Women in Sustainable Aviation showcased at WISE Conference 2026

Dr Ashley van Bruygom (Loughborough University) and Dr Alicia Torres Gomez (University of Oxford) presented the Women in Sustainable Aviation initiative at the WISE Conference 2026 in London, where their poster was selected for a special viewing and discussion with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.

Developed as part of the EPSRC Programme Grant, Making Hydrogen Work in Zero Carbon Jet Engines, Women in Sustainable Aviation aims to bring together women working across sustainable aviation and highlight opportunities to contribute to emerging research in the field.

The WISE Conference, held at IET London: Savoy Place on 28 September, brought together people from across science, technology, engineering and mathematics to discuss gender equity in STEM. For Ashley and Alicia, it was also an opportunity to share their work on hydrogen and cryogenic fuels within the Programme Grant and to introduce plans for the Women in Sustainable Aviation event at Somerville College, University of Oxford, on 4 December 2026.

Their poster was among those selected to be viewed and discussed with The Princess Royal, giving them the opportunity to talk about the initiative, the underrepresentation of women in aviation and engineering, and the importance of supporting women who want to develop careers in areas at the forefront of sustainable aviation research.

Dr van Bruygom said:

“It was a real privilege to present our plans at WISE and to have the opportunity to discuss the poster with The Princess Royal. Sustainable aviation is a huge engineering challenge, and we want to make sure that women working across the field are part of that conversation.”

The December event at Somerville College will bring together researchers from academia and industry at different career stages, with keynote speakers, opportunities to share research and an elevator-pitch competition for early-career researchers.

Dr Torres Gomez said:

We want to create a mini-conference event to showcase the research of female engineers in the hydrogen aviation sector, to learn more about each other’s work and share experiences. We are inviting researchers for academia and industry across the different career stages, from PhD students to senior researchers. The event will feature keynote speeches from some of the sector’s key players and role models”

Find out more about Women in Sustainable Aviation and the event on 4 December.