Dr Sara Hornby, variously described as a “trailblazer”, a “rebel leader”, and an inspiration for ambitious women, has continually proven nothing is out of reach for women in engineering.

The first woman to graduate from Sheffield Hallam University with a BSc Hons in Metallurgy and a PhD Industrial Metallurgy, she spent her early career in the UK working for Firth Brown Tools Engineering and British Steel Corporation. Her initial Canadian and US Air Liquide roles, developing new technologies and bringing best available technologies to the metals industry (whilst managing multi-disciplinary, multi-location team members) coupled with other EAF steelmaking optimization positions (Tenova Goodfellow, Midrex, Linde, Intertech, and TMS International), put her in good stead to set up her own company, Global Strategic Solutions Inc., which supplies expert consultancy and expert witness to the metals and related industries.

Sara holds 5 patents and has authored over 133 International papers, seminars and courses. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3) and was their 2022 Hadfield Medal and Prize winner. In 2020 she was the recipient of the Benjamin Fairless Award (AIST/AIME) and the John Bell Award (AIST); in November 2023 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering by Sheffield Hallam University in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the international steel industry; and is the 2024 John F. Elliott Lecturer awarded by the AIST/TMS.