Champion of change: Interview with IMechE chief executive Dr Alice Bunn

From advocating for STEM whilst working at London’s Science Museum, to being awarded an OBE for services to the space sector last year, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ CEO Dr Alice Bunn has had a fascinating career journey underpinned by an evident passion for the way that engineering impacts our daily lives. Describing herself as ‘engineering minded’ for all of her life, Bunn said that it was an easy choice to study engineering at University, having naturally gravitated towards the STEM subjects from a young age. Whilst she loved the subject, she added that studying for her PhD, she found that the research path can be ‘quite lonely’.
“That’s not true for all research areas, but very often I think when you’re dealing with the very pure science you tend to be spending a lot of time on your own – for me, that didn’t really suit me,” she told The Engineer.