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.
Current Committee
Emma Kate Price - President
Emma Kate Price is a DPhil student at the Oxford Thermofluids Institue, funded by the UK Hypersonics Doctoral Training Network. Her work focuses on the impacts of structurally deformed air intakes on scramjet combustion efficiency, and she is advised by Prof. Matthew McGilvray and Dr. Luke Doherty.
Emma Kate graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, with a secondary in Astrophysics. Her thesis, entitled ‘Flushed Away: Optimizing Hydroxylamine Synthesis through Mass Transport Manipulation,’ applied fluid dynamics to chemical engineering. While in undergrad, she served on the board of several engineering societies, directed a volunteer organization, participated in university athletics, and worked as a Course Assistant.
Emma Kate spent summers working in the aerospace industry and volunteering with Kesem, a free camp and support system for children affected by a parent’s cancer. Emma Kate is excited to work with such an inspiring group of women and looks forward to this year as an opportunity to help the Oxford community of women engineers build one another up!
Hanida Tomlinson - Vice-President
Hanida is a DPhil student at the Oxford e-Research Centre researching acceleration of interoperability in health and care data in England using FAIR principles and tools. The research focuses on improving data architecture and data management in healthcare to support reliable, real-time, interoperable longitudinal patient data for effective direct care, while enabling the reuse of data by both humans and machines. This research supports the UK 10-Year Health Plan (2025), which emphasises high-quality interoperable data as a foundation for advances in artificial intelligence and genomic medicine.
As Vice President of Women in Engineering (WIE), Hanida is committed to advocating for women across communities, disciplines, and generations to pursue, lead, and thrive in engineering and technology, while recognising and addressing challenges—such as the glass ceiling—that may affect women’s progression at senior levels. Professionally, she is a Senior Programme Manager at NHS England and holds an MSc in Healthcare Leadership, an MSc in e-Business, and an MBA. Outside work, she is a mother of two boys with an interest in languages and gardening.
Yixuan Leng - Treasurer
Yixuan Leng is a DPhil student in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. She received her BEng in Materials Science and Engineering from Imperial College London. Her research focuses on the development of bioelectronic devices for skin-electrode interface. The aim of her project is to design high precision, low-discomfort electrotactile device for clinical and human-machine interface applications. Yixuan is passionate about innovation and initiatives that support women engineers. She has experience in science outreach, working with local primary and secondary schools, and is committed to promoting science and making it accessible to a wider public.
Agnieszka Pietrzak - Secretary
Agnieszka is a DPhil student in the Department of Engineering Science, where her research focuses on developing reducedorder finite element models to support vibrationmitigating framing, mounting, and packaging strategies for paintings during display and transportation. Her project investigates how interactions between painting components influence vibration response and risk, with the aim of providing practical guidance for heritage and museum applications. The work combines numerical modelling with experimental validation and its applicable to Old Masters paintings.
Prior to commencing her doctoral studies, Agnieszka worked as a Lead Scientist in a specialist Noise and Vibration team within the UK Civil Service. She has over a decade of professional experience in acoustics and vibration and holds an MSc in Technical Acoustics from the Department of Electronics at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. She is a Member of the Institute of Acoustics (IoA) and a national committee member of the British Standards Institution (BSI) Electroacoustics Committee, and has held Early Career Representative roles within IoA specialist committees.
In her role as Secretary for Women in Engineering, she supports the effective coordination of the group and helps facilitate communication within the community. She is happy to contribute to initiatives that strengthen the visibility and representation of women within engineering. (Photo taken in an anechoic chamber)
Jessica Ferreira - Events and outreach
Jessica is a second year Engineering student undergraduate at Wadham College. She currently serves as a student ambassador for both her college and department alongside being part of the Marketing team for the STEM Ball this March in collaboration with other Oxford societies. Her extra curriculars have also included the completion of the School of Climate Change, and she is currently enrolled in the Vice Chancellor's Colloquium this term. As one of our Events and Outreach Officers, she looks forward to organising new weekly events in collaboration with our sponsors to provide opportunities to those who identify as women and are interested in engineering opportunities.
Nora Saleh - Events and outreach
Nora is a second-year Engineering student at the University of Oxford. She is passionate about organising engaging and inclusive events while expanding outreach efforts to ensure opportunities within engineering are accessible to students from all backgrounds. She is particularly committed to improving representation, accessibility, and community-building, and hopes to help create welcoming spaces where women in engineering feel supported, empowered, and able to thrive.
Hannah Kaprielian - Media and Comms
Hannah is a first year Engineering Student. She previously held the title of deputy head of STEM in her last year of sixth form. With this role she helped organise events and deliver presentations to the whole school. Her main goal was to help encourage younger female students to join the world of STEM. With her new role as media and communications officer she aims to widen the knowledge of events to all years of study while continuing the initiatives of this society
