My research is dedicated to solving one the 14 world engineering grand challenges of the 21^stcentury; engineering the tools for scientific discovery. Her expertise in radio frequency engineering and microwave communications is applicable to broad range of scientific and industrial sectors. To date her research has focused on delivering class-leading ultra-low noise receivers for Space and Aerospace applications. She is involved in the $1B astronomical instrument, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), is the UK lead for amplifiers for the $1B Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope and has worked with NASA and ESA on the development of instrumentation for researchers exploring the Big Bang. My most recent work on broadband amplifier design at 116GHz is current state-of-the-art and pushing the very limits of semiconductor technology. 

I was awarded a Professorship at the age of 38 and appointed Member of the Order of the British Empirein the 2016 Queen’s honours list for services to engineering through public engagement. In 2016 I received the Royal Academy of Engineering Rooke Medal for services to engineering and in 2017 received the Harold Hartley Medalfor outstanding contribution to the field of Measurement and Control. In 2018 I was awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Medal for excellence in communicating science to the public.

I have worked with agriculturists on the development of instrumentation to measure water usage and with a number of multi-national companies such as Rolls Royce where she worked on industrial gas turbine engines.

My passion for raising public awareness of the positive impact engineering and science has on all aspects of our everyday lives, as well as highlighting to young people the immense depth and breadth of opportunities a career in science and engineering can offer, has led to numerous current high-profile Ambassadorial roles.  Following on from the success of my Royal Institution Christmas Lectures and wishing to develop a citizen science project during the 2016 European City of Science, I co-founded and developed the “Manchester Robot Orchestra” with huge success in many countries around the world and generated over 1m hits on social media. Her STEM ‘emoji’ recognizes my dedication to science and engineering stating her most notable fun achievement as ‘turning a sky scraper into a giant game of Tetris’. I have delivered TED and TEDx talks and her hometown of Newcastle recognised her as a ‘Great North Contemporary Great’ in the 2015 Great North Culture Exhibition. 

• Microwave and Communication Systems