24-year-old engineer scoops national award after her first year in industry

A 24-year-old female engineer says she is “honoured” after picking up the illustrious ICE Emerging Engineer of the Year 2017 award after her first year in industry.

WSP graduate engineer Jasmine Tombs was named the winner in the competition hosted by the Institute of Civil Engineers after giving a 10-minute presentation on the Hyperloop, a revolutionary new mode of transport.

The 24-year-old was one of four finalists from the regional heats who had to present a paper and presentation on their chosen subject to an audience and judging panel. Tombs decided to focus her presentation on the transformative Hyperloop transport system which is a proposed method of propelling passengers through low pressure tubes in pods as little as ten seconds apart at speeds of up to 700mph. She faced competition from finalists in the UK and Bahrain. 

Commenting on her award and first year in industry, Tombs said: “Working for WSP has exceeded all my expectations, every day brings a new challenge. I think that we need to encourage more young women to continue STEM subjects as part of their further education. Presenting at the final of the Emerging Engineer Awards was the culmination of a lot of research and hard work and I am honoured to have won. I am passionate about Hyperloop because I believe it is key to a more sustainable future. I think the judges were impressed not only by my knowledge on the subject but also my enthusiasm for civil engineering as a whole.”

Based in the Civil Bridge and ground team in WSP’s Truro office she has been working on large-scale infrastructure projects including the proposed A30 improvement between Carland Cross and Chiverton in Cornwall. Her passion for engineering stems from her childhood where she enjoyed playing with lego; then in school where maths and science were her favourite subjects. Since then she has gone on to complete a masters in Civil Engineering at Plymouth University and join WSP.