Women in Engineering: Simone Weber
Simone Weber is a Predesign Engineer for Future Projects at Airbus Helicopters. I first met Simone when she was completing her Ph.D. programme at Cranfield University, working on the project BladeSense that was focused on identifying blade behavior during flight using a fiber-optic instrumentation system.
At the ATI Boeing Accelerator, we’re excited to highlight brilliant women in STEM. I recently sat down with Simone to talk about her journey as a woman in engineering and her current work in innovation.
What inspired you to become an engineer?
My grandfather has been a lifelong inspiration for me. He always encouraged me to find simple solutions to any sort of complex problem. I loved the creativity involved and the part that involved building and implementing ideas into reality. Still, nowadays, he amazes me with the sort of solutions he comes up with.
What I love about my job the most is the combination of engineering, creativity, and teamwork that enables the development of novel concepts and the opportunity to create future pathways through cutting edge technologies. It gives me the opportunity to make use of my skills to actively make a change and be part of shaping our future.
What sparked your interest in aerospace and why did you choose to work on helicopters?
My interest in aerospace started quite late. I had moved away from the countryside to start my studies in automotive engineering in Munich (seemingly obvious after growing up in the region where BMWs are being built!), and only then did I discover my fascination for aerospace engineering.
It was triggered by something that was probably the reason for many of the first pioneers who built flying machines: the freedom of being able to fly wherever one’s heart desires. As stated by Igor Sikorsky, one of the most significant rotorcraft pioneers: “It is like a dream to feel the machine lift you gently up in the air, float smoothly over one spot.”. Helicopters are beautifully complex machines that require a great deal of engineering skills, and there is the added great feeling to know that lives can be saved through the helicopter’s multipurpose use.
Now, working for Airbus Helicopters, my job not only allows me to pursue my passion as an aerospace engineer but also enables me to contribute to safety and the environment while providing innovative technical solutions to our customers.
You’ve recently completed your Ph.D. at Cranfield University and moved to Munich, Germany to continue your work with Airbus. What are some of the most exciting things you have been working on at Airbus Helicopters so far?
The most exciting part of my career has been the full involvement in the project BladeSense that aimed to develop a robust novel fiber-optic instrumentation system for real-time monitoring of rotor blade health. The developed technology was successfully tested during helicopter ground run trials last year.
I was extremely lucky that I was given the opportunity to set up this project with the help of Airbus Helicopters and Cranfield University that allowed me to work on a project with a scope as big as BladeSense (£2.2 million). Apart from managing the project and linking the technological aspects of each project partner, my Ph.D. work covered aspects ranging from structural model development to aerodynamics, optimisation, all the way to experimental testing.
Although I thought that the lab work at Cranfield was already exciting, it was nothing compared to pushing the final ground runs to reality after 5 years of hard work. Whenever I think back to the final project phase, that involved organizing and planning out the trials, ensuring that all components came together, the excitement and joy after each successful pre-test on the ground, and then finally seeing the main rotor with the installed equipment spin up to full rotational speed still puts a massive smile on my face.
How do you think the industry will change in the next couple of years?
One of the greatest challenges the aerospace industry is facing is the need to strive for zero carbon emissions by 2050, despite the ever-increasing demand of passengers. We will still need to overcome this issue when the pandemic subsides and the planes are back in the sky.
In my opinion, it will be the novel and radical technical solutions that will achieve this challenging target, unlike the conservative approaches the aerospace sector has taken over the past century. Some great examples can be found in the emerging eVTOL concepts that provide clean air taxi services for the future.
eVTOL: What are your thoughts on this new way of flying?
eVTOLs are an extremely fascinating way of flying, not only opening the future for flying cars but also being part of the fight for cutting our carbon footprint by implementing the latest innovations and technologies. I believe it is a great way of commuting within metropolitan areas in a very efficient way.
While I am excited to see the first eVTOLs on the market, I am also very curious to know what the public acceptance will be and how the aerospace sector is dealing with the challenge of airspace control and regulations. Let’s pay attention to what the future of urban air mobility will bring!
What are your thoughts on diversity in the industry? What can we do to make it better?
Diversity within the engineering community, including the research sector, is an important subject to be addressed. I believe that the topic of “gender equality” has to be handled very carefully.
Just by taking a look at nature, women and men are not the same. This is a wonderful fact and very powerful: the unique combination of thought processes, talents, strengths, and also weaknesses of both genders leads to the best possible result. Nevertheless, the industry and society need to improve on equal salary and equal opportunities, while moving away from the stereotypical gender images. If society really wants to strive for gender balance in engineering, equal opportunities need to be created for both genders — free of any preconceptions and with open-mindedness.
It is vital to realize the significance of “what” has been achieved, independent of gender, or we risk positive discrimination that can lead to tension and unfair competition between both genders. Often, the question is raised whether the job or opportunity was given because one has the right set of skills, or whether a box had to be ticked to show that the business, or even society, is gender tolerant. Possibly, these invisible barriers that women often overcome by working harder than their male counterparts, could be the reason why we find so many fantastic female engineers, leaders, and role models.
Did you have any role models in STEM growing up? Are there any female engineers who inspired you during your career?
While there are many people in my daily environment that inspire me with their actions, dreams, aspirations, or achievements, I must mention these two incredible women (in the photo above) with whom I was fortunate enough to call my colleagues and friends during my Ph.D. They are the bravest women I know, pursuing their passion and leading the way in their field of research.
What advice would you give to young women who are interested in pursuing a career in engineering?
Be passionate and active about what you do. I think these are the two key drivers for anyone to be successful. As a woman, however, I think there is an additional degree of confidence, persistence, and strength that is required. Sometimes we fall, but it matters that we get back up again, only to be stronger. Always believe in yourself and never get put off by someone else’s comments or actions.
One final, but important piece of advice: Keep on smiling and have fun because that is the key to coming up with great ideas!
Thank you Simone for sharing your journey in engineering with us!
If you want to keep up to date about all things aerospace and the Aerospace Xelerated, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and sign up for our newsletter here. !
For more information about the programme, please contact the Aerospace Xelerated team:
Gabi Matic — gm@xelerated.aero | linkedin.com/in/gabrielamatic
Wil Benton — wb@xelerated.aero | linkedin.com/in/fatkidonfire
Ksenia Kurileva — kk@xelerated.aero | linkedin.com/in/kseniakurileva
Dana Zou — dz@xelerated.aero |linkedin.com/in/dana-zou/
