Military officer awarded Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award

The Institution of Engineering and Technology honoured Aircraft Engineering Officer, Captain Charlotte Joyce with the award for Young Woman Engineer of the Year in a glittering ceremony

The Institution of Engineering and Technology crowned Captain Charlotte Joyce as it's 2011 Young Woman Engineer of the Year.

The Aircraft Engineering Officer of the 4 Regiment Army Air Corps supplies airworthy battle winning helicopters on worldwide operations, leading soldiers in dangerous and challenging environments from Afghanistan to Libya.

With women in science, engineering and technology becoming such a pertinent issue in the UK today, the The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) honours the very best female engineers under the age of 30 in a bid to inspire other women to enter into the profession.

As part of her role as Young Woman Engineer of the Year, Joyce will be touring schools and working with young people of all ages to encourage them to consider engineering as a career path.

The award was presented to Joyce by TV presenter Myleene Klass at a glittering awards ceremony held at IET London Savoy Place.

"It's a real honour and privilege to win this award," says Joyce. "This is a great opportunity to inspire a range of young people to take up the exciting career that engineering is and I hope to use this opportunity, as an ambassador for the IET, to demonstrate the diversity of engineering careers available."

The Women's Engineering Society Prize was awarded to Kelly-Ann Walker, combustion engineer at E.ON New Build & Technology, while Laurie-Ann Benner, reliability engineer at PEME Process Control, picked up the Mary George Memorial Prize for an Outstanding Female Engineering Apprentice.

The IET deputy president, professor Andy Hopper says: 'The recognition of these women who have entered the industry through a variety of routes and secured a strong future for themselves will hopefully inspire other young women to consider engineering as a career.'

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