Thursday, 19 September 2024
Sarah Sharples, Professor of Human Factors at the University of Nottingham and Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Transport, has been elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Professor Sharples was announced as one of 71 Fellows elected to the academy, all leading engineering figures in their fields.
The group consists of 60 Fellows, six International Fellows and five Honorary Fellows, each of whom has made notable contributions to the sector, either leading progress in business or academia, providing high level advice to government, or promoting wider understanding of engineering.
Sarah Sharples, Professor of Human Factors in the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, was also Pro-Vice Chancellor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and People at the University of Nottingham from 2018 to 2021.
She has led human factors research in transport, manufacturing and healthcare, exploring the way that workplaces can be designed to support collaboration between people and technology. Since 2021 she has been seconded to the Department of Transport (DfT) as Chief Scientific Adviser. In this role she advises DfT on science, engineering, innovation and technology policy and works with the sector to ensure that science and engineering transport research is robust and of high impact.
I'm delighted to have been elected to Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. I've been very pleased to work with the Academy on equality, diversity and inclusion and on engineering policy research in recent years.
She added: "It is a really exciting time for human-centred and systems engineering and I'm pleased to be continuing to support the Academy's work on engineering education, research and policy in the future"
This year’s new Fellows also continue to reflect the Academy’s ongoing Fellowship Fit for the Future initiative announced in July 2020, to drive more nominations of outstanding engineers from underrepresented groups ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2026.
The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a special ceremony in London on 27 November. In joining the Fellowship, they will lend their unique capabilities to achieving the Academy’s overarching strategic goal to harness the power of engineering to create a sustainable society and an inclusive economy for all.
Dr John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, added of the new fellows: “Our new Fellows represent some of the most talented people in the world of engineering and are taken from the ranks of those who are aiming to address some of our most critical problems.
“We are proud to say that many of our newly elected Fellows have come from underrepresented groups in engineering and related sectors and we hope this helps to tackle some of the issues around a lack of diversity within the profession.
“There is ample evidence that a wider pool of ideas and experiences helps to improve decision-making and develop novel solutions to global challenges.”
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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