Published 05 November 2020
Women in Defence: Celebrating DE&S staff
The Women in Defence UK Awards are an annual celebration of the value women bring to the defence sector, be it the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, MOD, MI5, industry or academia. Chosen from over 500 inspirational nominees from across the defence community, women in DE&S were amongst those recognised for their valuable contribution to defence and to DE&S.
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Head of personal ballistic protection in Defence Ordnance Safety Group (DOSG) Science and Technology, Dr Eluned Lewis, is one of the DE&S women recognised in the highly–esteemed awards.
Eluned is a DE&S Senior Specialist Fellow and was nominated earlier this year for her work in personal ballistic protection. She has since become a finalist in the Unsung Heroine category.
On her nomination, Eluned said:
“There are so many women in defence that deserve to be celebrated for their achievements. I feel extremely humbled and grateful to be recognised, but most of all proud to be part of the Women in Defence UK community.”
Eluned’s citation was for the work she is doing to ensure women on the front line have better-fitting equipment, such as body armour and helmets. The citation also highlighted her work on medical coverage that used scientific data to optimise body armour coverage and reduce excess weight carried by our troops.
Eluned added: “People shouldn’t underestimate how valued it makes you feel when someone else has noticed how hard you work, so it’s great to have such a scheme to recognise and celebrate the collective contribution of women in defence.”
Gemma Smith, DE&S Future Capability Group (FCG) commercial head, was also credited at the annual awards. Gemma was shortlisted for the Most Collaborative award for her commercial work on the ARTEMIS space-based Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) experimentation.
Gemma was part of Team ARTEMIS alongside Air Command, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, DE&S FCG and industry to put in place three qualifying defence contracts and obtain a qualifying defence contract exemption within three months.
Gemma said:
“I am really proud to be shortlisted for the Most Collaborative award and the fact Air Command took the time to recognise the commercial efforts and recognise the value of DE&S FCG is brilliant. I feel that we have built excellent relationships with the customer and demonstrated how FCG add value to complex novel technology projects. I am really pleased I have helped FCG develop a great reputation for pushing commercial boundaries and taking a different approach to risk. Being shortlisted for this award has been an incredible highlight in my career.”
Many congratulations to all shortlisted nominees and finalists on this incredible achievement. The winners will be announced at an awards dinner on March 24, 2021.
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