Introductory page for the women in engineering committee, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford
Women in Engineering
About Us
The Women in Engineering (WiE) network was established in the Department of Engineering Science in 2012 with the intention of organising talks, social events, career development events and other networking activities (for all members of the department). Membership of this group consists of postdoctoral research assistants, postgraduate students, undergraduate students and other academic staff.
Over the years, it has evolved into a dynamic, supportive community of women engineers across many disciplines and career stages. We also work closely with the Department to raise issues relevant to gender diversity within the Dept.
President and Sponsor Liaison: Nayantara Srinivasan
Nayantara is pursuing a DPhil in Materials Engineering. She says, "I have been fortunate to be the President of the Women in Engineering network both last year and have also been re-elected this year. My project focusses on developing novel nanomaterial based polymeric thin films with enhanced dielectric properties for display applications. I have always been keen on pursuing Engineering right from my childhood as this involves solving problems for societal needs and gives us an excellent chance to make an 'IMPACT' and change the world! I am excited to lead the wonderful committee and to continue working towards our objectives in creating a supportive network for all women in the department and engaging in extensive outreach to inspire more students to seek careers in engineering."
Vice-President: Carla Fuenteslopez
Carla is a DPhil candidate in Engineering Science with the Tissue Engineering and the Mechanobiology groups, specialising in microvascular traumatic injuries. Carla also collaborates as an Expert Partner with BIOMATDB, an EU-funded project for the development of an Advanced Database and Marketplace for Biomaterials using expert-validated text and data mining tools. She was also a part of the OxVent team, who designed and developed a rapidly deployable and scalable low-cost mechanical ventilator for COVID-19 patients, and OxVent Ltd, the social enterprise that carried on with this work.
Secretary and Communications Officer: Maike Lenz
Maike is a DPhil student in the Dynamic Optics and Photonics Group in the Engineering Science Department. Her research focuses on using multimode fibres as minimally invasive endoscopic probes for neuro microscopy. She graduated from Imperial College London with a MSci in Physics after completing her master’s project on the computational and experimental optimisation of ultrafast laser pulses with a focus on self-phase modulation in hollow-core fibres.
Communications Officer: Nathalie Nick
Nathalie is pursuing a DPhil in Engineering Science in the field of Aerospace Engineering within the University's Hypersonics Group, where she specifically utilizes the T6 Stalker Tunnel – Europe's highest-speed wind tunnel. Her experimental work explores the re-entry of space capsules into atmospheres of various planets. Prior to joining the University of Oxford, Nathalie graduated from ETH Zurich in Switzerland with a MSc and BSc in Mechanical Engineering. She acquired professional experiences at Airbus Defence & Space in Germany, Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, the French Space Agency CNES on Europe’s Space Port in French Guiana, and the University of Tokyo in Japan collaborating with JAXA.
Treasurer: Prasidhee Hathi
Prasidhee is a second year undergraduate at Somerville College. She says, "I am looking to specialise in Electronic and Information Engineering. I am also on OxWEST (Women in Engineering, Science and Technology) committee as their publicity coordinator so I make the content and help run the social medias. I will be the Treasurer for Women in Engineering Oxford, where I'll be taking care of the finances making sure we can run many amazing events this year! I look forward to meeting more likeminded women in engineering :)"
Administrator: Julia Ramirez Gonzalez
Julia is the Project Manager of the National Nuclear User Facility based at the Department of Materials of the University of Oxford. She is a Mechanical Engineer by background from ITESO University (Mexico), with a MSc in Materials Science and PhD in Solid State Chemistry, from the University of Sheffield. After her studies she worked as a Developer Engineer for the Knowledge Transfer Partnership between the University of Sheffield and AXV Ltd and as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Sheffield and the University of Oxford. Along her career she has been involved in the field of materials engineering for energy applications (such as dye-sensitized solar cells, electroceramics, multi-layer ceramics capacitors and Li-ion batteries).
She is also committed to creating a welcoming and supportive environment. Therefore, she has been involved with several communities which align with these values, such as the EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) working group of the Faraday Institution, Treasurer of the Materials Postdoc Association and as a Facilitator of one of the ongoing projects of Science Together.
Outreach Officer: Olivia Zheng
"My name is Olivia Zheng, currently studying at Wadham College, and I am going to serve as the outreach officer this year. As a first-year undergraduate student, I am still on the way to exploring my major. More about myself, apart from my interest in engineering, I enjoy photography, editing all the things I filmed, and travelling as well. It is truly a great opportunity to meet more wonderful female engineers via Women in Engineering! I hope that we can make WiE a better platform for women engineers to support and inspire each other, and also introduce engineering to more people in the future."
Secretary and Events Officer: Martina Lomele
Martina Lomele is pursuing a DPhil in Fluid Dynamics applied to Renewable Energy Systems, specifically examining the Fluid-Structure Interaction of Offshore Wind and Tidal Turbine Blades. She says, "I'm also part of the Wind & Marine Energy Systems and Structures (WAMESS) CDT. I graduated from the Polytechnic University of Turin with a BSc in Aerospace Engineering and from KTH Royal Institute of Technology & University of Liège with a MSc in Turbomachinery and Aeromechanics. Additionally, I worked as an R&D Design Engineer at Baker Hughes before starting my doctoral project. I've been in the Women in Engineering committee since January 2023 and I'm now covering the role of Secretary & Event Manager."
Sponsor Liaison: Grace Callaghan
Grace is a DPhil candidate in Wind and Marine Energy Systems and Structures studying the effects of atmospheric stability on wind farm energy production. Her background is in mathematics and physics from Durham university, and she is currently a member of Pembroke college at Oxford. Grace is passionate about outreach; especially encouraging women and disadvantaged groups to consider studying STEM.
Sponsor Liaison: Ouissal Moumou
Ouissal is an MSc student in Mathematics and Foundations of Computer Science at the University of Oxford (Mansfield College). Before joining Oxford, she studied computer science and mathematics at Al Akhawayn University in Morocco.
Other Officers
Outreach Officer-2: Mahirah Fairuz Rahman
IT officer: Elif Ozdemir