Contact Dr Emma Taylor

Areas of expertise

  • Aeronautical Systems
  • Air Transport Safety & Investigation
  • Airworthiness
  • Autonomous Systems
  • Aviation Management & Operations
  • Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
  • Safety, Resilience, Risk & Reliability
  • Space Systems

Background

As a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor to Cranfield's School of Aerospace Transport and Manufacturing (SATM) Emma brings more than 30 years of risk management experience across transport, aerospace and energy. Previous experience includes as an Operations Manager for a leading safety consultancy (ABS Safetec), and Lead Systems Safety Engineer and Asset Integrity Principal for a transport safety and standards body (RSSB). She has also worked for the European Space Agency and EADS, and is the Past-Chair of a Professional Engineering Institution, the Safety and Reliability Society, and has recently spent three years as Head of Digital Safety for a VC-funded rail cybersecurity scale-up and been a member of the UK Department for Transport Science Advisory Council (DfT SAC) (2021-2024).

She obtained her PhD in Physics from the University of Kent at Canterbury, MSc in Safety Engineering and Risk Management from the University of Aberdeen, MSc in Space Science from University College London, and a BA in Physics from the University of Oxford. Having recently won a number of engineering and management awards, she is shortlisted for the IET Chief Engineer of the Year award (2024). Emma is passionate about raising implementation of deaf awareness in engineering, in industrial and academic contexts, and working to raise up the next generation of leading engineers through innovative peer-to-peer mentoring.

Research opportunities

Research interests include opportunities for cross-sector learning and transfer of best practice of best practice for multi-modal transport, including a focus on on regulation and research at the interface between cyber security and safety.

Research is undertaken within the framework of her Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor in Digital Safety and Security. She has recently completed an NCSC-funded CyBOK (cybersecurity body of knowledge) project.

She is the founder and lead for the Engineering for Deaf Awareness Project (E-DAP).

Current activities

Founder and lead for E-DAP

The Engineering Deaf Awareness Project (E-DAP) is a pioneering initiative established by Dr. Emma Taylor, Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor, focused on making Deaf Awareness a standard practice within engineering, both in academia and industry. Different from mainstream EDI efforts, this completely pro-bono grassroots and volunteer-led project, is both supported by feedback from the deaf community and built on individual participation, bridging across Royal Academy of Engineering awardees and graduates from VC-funded startups. This innovative and agile team mix is driving engineering solutions and fostering a more inclusive environment by directly involving the next generation of engineers in creating innovative tools. Through workshops, social media engagement, hackathons, and collective efforts from all, the project works with next-generation engineers and leverages current and innovative technologies to address the unique and varied personalised challenges faced by the deaf community in their daily work and academic life. With an ambitious goal of reaching 1,000 participants through a webinar and to develop innovative tech, the project is already breaking down barriers. It has secured buy-in from major industry players, including the Engineering Professors Council and Google, The Royal Academy of Engineering, RNID, Engineering Leadership Scholars (ELS).

The E-DAP Project website is currently being upgraded, and links will be uploaded here when available. For the latest information please read this blog.

Blog: Building a Future of Inclusion - Deaf Awareness in Engineering - Engineering Professors Council (epc.ac.uk)