionate about the link between practice and research. She is an advisor to startups on new pricing and revenue models in digital businesses. Find out more about Irene's career here.
Juliette Soulard is an Associate Professor in Electric Machines working within the Advanced Propulsion Systems Group. Prior to this, she was based at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden where she led research within the Electrical Machines and Drives Laboratory (eMaDlab) covering a range of applications from renewable energy generation to electrified transport systems. Find out more about Juliette's career here.
At school, I was always very good at science. I was also a total bookworm, and was fascinated by the Horrible Science series.
At sixth form, therefore, it was a natural choice for me to study the three core sciences, Maths and English. My science teachers in particular were incredible, and extremely supportive and encouraging. It was my time at sixth form, and these teachers, that inspired me to study Chemistry at the University of Warwick. Find out more about Katerina's career here.
Lauren CooperWhen I was younger, my parents always encouraged me to choose subjects I was interested in, but also to consider ones that would ultimately help me to secure a job.
Find out more about Lauren's career here.
I grew up in Pontypridd near Cardiff, and my family had very different interests to me. My mother was a nurse and my sister has followed the same path. My father worked in the paper mill industry. Although my family has always been very supportive of my choices, I discovered my love of science myself. Find out more about Mel's career here.
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Dr Nessa Fereshteh SanieeResearch FellowI joined WMG as a Precision Engineer in 2015 shortly after finishing my Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Warwick. I was drawn to WMG as I was looking for a workplace that connects research to industry. The role was a technician role rather than a postdoctoral position, but I took the job as a chance to gain experience in composite materials in the automotive industry and achieved valuable skills during this period. Read more about Nessa's career here. |
Professor Claire DavisProfessor Claire Davis is the Tata Steel Professor of thermo-mechanical processing. Her research interests cover the development of microstructure during processing and the relationships between microstructure and properties (both physical and mechanical) in steels. She is also interested in the non-destructive evaluation of microstructure and defects in metals using a range of NDT techniques and modelling approaches. Professor Davis works closely with her colleagues in WMG's Steels Processing research group and with industrial partners, such as Tata Steel, to strengthen collaborative research opportunities in the area. Find out more about Claire's career here.
Jan Godsell is Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Strategy. She joined WMG in October 2013 from her prior position of Senior Lecturer at Cranfield University School of Management. She has also developed a successful career within industry, beginning at ICI/Zeneca Pharmaceuticals and at Dyson, in both Supply Chain and Operations Management functions. Professor Godsell is a Chartered Engineer and Member of the IMechE; she has recently been appointed to advise the UK government on manufacturing policy as a member of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills' Manufacturing Advisory Group. Find about more about Jan's career here.
Puja UnadkatGraduate Trainee Engineer
From a young age, I have always enjoyed studying science, particularly chemistry as this was the lesson I most looked forward to. My chemistry teacher at sixth form encouraged and inspired me to study the subject further at degree level. Click here for Puja's full story
As a child I grew up surrounded by maths and science, my father was a forensic scientist for NYPD, my mother was a teacher, and my brother was always tinkering with wires and broken TV sets, so it really was the natural path for me to take. Find out more about Shaheen's career here.
From a young age I’ve always loved numbers. From about 3 years old, rather than a story it was a sum I wanted at bedtime! Once I started school, it came as no surprise that I excelled in maths and science. Other children used to tease me at school for being so good at it. Find out more about Valentina's career here.
Vannessa has spent her entire career working with plastic materials. She came to WMG in 1997 direct from the plastics industry to work as a Research Associate having obtained both a BA and BSc by distance learning. She undertook a part time PhD whilst employed as staff and graduated in 2002. She became a Principal Research Fellow in 2009. Her areas of specialism are plastics materials, their processing, and recycling. She has undertaken many research projects across this scope, most recently looking at multifunctional materials. She works in a field at the interface of academia and industry and has over 50 publications across this remit. Vannessa developed (and obtained funds for) the WMG Researcher Forum which champions researcher developmental issues for contract researchers. She also developed and runs an in-house researcher mentoring scheme as part of this programme. Find out more about Vannessa's career here.
