Sarah Victoria Hainsworth (born 5 October 1967 in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

) is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

. Previously she was Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...

, Professor of

Materials Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geologic ...

and

Forensic Engineering Forensic engineering has been defined as ''"the investigation of failures - ranging from serviceability to catastrophic - which may lead to legal activity, including both civil and criminal".'' It includes the investigation of materials, product ...

, and Head of the Department of Engineering, at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

Education

Hainsworth studied at

Richmond School Richmond School & Sixth Form College, often referred to simply as Richmond School, is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school located in North Yorkshire, England. It was created by the merger of three schools, the oldest of which ...

. She was later educated at the University of Newcastle where she was awarded

BEng A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

and PhD degrees.

Career

Hainsworth came to public attention for her analysis of the wounds found on the skeleton of

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

. This related the tool marks to possible weapons. Her work has also included engineering a safe drinking glass by examining how the design and manufacture of glasses influences the way in which they fracture. She has also done research on automotive materials, is Director of th
Advanced Microscopy Centre
and heads th
Materials Technology Integration Centre
(MaTIC). In 2016 she succeeded Professor

Helen Atkinson Dame Helen Valerie Atkinson (born 29 April 1960) is Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University's School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing. She was previously Head of the University of Leicester's Department of Engineering and later Le ...

as Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Leicester. She has acted as an expert witness and actively encourages young women to take up engineering as a career. From 2017, Hainsworth worked at Aston University as their Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Hainsworth joined the

as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) in December 2021.

Awards and honours

Hainsworth was awarded the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

Tribology Bronze Medal in 1995, the Rosenhain Medal of the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining in 2008, and was nominated as one of the

Women's Engineering Society The Women's Engineering Society is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, pred ...

's Outstanding Technical Women in 2009. In 2015, she received the

American Academy of Forensic Sciences The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) is a society for forensic science professionals, and was founded in 1948. The society is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The AAFS is a multi-disciplinary professional organization that p ...

Engineering Sciences Section Andrew H. Payne Jr. Special Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to forensic engineering sciences. In 2016 she was elected to the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

. She was awarded an OBE in the

2019 New Year Honours The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to engineering and to forensic science.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hainsworth, Sarah 1967 births Living people People from Leeds Alumni of Newcastle University Academics of Aston University Academics of the University of Bath British women engineers Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Female Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Officers of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century women engineers Engineers from Yorkshire