What is your current role?

Structural Vulnerability Specialist and volunteer Search and Rescue Engineer.

What inspired you?

It was a series of small but significant steps that me took to become a Structural Vulnerability Specialist and volunteer Search and Rescue Engineer. I got a master’s degree in Engineering Science, then volunteered for a year in rural South Africa in a government engineering department. That year was an eye-opener for me, and I saw how crucial engineering was to provide the roads and buildings that make living, working, and travelling possible.

Taking part in an engineering investigation after the Japan tsunami inspired me to research how to help buildings survive tsunamis, and I now model the impact on buildings and infrastructure of natural disasters and other catastrophes such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods.

Passion to help using engineering

My driving passion is to use my engineering skills to help make a difference. I spend my free time training as a volunteer search and rescue engineer and have been deployed by urban search and rescue charity SARAID to provide support in the aftermath of disasters like the earthquake in Nepal, and Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean.