Engineering news
Professor Dame Helen Atkinson DBE FREng will receive the President’s Medal at the RAEng awards dinner on 12 July, in recognition of her ‘enormous contribution’ to the academy’s work, particularly in education and careers outreach.
Currently pro-vice-chancellor at Cranfield University’s school of aerospace, transport systems and manufacturing, Dame Helen was described as an “exceptionally committed fellow of the academy since her election in 2007” in the award announcement. She has served as a vice-president, trustee and chair of the Education & Skills Committee.
“Dame Helen has made a vital contribution to the success of This is Engineering, a digital and social media campaign run by the academy to inspire more young people from all backgrounds to become engineers,” the announcement added. “As chair of the campaign’s oversight group, she has steered This is Engineering to achieve unprecedented success for a STEM outreach programme.
“Since it started in 2018 the campaign films have been viewed over 57m times by a gender-balanced audience, and increased consideration of engineering among teenagers by up to 85%.”
As a leading role model and advocate for women in STEM, Dame Helen was the first female president of the UK Engineering Professors’ Council in its 50-year history, and has been listed as a Woman of Outstanding Achievement in Science, Engineering and Technology, one of the Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering, and as an ambassador for the Women into Science and Engineering campaign. She was made a Dame in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021 for services to engineering and education.
“Alongside her career as an internationally renowned researcher in materials engineering, Dame Helen Atkinson has also made highly significant personal contributions to academic leadership and engineering education, outreach and diversity and inclusion,” said RAEng president Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE.
“Her input has been critical to the success of the pioneering This is Engineering campaign, resulting in measurable improvements in young people’s willingness to consider engineering careers, especially among under-represented groups including women and ethnic minorities. She is an inspirational engineer and leader.”
Dame Helen said: “It is an absolute honour to receive the 2022 President’s Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering. Engineering is so important to our lives every day – it is crucial to our economy and our quality of life, and there is such a huge variety of specialisms that make it exceptionally interesting. That’s why I am so passionate about engineering – it really is something that changes the world for the better.”
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