Dr Gunilla Burrowes, Chair of the NSW Division of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, has been named the 2026 winner of the UNSW Women in Engineering Ada Lovelace Medal for Outstanding Engineer, the top honour presented at this year’s UNSW Women in Engineering Alumni Awards.
The awards recognise the achievements of women engineers who are creating impact and serving as role models for the next generation.
The Ada Lovelace Medal, created by UNSW Engineering in 2016, is named for Augusta Ada Byron, later Countess Ada Lovelace, the English mathematician widely regarded as the first computer programmer for her work on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine.
Past recipients include Dr Mary O’Kane, Kathryn Fagg, Dr Judy Raper and Rebecca Cook.
Dr Burrowes has built a 40 year career spanning renewable energy, deep tech innovation, entrepreneurship and diversity in STEM.
She began at BP Solar, contributing to some of Australia’s earliest photovoltaic deployments, before co-founding BlueZone Group, an engineering company focused on autonomous underwater systems and marine innovation.
Her doctoral research in autonomous underwater vehicle swarming helped advance the nation’s marine autonomous systems capability.
She later co-founded one of Australia’s first regional angel investment networks and established Eighteen04 Inc., the country’s first CleanTech and Smart City incubator, through which she has supported more than 50 technology ventures.
Accepting her medal, Dr Burrowes reflected on the award’s namesake and its relevance to the current moment in technology.
“It seems fitting to reflect on the fact that today we are seeing the beginning of the AI era.”
The event also honoured Dr Meganne Christian with the Judy Raper Award for Leadership.
Christian, a member of the European Space Agency astronaut reserve and Senior Exploration Manager at the UK Space Agency, was selected in November 2022 from more than 22,500 applicants to join ESA’s first astronaut class in 13 years.
She previously worked as a materials science researcher at Italy’s National Research Council and completed two research postings, including a winter over, at Concordia Station in Antarctica.
Unable to attend in person, Christian sent a video message accepting the award on her behalf, delivered by her sister Delyse.
In it, she said: “One of the biggest lessons I have learnt is that careers rarely follow a straight line.”
Special recognition in this category also went to Jo Anne Dudley of Miner Ventures Pty Ltd and Turia Pitt, founder of Turia Pitt International.
The Maria Skyllas Kazacos Young Professional Award for Outstanding Achievement was presented to Aishwarya Jha, Senior Electrical Engineer at Jacobs, who specialises in high voltage systems and utility connections across energy, water, rail and data centre projects.
Dr Jessica Yajie Jiang and Associate Professor Emma Lovell, both of UNSW, received special recognition in the same category.
The Inspiring Student Award went jointly to Hayley Jiang, a Chemical Engineering student recognised for her leadership on the Redback Racing project and her equity and inclusion work, and Sarah Muller, a Space Systems Engineering postgraduate honoured for her mentoring and STEM outreach.
Both received their awards from the Hon. Jodie Harrison MP, NSW Minister for Women. Nickel Alofainamailelagi, Josephine Kelly and Yuka Maruyama were also recognised.
Professor Julien Epps, Dean of UNSW Engineering, congratulated the winners, saying the awards “recognise excellence across every stage of an engineering journey.”
Professor Rita Henderson, Deputy Dean of UNSW’s Faculty of Engineering, said the awards help build a profession where a wider range of people can see a place for themselves and shape engineering for the benefit of all.
The UNSW Women in Engineering Alumni Awards form part of the Faculty of Engineering’s ongoing effort to attract more women to the profession and support a more inclusive engineering community.