Professor Sarah Sharples FREng 

Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Transport; Professor of Human Factors, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham 

Professor Sarah Sharples is an international expert in the field of human factors and its application to engineering problems in transport, manufacturing and healthcare. She has influenced engineering research and strategic thinking through her many roles in advising government, research councils and catapults. Moreover, she has been a leader in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across academia and engineering and was the first full- time Pro Vice Chancellor for EDI in UK academia. Appointed Department for Transport Chief Scientific Adviser in 2021, Sarah leads on many of the engineering and science challenges in transport including decarbonisation, applications of AI and cross-modal automation and safety. In this role her influence on transport research funding and impact has been significant.