Laura Jones has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering – recognising her outstanding achievements and contributions to UK defence and security
Laura, who joined the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) in 2008 after 13 years in industry, is a national authority on advanced, critical and hazardous materials.
Her work has shaped the UK’s national strategy for critical materials and she continues to influence national and international research collaborations in areas of advanced materials.
Laura said:
It’s incredibly humbling and a great privilege to be recognised alongside such an esteemed group of fellow engineers. I couldn’t do what I do without my team at Dstl who are hands down utterly amazing – and I want to thank them for everything they do. It is a real honour and I feel very lucky and fortunate to be in this position.
Dstl Chief Science and Technology Officer Prof Andy Bell said:
It is fantastic to see expertise from within Dstl being recognised in this way. Laura is highly regarded, not just at Dstl, but nationally and across the world for her work in materials science. Vital skills like Laura’s ensure the UK can achieve strategic advantage, overcome threats to our defence and national security, and keep the country safe. I congratulate her on behalf of everyone at Dstl.
Laura joins 70 other leading figures in the fields of engineering and technology to be elected to the Fellowship this year.
Dr John Lazar CBE FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:
Our new Fellows represent some of the most talented people in the world of engineering and are taken from the ranks of those who are aiming to address some of our most critical problems. We are proud to say that many of our newly elected Fellows have come from underrepresented groups in engineering and related sectors and we hope this helps to tackle some of the issues around a lack of diversity within the profession.
Laura’s early work in industry led to a breakthrough in materials research for the transducers that enable 4D ultrasounds of unborn babies that will be today be familiar to many parents, later translating these approaches to develop new sonar transducers for defence applications.
She also carried out work on hazard detection devices for the visually impaired, anti-counterfeiting technologies for the European Central Bank, and was one of the first to pioneer the use of 3D printing for fuel cells more than 20 years ago. In total she holds 5 patents.
Laura said:
It is amazing to see your work come to fruition. It was incredible to see an image of my own unborn child many years after I had worked on the underpinning technology. I also once met a man using the hazard detection product I had worked on and it was heart-warming to hear him describe how it had changed his life.
Laura has built a reputation as one of the nation’s eminent materials experts. Over a decade she has built from scratch an expert capability and methodology to understand and manage the risks associated with sovereign defence reliance on critical materials – most recently leading MOD’s input into the UK Strategy for Critical Materials and the National Security Act.
Over the past 2 years she had a leading role in the Dstl team that created the Defence Materials Centre of Excellence (DMEx), including serving as the Centre’s Associate Director during the Initial Operating Capability 7 month phase. DMEx comprises more than 20 leading research organisations hosted by the Henry Royce Institute in Manchester. The collaboration brings together many of the best minds in materials research, development and manufacturing from across the UK.
She was also recognised with a distinguished service award for her work with international allies, including the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Laura said:
What I love about materials is that it combines my passion for engineering, chemistry and physics. That’s why I got involved in materials because it is a truly collaborative discipline both in terms of the science and engineering and in terms of the people. You have to work with scientists, with engineers, international partners, your users. It is just collaborative from start to finish. Materials are vital to everything and are a global battleground where advances are constantly needed. This is why it is so fascinating to work in this area.
Reflecting on her work at Dstl, she added:
The knowledge that you’re making a difference, whether that is in support to operations, shaping policy, or towards future capabilities and challenges is incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. Everyone in Dstl is playing a part in making a difference for our armed forces or the security of the nation and I’m proud to be a small part of that.
As well her new appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Laura is a Dstl Fellow, a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, a Chartered Engineer, and a Chartered Environmentalist. Her election also recognises her 28 years of volunteering in support of the engineering profession, including for the past 15 years as a certified assessor for the Chartered Engineer qualification.