Dame Sue Ion, DBE, Engineering & Technology, Debrett's 500 2016, People of Influence

Dame Sue Ion, DBE

Expert Adviser on Nuclear Power

In 2014, the UK’s leading nuclear engineer Sue Ion became the first woman to win the Royal Academy of Engineering’s President’s Medal, its most prestigious award. In the same year she was appointed chair of the government’s Nuclear Innovation Research Advisory Board, set up to research and advise on alternative energy sources. She has also sat on the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology. As a media spokesperson, Ion is valued for her ability to translate technical issues into plain language, and she has done much to promote engineering as a career, particularly for women. She was head girl at her school, Penwortham Girls’ Grammar School in Lancashire, and studied at Imperial. She began her career at British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, where she went on to be chief technology director until 2006.