Abbie Hutty
I hope that anyone following a similar journey in my field will find that the path has been smoothed by people like me who have fixed the issues we’ve found along the way. Hopefully it won’t be many more years before being a ‘female engineer’ is so normal that it is no longer noteworthy – that’s when we’ll know we have succeeded!
Course
Mechanical Engineering MEngGraduation year
2010My career and achievements
Abbie is Chief Engineer at ispace Europe SA, where she leads the development of Lunar Rover missions.
Prior to this role, she spent 12 years at Airbus space in the UK, working primarily on Mars Rover missions; first as Lead Structures Engineer and then as Systems Engineer and Delivery Manager on ExoMars – Europe’s first Rover mission to Mars, and then as a Principle Systems Engineer and Subsystem Manager on the NASA-ESA collaboration for the Mars Sample Return mission, the Sample Fetch Rover.
Abbie is a chartered engineer, holding a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Surrey. She was elected a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at only 29 years old; then the youngest individual in the Institution’s history to achieve this status.
Alongside her day job, Abbie promotes engineering careers and the study of STEM subjects to the next generation. She appears in print, radio, televisual, and speaking roles in her capacity as an Engineer, including speaking at a UN conference, a TEDx talk, documentaries for BBC and the Discovery Channel, appearing in the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, and on BBC Stargazing live with Brian Cox and Dara Ó Briain.
Abbie has received accolades including IMechE Young Member of the Year, IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year, Royal Academy of Engineering Rising Star, and winner of the Science category in the “Women of the Future Awards”.
In 2019 Abbie was named as one of the BA100; a list of 100 “makers of Modern Britain” compiled by British Airways in their centenary year who they consider representing the best values of modern Britain.
Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day - Meet Abbie
