Magnificent Women: Pioneering Engineers Past and Present

Full description

Who were the pioneers who built local power stations in the 1930s to bring electricity into the home? What role do female engineers have today in the transition to clean energy? How can women secure exciting new jobs in the digital industries? Graeme Gooday and Laura Brown of Northern Powergrid talk to author Henrietta Heald at The Common Room about women and electricity, past and present. Featuring a special performance by the spectactular Howay the Lasses!

Graeme Gooday is Professor of the History of Science and Technology at the University of Leeds. He has published extensively on science and technology in Victorian and Edwardian Britain, especially on the histories of electricity, energy, and women’s participation in technology. In addition to winning prizes for research and education, he led the AHRC-funded Electrifying Women project in 2019-20 to mark the centenary of the Women’s Engineering Society founding in 1919.

Laura Brown is a commercial manager at Northern Powergrid, the body in charge of the electricity network that powers everyday life for more than 8 million people across 3.9 million homes and businesses in the northeast region. She works with generators and users of electricity to enable them to accelerate their delivery of Net Zero.

Henrietta Heald is the author of Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines, about the extraordinary individuals who set up the Women’s Engineering Society a century ago, and Magician of the North, a biography of Lord Armstrong of Cragside. Her many media appearances have included BBC Woman’s Hour, Michael Portillo’s Great Railway Journeys, Inside the Factory, and interviews with BBC Radio Newcastle, Look North and Tyne Tees.

Magnificent Women: Pioneering Engineers, Past and Present is an event in the series Electric Dreams, celebrating the centenary of the Electrical Association for Women.

Arriving early, or fancy sticking around?

Our café bar, 5|Quarter will be serving hot & cold drinks, nibbles and some fantastic offers on wine and cocktails, until late.

Refund Policy

Contact the organiser to request a refund. Eventbrite’s fee is non-refundable.

Additional information

Location: The Common Room, Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 1SE

Our building is fully accessible – the Lecture Theatre has one space available for a wheelchair. If you have any queries about accessibility, please contact events@thecommonroom.org.uk

About The Common Room

The Common Room is a charity and venue based in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Home to the Mining Institute since 1872, The Common Room aims to use its unique heritage to inspire the next generation of innovators and engineers, with an ongoing free science and heritage programme for the public, schools, youth groups, communities and more.

Complete with its own café bar, 5|Quarter, The Common Room is also available for hire for private events including conferences, lectures, weddings, and gigs. Thanks to National Lottery players, an £8.9m grant has enabled us to spend over £7 million restoring the building, and around £2m to support our running costs, preserve our collections, and to drive our mission. Find how you can support us here.

Visit our website to find out more about The Common Room: thecommonroom.org.uk