IChemE members honoured for their contributions and service
21st June 2023
A Chartered Member, Fellow, and Past President of IChemE have been recognised and celebrated in the Order of Australia awards and the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours list.
The Order of Australia recognises Australians who have demonstrated outstanding service or exceptional achievement; the King's Birthday Honours mark the extraordinary contributions and service of people across the UK.
John McGagh
John McGagh, Fellow and Past President of IChemE (2017-18) has been made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Order of Australia awards, for his significant service to the mining sector as a chemical engineer.
John joined IChemE as a student member in 1979 one year before graduating from the University of Bradford with an honours degrees in Chemical Engineering and Management Economics. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology Science and Engineering, Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland and Chair of the Institute of Social Science Research at the University of Queensland. John’s working experience has predominantly been in the mining and minerals processing industries, working with a wide range of executive teams and Boards to successfully deliver safety improvement and business change at scale. John has lived and worked in the UK, Europe and the USA, and relocated to his current home base in Australia in 2007.
John said: “Being awarded the Order of Australia leaves me both honoured and humbled. I am a proud chemical engineer and this has provided me with the opportunity to serve across a diverse range of stimulating and challenging roles. Having the opportunity to Chair the Institution’s 100 year centenary project was a highlight. I do believe that we have a proud past, an exciting present and, given the challenges we all face in truly delivering sustainability, I am convinced that for the community of chemical engineers our best work is yet to come! My fellow chemical engineers - keep pushing and stay safe.”
Professor Eva Sorensen
Professor Eva Sorensen, an IChemE Fellow, received an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for her services to education and chemical engineering. Eva is Professor of Chemical Engineering at University College London, having joined the department in 1996. In 2020 she was appointed Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, becoming the first female to hold this position since the department opened 100 years ago.
Eva is an Editor of IChemE’s Chemical Engineering Research and Design journal, having previously been the Editor-in-Chief (2010-2020). She is a member of IChemE's Education & Accreditation Forum (2012-) and was a member of Engineering Council’s Engineering Accreditation Board (2014-21). She is also a member of the Fluid Separations Special Interest Group Committee (Chair 2003-7) and the Education Special Interest Group Committee. Eva is IChemE’s representative on the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE)’s Working Party on Fluid Separations (Secretary 2002-6, Chair 2006-12) and she was previously a member of the EFCE’s Executive Board (2011-17). She won the IChemE Frank Morton Medal in 2017.
Commenting on her honour, Eva said: "It is a tremendous honour for me to have received an MBE. I became an academic because I enjoy working with the sort of brilliant young people we have at UCL. Over the years, I have taken great satisfaction from seeing thousands of graduates going through our chemical engineering programmes and becoming professional engineers, working in a wide range of sectors. Throughout this time, I have been proud to work with IChemE to promote the discipline, and I hope I have made some contribution to the vital work that chemical engineers are doing in solving some of the pressing global challenges that we are currently facing, particularly on sustainability, climate change and global health.”
Dr Mark McBride-Wright
Dr Mark McBride-Wright, an IChemE Chartered Member, received an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to diversity, equity and inclusivity in engineering. Mark holds a PhD in chemical engineering from Imperial College London, and is a recognised diversity and inclusion leader who speaks about psychological safety in inclusive teams. His career has focused on health and safety, working in oil and gas, defence, construction and the facilities management industries for many private and public sector organisations.
Mark founded EqualEngineers to spearhead rapid cultural change within the engineering and technology industries, using his health and safety expertise to focus on the benefits of inclusion and belonging, challenging the high male suicide rates within engineering, construction and manufacturing. Since 2017 he has delivered training on inclusion to thousands of engineers and, in turn, positively impacted the diversity and inclusion strategies of universities, engineering employers and institutions.
Mark said: “It is an incredible privilege to be recognised in this way for my work in trying to transform the culture of engineering. It does not seem that long ago since I helped run the first ever Diversity and Inclusion survey for IChemE, ten years ago as part of the London & South East Member committee. To now be working full-time as an entrepreneur scaling a business with team members to help service this need is an absolute dream. I genuinely love my work and am so excited for the future!”
Image
Left to right: John McGagh, Eva Sorensen, Mark McBride-Wright
Contact
For more information please contact:
Lucy Cook, Communications Manager, IChemE
t: +44 (0) 1788 534454
e: lcook@icheme.org
Ann Baylis, Communications Executive & PR Lead, IChemE
t: +44 (0) 1788 534477
e: abaylis@icheme.org
What is chemical engineering?
Chemical, biochemical and process engineering is the application of science, mathematics and economics in the process of turning raw materials into everyday, and more specialist, products. Professional chemical engineers design, construct and manage process operations all over the world. Energy, pharmaceuticals, food and drink, synthetic fibres and clean drinking water are just some of the industry sectors and products where chemical engineering plays a central role.
IChemE
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) advances chemical engineering's contribution worldwide for the benefit of society. We facilitate the development of chemical engineering professionals and provide connections to a powerful network of around 30,000 members in more than 100 countries.
We support our members in applying their expertise and experience to make an influential contribution to solving major global challenges, and are the only organisation permitted to award Chartered Chemical Engineer status and Professional Process Safety Engineer registration.