What do you cover as an engineer?

In my A level year I took part in Insight ’81, a programme designed to encourage women into engineering, for which I spent a week at Imperial College (where I eventually studied) in the various engineering departments. I originally graduated in Aeronautical Engineering in the mid ’80s before starting work at a non-academic research organisation. I had always liked acoustics so was delighted when I was asked to be involved in a programme looking at sound radiated from structures underwater.

This led to my pursuing a PhD in pipe vibration and wave propagation at the internationally-renowned Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR), an area I have worked in ever since (and since the 1990s within the ISVR). My work is very industry-focused, much of it concerned with water leak detection. I have worked on a number of projects related to buried infrastructure, of concern to many sectors, but most particularly the water, gas and oil industries.

How are you making a difference to the world through your work?

Water leakage is a huge problem, both in the UK and the world over; recent figures indicate that between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of this valuable resource is lost in this manner. Acoustic methods predominate in the armoury of leak detection methods but are not always successful in locating leaks, particularly as more plastic pipes have been introduced into the UK water network. My research has developed the fundamental underpinning science which has allowed the water industry to understand why techniques which work well on metal pipes are less effective when used on plastic pipes. Armed with this information, we can then propose alternative approaches focused on these and other challenging areas.

What do you enjoy about being an engineer?

A particularly challenging area of my work has been navigating the interface between academia and industry. Academics are often seen as working on problems remote from the real world in their ‘ivory towers’. Forging fruitful industry connections can be a long and arduous process, but the ‘lightbulb’ moments, when previously sceptical businessmen and women realise that the research you are proposing could make a significant impact on their sector, make the effort truly worthwhile. I am now in the privileged position of having worked with many of my industrial partners for several decades, with these relationships being foundational for my research going forward.