Nicolette’s pride at being named in list of top women engineers
A list of the top 50 women in engineering has been released today to mark International Women in Engineering Day and includes National Highways' own Dr Nicolette Formosa.
National Highways’ Dr Nicolette Formosa has told of her pride today at being named in a list of the top 50 women in engineering and hopes her success will encourage more young girls to consider a career in the profession.
Just three years ago, Nicolette was completing her PhD but today she is a senior research engineer in technology at National Highways and being recognised and celebrated by leading lights in her field.
The announcement today (23 June) that she had been named in the Top 50 Women in Engineering in Safety and Security came as the nation marks International Women in Engineering Day.
Nicolette, who describes engineering as a passion and not just a profession, said:
“It is a real honour to be recognised by the Women’s Engineering Society, it meant such a lot to me. The list recognises women in safety and all of my studies have focused on safety and here I am now working for a company which values safety as its prime imperative.”
The 31-year-old, who lives in Birmingham but grew up in Malta, obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Control Engineering before going to Loughborough University to pursue her doctoral research. This focused on developing a traffic conflict prediction algorithm – using data from a range of sensors such as radar and cameras to anticipate and prevent collisions.
This led to her taking part in the £1.2 million CAVIAR (Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Infrastructure Appraisal) project run in collaboration with Innovate UK and National Highways.
When Nicolette heard about the role at National Highways she jumped at the chance and started work with the business in September 20220.
Her main responsibility is to drive innovation in emerging technologies to help create a sustainable and safe road network for the future. She leads a team of over 20 PhD students researching and developing innovative solutions to the challenges faced by the industry.
Talking of how she became an engineer, Nicolette says:
“I always loved maths and solving problems, I’m very competitive and like a challenge so engineering gave me that.
“I would advise any girls thinking of engineering to just go and do it. I do a lot of STEM activities in schools to really encourage girls to get into engineering which is still heavily male dominated. It can be intimidating but I hope seeing women like me doing and loving the job will empower others to take it up as a career.
“I strongly believe in the power of diversity and inclusivity in the field of engineering and am committed to breaking down these barriers for the next generation.”
Nicolette was nominated by Principal Research Engineer at National Highways, Dr Chrysoula Litina, who said:
“It is important to recognise, celebrate and grow talent and this was a perfect opportunity to showcase one of the incredible women we have working at National Highways and in my team.
“This recognition from Women in Engineering is a great success for Nicolette, for National Highways but also for all the women carrying out some amazing work in the field of engineering.”
The Women’s Engineering Society said that the breadth and talent of the nominations this year was extremely high and testament to the difference that female engineers are making in keeping us all safe and secure.
Notes to Editors
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