Professor Penny Endersby, the Chief Executive Officer of the Met Office and a Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton, has been announced by the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, as the winner of the 2021 Society Medal.

The Met Office is one of the world's leading national weather and climate organisation with a substantial programme of research covering all timescales from nowcasting through to long term climate predictions, on behalf of government, public and commercial customers, and including outreach programmes into the developing world.

With a strong science and technology background, Chief Executive, Professor Endersby has helped the Met Office embrace new technologies and developments in science, enabling the organisation to stay at the forefront of weather and climate science. The introduction of new multimillion-pound supercomputing capability, overseen by Professor Endersby, will take forecasting and climate projections to the next level when up and running later this year.

The Met Office is committed to the use of environmentally responsible IT and aims to reach Net Zero by 2030 while at the same time offering expertise and support to other organisations on their own road to Net Zero.

In a varied research and management career she has led teams delivering everything from national defence capability support to the science and advice underpinning the national weather service.

"I am delighted and honoured to have been awarded the BCS Society Medal. This is very much a reflection of the commitment of many teams at the Met Office to the use of cutting edge IT to deliver world class science in the fields of weather and climate prediction, at a time when this is absolutely critical." Professor Penny Endersby, Met Office CEO

As a Visiting Professor in Electronics and Computer Science at Southampton University, Prof. Endersby has also demonstrated a long-term commitment to computing education and the development of world-class data scientists. Professor Endersby has a particular interest in the development and exploitation of innovative ideas, especially the re-use of research for multiple purposes. She promotes diversity in engineering and science and is keen to assist students and researchers in developing their innovative ideas towards commercialisation through the Future World's mentoring scheme.

The BCS award panel cited her exceptional commitment to enriching weather forecasting and the predictive analysis of climate change by leading unprecedented investment in the Met Office's IT systems. The Medal recognises her outstanding contribution to making digital technology good for society and the environment.

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About the Met Office The Met Office is the UK?s National Meteorological Service, providing 24x7 world-renowned scientific excellence in weather, climate and environmental forecasts and severe weather warnings for the protection of life and property. www.metoffice.gov.uk The Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Science and Services provides world-class guidance on the science of climate change and is the primary focus in the UK for climate science. Its work is, in part, jointly funded by BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

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About BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT BCS is the professional body for the IT industry. Our purpose, as defined by Royal Charter, is to promote and advance the education and practice of computing for the benefit of the public. With almost 60,000 members, BCS brings together academics, practitioners, industry and government to share knowledge, promote new thinking, inform the design of new curricula, and shape policy.

Oana Lazar, a final-year student on a Masters of Electronic Engineering course at the University of Southampton, was awarded the UK Electronics Skills Foundation 2021 Scholar of the Year.

As well as exceeding expectations during her 12-month placement with Tessent Embedded Analytics, the Award judges applauded Oana's exceptional academic performance, her technical skills and her advocacy for women in engineering. Oana was Highly Commended for this Award in 2020 and named runner-up in our Automotive Electronics Competition the same year.

She also received Southampton Hub's first ever 'Southampton Hub Values Award', and has been put forward by Tessent's VP of Engineering, and Siemens' Senior Director of Portfolio Strategy, to represent Tessent for the Global Semiconductor Alliance's 'Female Up and Comer Award'.

"I would never have gotten this far without the immense guidance, support, and opportunities offered by the University of Southampton. Having never held a breadboard before I began University, Southampton has taught me everything I know about Electronics, and encouraged me to apply to the Scheme." Oana Lazar, MEng, School of Electronics and Computer Science

"The UKESF Scholarship Scheme has quite literally changed my entire life. It is therefore an absolute honour and a true pleasure to receive the 2021 UKESF Scholar of the Year Award", says Oana.

"I would like to thank my fantastic sponsoring company, Tessent Embedded Analytics, part of Siemens (formerly UltraSoC), whose brilliant Engineers have given me the best possible introduction to the industry. Through my 12-month industrial placement as part of my Master's at the University of Southampton, I have discovered the immense breadth of opportunities available to Electronics Engineers." she continues.

"Although the industrial placement has provided the tools and experience to boost my confidence in my engineering abilities, I still have doubts like everyone else. If you are a student reading this, and especially a fellow female Engineer, you are far from alone in your struggles. You should be courageous, and have faith in yourself and in your abilities for having gotten you this far. I cannot think of a better way to secure your future than by applying to the UKESF Scholarship Scheme, and aiming for the UKESF Scholar of the Year Award", continues Oana.

"Southampton continues to inspire me, and inspires me to inspire others: during the pandemic I led an engineering outreach programme called 'Invent Plus', part of Southampton?s branch of Student Hubs, a national charity. We designed and sent 600 practical activity packs to 9 schools across the UK, introducing over 200 Year 9 schoolgirls to the wonders of electronics, and held virtual events to encourage more girls into STEM.

"There could not be a better time to get involved with the Electronics industry than now, and there could not be a better way of doing so than through the UKESF. You never know which doors may open for you in the exciting, ever-changing, and revolutionary world of Electronics, taking the entire world in new directions", adds Oana.

The UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) was founded in 2010 by collaboration of public bodies, private companies and UK universities to address the threat of a diminishing skills base in the UK electronics sector. Its principal aims are to increase and sustain the supply of industry ready graduate engineers and boost career take up in the industry, worth £23 billion per year to the UK economy. Since 2011 has been awarding the 'Scholar of the Year Award' with the view to attract, support and retain as many talented young individuals to participate in this initiative.