Women in Engineering Panel Discussion

Kirstie Broadbent

Kirstie Broadbent, CEng MICE, RoGEP, SFHEA, is a dedicated Geotechnical Engineer with experience in both academia and industry. With extensive industry experience in contracting including Skanska UK, & Kier, she is now working with Robert Bird group as a Geotechnical design associate. She has led projects from a small to large including working on Crossrail and HS2. Kirstie is a Chartered Engineer and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Association. Her expertise in geotechnical engineering and commitment to academic excellence make her a valuable asset to both her students and colleagues.

Esther Ilelaboye

Esther Ilelaboye is a Graduate Civil Engineer at the Environment Agency, where she works with the Engineering Innovation team to trial and scale low-carbon solutions in support of the UK’s net-zero goals. A University of Southampton graduate, Esther gained valuable experience through internships at Penoyre & Prasad, Mott MacDonald, BlackRock, and the Environment Agency. As part of her graduate training, she completed a site secondment with Balfour Beatty, developing practical skills in surveying, health and safety, and digital tools like Autodesk Civil 3D and BIM 360. She also appeared on Channel 4’s Hammond’s Crazy Contraptions, where she and her all-female team of civil engineering students built creative chain-reaction machines to showcase engineering in an engaging and accessible way. She is a co-lead for her organisations Generations Network where she passionately advocates for bridging the intergenerational gap in the workplace.

Sun Yan Evans CEng FICE

Sun Yan Evans CEng FICE FCIWEM is a Mott MacDonald Fellow and Flood Risk and Water Quality Director with over 30 years of experience in the water sector. A CIWEM Trustee and Fellow of both the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, she is internationally recognised for her leadership in flood risk and water quality modelling. She has directed high-profile UK and global projects, pioneered dam breach and hazard mapping techniques, and authored key national and international guidelines. Her work has shaped policy for the UK Government and the World Bank. A committed advocate for technical excellence, EDI, and mentoring, she regularly speaks at global industry events and has received multiple accolades, including the Women in Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management award.

Dr Barnali Ghosh CEng FICE

Barnali Ghosh has been nominated by the British Geotechnical Association for the John Mitchell Award, to recognise her major contributions to the practical aspects of geotechnical offshore and earthquake engineering.

She is currently a technical director at Mott MacDonald, where she leads a team of specialist geo seismic engineers - who carry out both regional and site specific geotechnical and seismic hazard assessments for a range of structures in the energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing sectors. During her long career, Dr Ghosh has acted as a seismic designer and reviewer for high-profile projects around the world. Of particular note is her sustainable solutions and performance-based design approaches for developing countries which have wide-ranging social outcomes for communities.

Dr Ghosh is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at Cambridge University for Geo Seismic Engineering. She has also worked part time as an adviser for the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) UK, after being awarded a Fellowship by the Royal Commission of the Exhibition of 1851.

She has been extensively published in international journals, is an invited speaker in many seismic conferences, and has recently contributed to ICE MOGE (Manual of Geotechnical Engineering). She was part of the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) following the Nepal earthquake in 2015 and is part of several committees related to seismic engineering.

Dr Ghosh was the winner of the prestigious 2017 Shamsher Prakash Award for Excellence in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and a winner in the Top 50 Women in Engineering Award in UK (2020). Her pioneering work in propagating sustainable solutions and practical application of embodied carbon principles in rehabilitation of Gumbasa Irrigation Canal was recognised in the Ground Engineering Sustainability award in 2022.

She is also part of the network for inclusion of diversity and women in Mott MacDonald, and a role model and mentor for women engineers within the company. Recently, as panel member for the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) diversity committee (Southeast), she is working with ICE Connect to increase the number of women Fellows within the association.