Oxford Engineering alumnus recognised with prestigious CIGRE Fellowship

Oxford Engineering alumnus Simon Ryder has been awarded a Fellowship by CIGRE, the international professional association for engineers working in the power industry, in recognition of his role in the organisation’s activities.

Simon received the Fellowship at the opening ceremony of the CIGRE Congress in Paris on 23 August 2026. The awards recognise outstanding contributions to the power system industry and to the global CIGRE community.

Simon studied Engineering at the University of Oxford from 1992 to 1996 as an MEng undergraduate at St John’s College. Since graduating, he has built a career in electricity transmission, specialising mainly in power transformers. He began his career with Hawker Siddeley Power Transformers in Walthamstow, before moving to Alstom in Stafford and later Saint-Ouen, near Paris. Following Alstom’s first bankruptcy in 2003, he joined Doble Engineering in Guildford, where he is now Chief Engineer, leading a team providing consultancy on power transformers.

Simon’s involvement with CIGRE has included chairing its power transformers committee, known as A2, from 2016 to 2020. He subsequently served as editor-in-chief of two CIGRE ‘Green Books’: Transformer Procurement, published in 2021, and Transformer Life Management, published in 2024. Both were co-published by CIGRE and Springer.

Reflecting on his career, Simon says: "My career has essentially been a continuation of the work I did in the vacations while I was an undergraduate. The course gave me the theoretical knowledge I needed to match the practical skills I learned in the vacations."

He also highlighted the influence of his Oxford teachers, saying: "I am especially grateful to David Witt and Malcolm McCulloch for their teaching. I later went on to work with Professor McCulloch’s PhD supervisor on a project in Namibia."

The CIGRE Fellowship was first introduced in 2014 and is awarded to a maximum of five people every two years. Simon believes he will be the first recipient from Great Britain, although two British engineers have previously received a higher CIGRE award.

"I am very grateful to CIGRE for the award," says Simon. "It is a great honour to be recognised in this way."

Simon’s award celebrates a career combining practical engineering experience, technical expertise and international leadership, and his continuing contribution to the development of the power transmission industry.