A leading ¹û½´ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø academic in military aviation engineering has been highly commended in the 2024 Women in Engineering Awards. Dr Laura Lacey is in the top 100 of the prestigious awards, backed by the . The awards are a UK event linked to – a celebration of women in engineering that takes place on 23 June each year.

This year’s theme is ‘enhanced by engineering’ and the awards celebrate women engineers who use their engineering skills to improve lives.

Dr Laura Lacey, Senior Lecturer in Military Aviation Safety and Airworthiness, plays a key role in the UK’s efforts to maintain the highest standards in military aviation and has been an engineer for more than 30 years. At Cranfield, Laura takes the leading role in driving the development of military aviation safety teaching and research. This has included the active promotion of safety and airworthiness in her lectures and modules, within postgraduate engineering programmes.

Laura is a role model in the University for women in engineering, acting as their mentor for their Postgraduate Certificate of Academic Practice, and playing a part in supporting junior women colleagues.

Laura said: “I am honoured to be selected as a finalist among the top 100 women in engineering. This recognition serves as an opportunity to promote engineering to more women, and I hope it will inspire many others to pursue their passion for engineering.”

Professor Dame Karen Holford DBE FREng, Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of ¹û½´ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø, said: “Congratulations to Laura on this outstanding achievement. Having had the honour of being included in the inaugural Top 50 list in 2016, I can appreciate the significance of this recognition.

“Laura’s dedication to her research and teaching has a very real impact on people’s lives, and with her support for other women engineers, she is an inspirational role model.”