Young female engineer named Apprentice of the Year 28 November 2013

Lydia Feasey is the winner of the IET's (Institution of Engineering and Technology) Apprentice of the Year.

Feasey, who comes from Oxfordshire and is a mechanical technician at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, received her prize at an awards ceremony hosted by Liz Bonnin, TV presenter and bio-chemist, last week (20 November 2014) in London.

She completed her apprenticeship at the Joint European Torus, which is a fusion research project also based at the Culham Centre, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

The Joint European Torus site is largely being used for material testing for a new generation of machines. In 2010—11, a new beryllium, tungsten and inconel wall was installed into the site as a replacement for carbon fibre composite tiles.

The aim was to look at how the materials behaved in the extreme conditions inside the site. Last year, parts of this needed to be removed for further analysis, and Feasey managed the process of moving the delicate parts.

"The parts we were moving were incredibly fragile, so it was important that nothing was moved or disturbed, as this would have affected the project's results," explains Feasey.

"Throughout the process, I have been required to make important decisions, communicate with people at all levels, manage people and projects, as well as monitor processes that I had implemented," she continues.

As IET Apprentice of the Year, Feasey won a £1,000 prize, two year's free membership of the IET and payment of her professional registration fees.

"Lydia should be very proud to have been named IET Apprentice of the Year. The award recognises that she is one of the most exceptional young individuals working in her field," comments Barry Brooks, IET president.

Brian Tinham

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