New aircraft carrier taking shape

The UK Ministry of Defence recently announced the 100-day countdown to the official naming ceremony of the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on 4 July 2014.

In the build up to the event, we will be profiling some of the team that have worked on the project, beginning with Thales Engineer Sasha Roberts. Thales is a founding member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance which, along with BAE Systems, Babcock and the MOD, is building and delivering the new ships. 

A physics graduate from Sheffield University, Sasha leads the team responsible for managing noise and vibration on board Queen Elizabeth Class. As a signatures engineer, Sasha also deals with the noise and magnetic signatures of surface ships for Thales programmes. Sasha is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) ambassador for Thales and is the company’s champion for WISE, an independent community interest company whose mission is to inspire women and girls to pursue STEM careers. In November 2013, Sasha presented the WISE Excellence Award which recognises ‘outstanding contributions’ by female engineers in the early stages of their careers and the promotion of STEM activities in schools.

She says: “I was lucky enough to be involved in the judging process and I felt honoured to have read such inspiring applications. I’m incredibly lucky to be in a role where I face different challenges every day and get the opportunity to work both in the office and out in the field. The mission of WISE is to raise awareness of women in engineering and to try and encourage others to follow the same path.”