Engineer, author and TV presenter Dr Shini Somara is to receive one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s top awards next month for her exceptional efforts in promoting engineering to the public. Shini will receive the Rooke Award – named after the former industrial titan Sir Denis Rooke – at the Academy Awards dinner in London on 9 July.
Shini was recently announced as the presenter of Masters of Reinvention, a six-part series for the factual channel Yesterday on UKTV Play, to be produced by Air TV. In the new series, she will turn to back copies of Practical Mechanics magazine – once the bible of British inventors – and challenge a dream design team to update its vintage blueprints for the 21st century.
Shini’s latest book Engineers Making a Difference, published last year and distributed to 16,000 secondary schools across the UK, celebrates the diversity of the engineering profession. She produces and hosts multiple podcasts and other digital media content aimed at promoting underrepresented groups and women in STEM.
With a career spanning over two decades, Shini has significantly influenced the engineering landscape, particularly in inspiring young people and marginalized groups to pursue STEM careers. Her popular YouTube series, Crash Course Engineering and Crash Course Physics, have collectively garnered nearly 60 million views, making complex engineering concepts accessible and engaging to a global audience. These series have been incorporated into educational syllabi, amplifying their impact.
A graduate of Brunel University London, Shini holds an engineering doctorate in computational fluid dynamics and a first-class honours degree in mechanical engineering.
Shini currently serves as Pro Chancellor of Brunel University. Her tireless efforts have fostered a more varied and inclusive future for the engineering sector, while also increasing public understanding of the field. She aims to strengthen relationships between academia and industry, promoting innovative, conscious, and sustainable engineering solutions through a spirit of inclusion.
Nominating Shini for the Rooke Award, Dawn Bonfield MBE FREng, Professor of Practice in Engineering for Sustainable Development at King’s College London, says:
“Dr Shini Somara has worked consistently over 20 years to change the face of engineering. As a female engineer from an ethnic minority she has created multiple engagement mechanisms across multiple platforms to inspire our next generation of engineers, and the impact of her work has been significant and far-reaching.”
Dr Shini Somara says:
“Receiving the The Rooke Award is a huge honour and terrific recognition of my twenty-year engineering journey, which began with improving thermal building simulation and later evolved to improving the public perception of our sector as a whole. Sustainability drives me, both environmental and social. My work is partially guided by a deep academic interest but mostly steered by my own personal experiences in industry. Engineers are society’s unsung superheroes, and it is my hope that in communicating the good in what we do, we may inspire and welcome engineers of diverse and inclusive talent, to tackle the broad range of inevitable challenges that lay ahead.”
Notes for editors
- The Rooke Award for the public promotion of engineering is awarded to an individual, small team or organisation who have contributed to the Academy's aims and work through their initiative in promoting engineering to the public. The award is named in honour of the late Sir Denis Rooke OM CBE FRS FREng, a former President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and one of the UK's most distinguished engineers, who actively supported public outreach in engineering. As Chairman of British Gas, his legacy was to build the UK's gas distribution network and unite the gas industry, making domestic gas a cheap and convenient fuel source for millions of people. He later became Chancellor of Loughborough University and served on many national advisory committees on both energy policy and education.
- Annual Awards Dinner 2024. This year’s Royal Academy of Engineering Awards Dinner takes place in London on Tuesday 9 July. Along with the announcement of the winner of this year’s MacRobert Award, the event will also celebrate the winners of other awards and prizes including the Major Project Award, The Princess Royal Silver Medals, the President’s Medal and the RAEng Engineers Trust Young Engineer of the Year.
- The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.
In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.
Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.
For more information please contact: Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering; Tel. 020 7766 0636; email: [email protected]