Profile

Only 6% of UK engineering workforce are female, meaning that UK companies are missing out on almost 50% of their engineering talent. This is coupled with the fact that girls make up under 20% of students taking Physics A-level. The goal of Rocket Women, is to try and reverse this trend by inspiring girls globally to consider a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) and also provide advice to women currently working in the industry.

To encourage more girls to consider STEM you also need to inspire them when they’re young and provide them with tangible, visible role models. I remember being an enthralled six-year-old when I learned that the first British astronaut, chemist Helen Sharman flew to the Mir space station. She was, although I didn’t know it yet, a role model to me. She showed me at a young age that my dreams were possible and I went on to work in human spaceflight. I started Rocket Women to give these role models a voice and a platform to spread their advice. I’m interviewing women around the world in STEM, particularly in space, and posting the interviews on Rocket Women, along with advice to encourage girls to be involved in STEM.

As a consultant my typical day varies depending on the projects I’m working on. From writing a parabolic (microgravity) flight grant proposal, to explaining the nuances of Apollo era spacesuit design and even discussing the importance of inspiring the next generation with politicians. Whilst I’m consulting I’ve also decided to fulfill another dream, to travel around the world. I’ve been fortunate to have travelled in Europe and Southeast Asia for the last 10 months. Prior to this I’ve usually worked in a traditional engineering environment. Being based at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Cologne, Germany I worked on console, in an environment similar to a smaller version of NASA’s Mission Control. My typical day involved supporting astronauts onboard the International Space Station to carry out experiments successfully, developing new experiment payloads with scientists, helping to train astronauts on payload experiments and equipment they might use on the ISS, communicating with NASA & ESA colleagues on a regular basis regarding experiments and writing crew (astronaut) procedures. The most important skills for an ISS Operations Engineer are communication, both on console and with your international colleagues based around the world, and more specifically, the ability to think quickly to provide an accurate response in case of an anomaly on the ISS.

Portraying successful female role models in the space industry, particularly those involved in the Principia mission, along with informing schools of the progress and science carried out during Tim Peake’s mission. I have founded a platform called Rocket Women (www.rocket-women.com), to inspire women to study STEM and consider a career in the space industry. Through this I’ve completed interviews with women in the space industry, providing them with a voice to inspire others. A series of interviews with women working in the UK space industry could be carried out, recorded on video or audio, along with a series of publications and leaflets to be distributed to schools. These female role models and I would visit the schools to provide talks regarding their career and the Principia mission, providing tangible examples to young girls alongside necessary interaction with women in the space industry. This campaign would bring awareness of Tim Peake’s mission and the related work carried out by UK scientists, engineers and others in STEM to young girls. The leaflets can be published through digital media channels and made available as educational resources for both teachers and students.

Interactions with these role models and learning about the Principia mission will provide girls with examples to look up to when they’re making the most critical decisions in their education. Improving gender diversity in the UK space industry will not only mitigate the UK talent shortage of women in technical roles, but ensure that there will be role models for future generations to look up to and aim towards.