11 July 2018

This award recognises and celebrates women who have gone beyond expectation through either having returned to work within engineering from an extended career break of at least 18 months, or those who have transferred to engineering from another sector. Amongst the competition of almost 900 nominations, Rachael has been acknowledged as one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering. Rachael has taken two career breaks and returned to successfully lead large multidisciplinary projects and develop a specialty in heritage design.

Rachael has further proven her commitment to promoting engineering as a career for young people through her role of STEM Coordinator at Arup Bristol where she manages an outreach and engagement programme with schools in the local community. Impressively, alongside this role Rachael is currently leading the structural design for the refurbishment of Colston Hall and has previously worked on significant projects such as the refurbishment of Bristol Temple Meads station.

Professor Simon Neild, head of Civil Engineering at the University of Bristol says he is "delighted to see her talents being recognised in these awards. Rachael's skills as an Engineer are matched by her dedication as an ambassador for STEM subjects and her advocacy for flexible modern working arrangements which encourage more women to not only take up engineering, but to excel. We're very proud to have her!"