Roma the engineer wins top academy Award

Engineer and broadcaster Roma Agrawal has won one of the Royal Academy of Engineering's most prestigious awards in recognition of her tireless efforts to promote careers in the profession.

The Rooke Award for public promotion of engineering, named after industrialist and past Academy President Sir Denis Rooke, honours people who have brought engineering to life for the public.

Previous winners include TV engineering experts Professor Danielle George and Professor Mark Miodownik FREng.

Agrawal, a 33 year-old chartered structural engineer, combines broadcasting and promotional work with her full-time role as an associate director at AECOM. Having studied physics at the University of Oxford, she decided to do an MSc in structural engineering at Imperial College London, which set her on course for a career in construction.

Her experience includes the design of what she calls 'the cool steel' at the top of the Shard, and she had the unique distinction of becoming the first engineer to act as a style ambassador for retail giant Marks & Spencer.