For United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11) and in line with Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality, Dr Aneeqa Khan, a Harwell Research Fellow in Nuclear Fusion at the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE) and Claire Brown, PhD Researcher at Tyndall Manchester, discussed their STEM journey, their latest research and how they are encouraging the next generation of female scientists.

“I love anything related to potential materials or engineering for future fusion reactors and as a Research Fellow, I work with the national lab facilities at Harwell and the UK Atomic Energy Agency” says Dr Khan.

“Nuclear fusion is an exciting field that has a wide range of opportunities across a broad range of sectors; from engineering and physics to policy, communications and social value, and that is only set to grow over the next few years,” she added.

Returning to academia after spending more than a decade in the public and private sector, Claire Brown, PhD, is using her expertise to prevent human health issues linked to environmental changes.

Claire Brown, explains: “My research is in the early stages of looking at how housing could be part of the solution – by reducing the energy demand and therefore reducing the associated carbon emissions that are attributed to residential properties in the UK.”

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