Congratulations are in order!

Remember when we told you that our very own Elena Rodriguez-Falcon had been nominated for a 2014 WISE award? Well, we're delighted to say she was awarded Highly Commended in her category! Elena was recognised for having "used (her) position to influence others to take positive action to promote female talent in STEM, within their own organisation or beyond", and we'd certainly agree with that. Congratulations, Elena!

Elena, second from right, bottom row, with her award.

Sheffield academic nominated in the 2014 WISE Awards!

If you've been following us for a while, it will come as no surprise that the University of Sheffield's Faculty of Engineering has plenty of inspirational female role-models. So we're delighted that one of our own has been nominated in the 2014 WISE Awards! Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon, Professor of Enterprise and Engineering Education, Director of Enterprise Education in the University of Sheffield, Faculty Director of Communications and External Relations, and (last but certainly not least!) former Faculty Director for Women in Engineering, has been shortlisted for the 2014 WISE Champion Award.

WISE (or Women into Science, Engineering and Construction) works to inspire girls to choose science, technology, engineering and mathematics pathways and has the target of increasing the number of girls in the STEM workforce to 30% by 2020. The WISE Awards is an annual event which recognises and celebrates the achievements of individuals and organisations which are actively working towards WISE's goals. For her work in encouraging the recruitment, retention and progression of women in STEM subjects, Elena has been nominated as "an individual champion who has used their position to influence others to take positive action to promote female talent in STEM, within their own organisation or beyond." Elena was tasked with setting up the Women in Engineering project at Sheffield and led the initiative for three years.


The award ceremony will take place on Thursday 13 November at the Grange Hotel, Tower Bridge, London, and we'll keep you up to date with the winners. Congratulations, Elena!

Composite Materials with Professor Alma Hodzic

We've been a bit quiet of late at EngineeringUS - let's break that silence by listening to an interview that Professor Alma Hodzic from Mechanical Engineering gave all the way in Austria to FM4 Radio (ORF) about composite materials.

Professor Alma Hodzic

Listen here.

It's physics that makes your body work...

Maryam Shariatzadeh, PhD student at the Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Sheffield

Lecturer in bioengineering, Dr Cecile Perrault  tells us how maths and physics can be used to understand the human body and that you don't have to study medicine to unravel its mysteries.

"The body is an intricate, elegant, very complex machine made of equally complex and elegant parts."

Staff profile: Wendy Birtwistle

Wendy Birtwistle is a technician in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and in this blog she talks about her career at the University, learning new skills and being a gadget lover with access to 3D printers and a flight simulator.