In 1981 I went to the USA to study initiatives to encourage women and girls into engineering. I was a lecturer in engineering mathematics at Loughborough University and Vice-President of the Women's Engineering Society (WES) in the UK. I had initiated a student WES group to support the small number of young women engineering students scattered across the different engineering departments. I obtained funding to establish a schools liaison project to take these undergraduates into schools to talk to girls about careers in applied science and engineering, and the subject choices at school they needed to consider.

I visited schools, universities, government departments and industry in the USA. I even saw the first space shuttle launch at NASA in Florida. Subsequently, I produced a case study brochure of the women engineers at Loughborough and this was reprinted and sent to schools throughout the UK. In 2019 the student group produced a new digital version of current students.

I subsequently started my own business and became active in the Women into Science and Engineering (WISE) Campaign in 1984. Later I became the Founding Director of the nationally recognised Athena Project.

I am now retired and a governor of Royal Papworth Hospital.