Space engineer named IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year

They are Abbie Hutty (centre) – Young Woman Engineer of the Year; Sara Underwood (left) – Mary George Prize for Apprentices, and Yasmin Ali – Women's Engineering Society (WES) Prize. Twenty-six year-old Abbie is a spacecraft structures engineer from Hertfordshire employed by Astrium. She is currently working on the ExoMars mission, Europe's first Rover Mission to Mars. Abbie, who holds a Master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Surrey, co-ordinates a team of specialists aiming to achieve a rover structure that will survive the rigours of a rocket launch before landing on the surface of the Red Planet. She said: "Engineering is a challenging, but rewarding, industry to work in and it's great to receive recognition from such a long-running and respected institution as the IET. Hopefully this award will highlight the exciting reality of a career in engineering and encourage further investment in the talents of female engineers for years to come." Twenty-one year-old Sara Underwood works in Rolls-Royce's manufacturing and engineering departments. Her apprenticeship has given her the opportunity to develop her knowledge academically through her HNC in manufacturing engineering while also allowing her to put her learning into practice. Now in its 37th year, the Mary George Prize for Apprentices honours the best young female engineers working in the UK and seeks to highlight the achievements of women in engineering and encourage others to enter the profession. Twenty-five year-old Yasmin Ali studied chemical engineering at Nottingham University. After graduating, she completed the two-year E.ON engineering and leadership graduate scheme where she worked in coal and gas-fired power stations in the UK as well as on business expansion in Istanbul, Turkey. In March 2012, Yasmin joined E.ON Exploration and Production as an operations engineer, taking part in and leading a variety of projects for oil and gas assets in the UK North Sea.