Jenni stands by to blast off into space
ADEGREE in engineering could help your career reach giddy heights — as an astronaut.
engineer Dr Jenni Sidey, a Cambridge University lecturer, is through to the next stage of a contest to find two new astronauts for the Canadian Space Agency.
The 28-year-old, who specialises in internal combustion engines at the university’s Department of engineering, made it onto a shortlist of just 17 out of the 3,772 people who applied.
She will discover if she has made the final two this summer.
Dr Sidey says: ‘The astronaut job is like no other. It allows you to explore the unknown, while encouraging others to take interest in science on a wide platform.
‘The Space Agency wants to know how candidates perform in stressful situations and they certainly haven’t held back during our assessments. We’ve been pushed to our limits in team and individual challenges, involving everything from underwater helicopter escapes to fighting large fires.’
She adds: ‘It’s very exciting. As a kid, I remember looking up to Canada’s first female astronaut, Roberta Bondar. To be so close to a career I was interested in as a child is a wonderful feeling.’
Dr Sidey was crowned winner of the Institution of engineering and
Technology ( IET)’ s Young Woman engineer of the Year awards in December.
The awards aim to help change the perception that engineering is a career only for men and banish outdated engineering stereotypes.
Dr Sidey says: ‘It’s important to me that we work hard to encourage everyone with an interest in science into engineering programmes. We have a substantial shortage of engineers in the UK, and women are particularly under-represented.
‘If we can encourage women to consider engineering, we can make up our numbers in the profession and ensure our working environments are supportive of everyone.
‘We need to change the reputation of engineering. It’s not all hard hats and engines. In fact, it’s an incredibly creative profession.
‘It involves applying science for the betterment of society by solving problems in unique ways. If we can spread that message, we can make engineering more appealing.’
She is leading research into the development of low- emission combustion devices for use in the transportation and energy sectors.
FOR more information about the IET awards, visit conferences.theiet.org/ywe