Arup’s Dr. Barbara Lane FREng has been named a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng).

In her role as Global Fire Engineering Leader at Arup, Dr. Lane helped bring fire safety engineering from a niche specialist discipline into a well-accepted mainstream profession by immersing it in the field of building design and construction.

The Royal Academy of Engineering proudly recognised Dr. Lane’s achievements at the event held in London, alongside colleague Dr. Alan Belfield, Arup UKMEA’s Region Chair whose contribution to mechanical engineering was awarded, particularly in the practice of analysis-led design.

Alan plays a significant role in promoting the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace amongst the 5,000 employees in the UKMEA Region at ARUP and for many years has been the Diversity Champion for Arup helping the company be recognised as a Top 50 Employer for Women by The Times for six consecutive years.

Lifelong careers helping shape a safer world

Barbara has driven the development of methodologies that are now regarded as industry common practice, and her work has informed the construction of some of the world’s most iconic buildings, including The Shard in London and Beijing’s CCTV building.

As a visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh, Barbara has contributed to the development of what is now the largest fire safety engineering department in the world and her commitment to improving competency across the profession has ensured that fire engineering is a well-accepted and recognised profession.

Developing the engineering profession

“Having had the privilege of exceptional teaching at Trinity College Dublin and The University of Edinburgh, I had the strong foundation required to begin a career at Arup. Fire engineering was a nascent discipline then, but through partnering with academia on fundamental research, and creating industry relevant education, I have had the pleasure of being part of the development of the profession that we recognise today. Developing our scientific understanding of all aspects of fire, including people’s reaction to it, and having the opportunity to directly apply this to the design, construction and operation of real-world projects has been a unique experience. I am honoured to become a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and am very grateful to everyone I have worked with to help shape a safer world.”

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