For this year’s International Women’s Day (taking place as always on the 8th March), we would like to give a special nod to all the women who have devoted their time and energy to AgriFoRwArdS.

Our students are the heart of the CDT. Without their incredible work, dedication, and enthusiasm, the CDT would not be the fantastic success it is today. Our female students are of particular importance today, and we want to celebrate them and the choice they have made to work within a STEM subject (which can often be male dominated). These fabulous women have come together from the four corners of the world, to work together on the challenge of Agri-Food technology towards a better world. We really feel they are such a wonderful inspiration to the female scientists and industry leaders of the future, find out why below!

	Afsaneh Karami is currently studying her MSc but will be moving to study her PhD at the University of East Anglia in October 2023. She achieved her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biosystems engineering before working as a researcher in the R&D division of the Packman Company. She has eight years of experience as a mechanical and agricultural engineer in different companies and has now joined the CDT to develop her knowledge in precision farming and agri-robotics.
	Amie Owen is currently studying her PhD at the University of Lincoln. Amie graduated from the University of Leeds and worked as an electrical engineer in the automotive industry for five years. She joined the CDT in October 2020 and is now working with Prof Elizabeth Sklar (celebrated in our Academic post yesterday) to develop intelligent automotive hygiene solutions. Amie has travelled across Europe presenting her research, and was keynote speaker at the SOFHT (Society of Food Hygiene & Technology) Innovation Day in March 2022. Read more about Amie and her thoughts on women in STEM in this previous International Women’s Day post.
	Bethan Moncur is completing the first year of her PhD research at the University of Cambridge. Bethan, who initially studied Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Cambridge, has already published a paper as part of the International Computer Music Conference in 2022. She chose to join the CDT to equip herself with the skills needed to address the challenges facing the food chain, such as population growth and climate change, and she would like to have a career that improves the social and environmental impacts associated with food production. Read more about Bethan and her thoughts on women in STEM in this previous International Women’s Day post.
	Haihui Yan is studying her PhD at the University of Cambridge and started with the CDT in October 2020. Haihui secured a sought after collaboration with Dyson Farming and is working with them on her project related to soft grippers for strawberries. Haihui has featured in a promotional video for the Dyson Foundation, alongside her colleague and co-students Jack, where she showcased her incredible work. Read about Haihui and her thoughts on women in STEM in this previous International Women’s Day post.
	Karoline Heiwolt is currently in the final phase of studying her PhD at the University of Lincoln. Karoline is from Germany, and joined the CDT in September 2019. She has a background in neuroscience and robotics and is especially interested in the research areas of 3D perception, sensor fusion, and mobile autonomy. Karoline chose to join the CDT because the development of robots for agricultural applications offers many interesting real-world challenges that could have a great positive impact on a sustainable global food chain. Read about Karoline and her thoughts on women in STEM in this previous International Women’s Day post.
	Prabuddhi Wariyapperuma is currently studying her MSc but will be moving to study her PhD at the University of Lincoln in October 2023. Before the CDT Prabuddhi was working as a research assistant at the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT). She has chosen to join the CDT and move across the world to pursue further research within her research areas (Fleet Management, Robot Vision, Robotic Mapping, Robot Task Planning, Robot Navigation, Swarm Robotics, Agri-Robotics) and to progress in her academic career.
	Rachel Trimble is working towards her PhD at the University of Cambridge. Before joining the CDT she was an electronics engineer working for Arm for over a decade. She led some big teams building Neural network Processing Units and has come back to academia to explore how ML technology can be applied in agriculture. Rachel is working with the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and the Government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) towards optimising control of invading plant disease epidemics to protect the UK’s ecosystem.
	Roopika Ravikanna is currently in the final phase of her PhD study at the University of Lincoln. Roopika’s research is focused on human-robot interactions. She has been involved in many exciting outreach opportunities, including representing the CDT at International Women in Engineering Day (2021): with her talk titled ‘The perks in studying robotics – Watch here (talk starts at 58.00 minutes)’, and taking part in the UKRAS Robot Talk podcast episode 19. Read about Roopika and her thoughts on women in STEM in this previous International Women’s Day post.
	Yi Zhang is currently studying her MSc but will be moving to study her PhD at the University of Cambridge in October 2023. She gained her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Osaka University. And her research experience started as an exchange student at UC Berkeley, where she was involved in research of the argon power cycle at the Combustion Modelling Lab. She chose the AgriFoRwArdS CDT not only because the challenging and essential topics in robotics are addressed but also because of the positive environmental impact it could create through the application to agriculture.

Stay tuned for more International Women’s Day info tomorrow, where we will celebrate our other fantastic contributors!