UNSW alumni awards recognise women engineers across career stages
Dr Gunilla Burrowes won the 2026 Ada Lovelace Medal for Outstanding Engineer at the UNSW Women in Engineering Alumni Awards, which recognised women engineers across four honours.
Burrowes is chair of the NSW Division of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. Her 40-year career has covered renewable energy, deep-technology innovation, entrepreneurship and diversity in STEM.
UNSW Engineering created the Ada Lovelace Medal in 2016. The award 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.
Accepting the medal, Burrowes said: “I am deeply honoured to receive this award, and I especially love the fact that it is the Ada Lovelace Award, because she was somebody who inspired me from the very first day I entered engineering.”
BP Solar to Eighteen04 Inc.
At BP Solar, Burrowes helped deploy some of Australia’s earliest photovoltaic systems. She later co-founded BlueZone Group, an engineering company focused on autonomous underwater systems, sensing technologies and marine innovation.
Her doctoral research in autonomous underwater vehicle swarming advanced Australia’s capability in marine autonomous systems engineering. Following the Hunter region’s industrial transition, she also co-founded one of Australia’s first regional angel investment networks.
Burrowes later established Eighteen04 Inc., described as the nation’s first CleanTech and Smart City incubator. Through investment, mentorship and governance, she has supported more than 50 technology ventures.
She also led Engineers Australia’s Year of Women in Engineering. That work added to her long-standing advocacy for women engineers and future STEM leaders.
Previous Ada Lovelace Medal winners include Dr Mary O’Kane, Kathryn Fagg, Dr Judy Raper and Rebecca Cook. O’Kane served as NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, while Fagg has held board roles at the Reserve Bank and Boral.
Other 2026 award winners
The Judy Raper Award for Leadership went to Dr Meganne Christian, a member of the European Space Agency astronaut reserve and Senior Exploration Manager, Commercial, at the UK Space Agency.
In November 2022, Christian joined the reserve after a selection round that drew more than 22,500 applicants from across Europe. The intake was the agency’s first astronaut class in 13 years.
Jo-Anne Dudley, principal consultant at Miner Ventures Pty Ltd, and Turia Pitt, founder of Turia Pitt International, received special recognition in the same leadership category.
The Maria Skyllas-Kazacos Young Professional Award for Outstanding Achievement went to Aishwarya Jha, a senior electrical engineer at Jacobs. Her projects span high-voltage systems and utility connections for energy, water, rail and data centres.
UNSW also recognised Dr Jessica Yajie Jiang from the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy and Associate Professor Emma Lovell from the School of Chemical Engineering.
Hayley Jiang and Sarah Muller shared the Inspiring Student Award. The Hon. Jodie Harrison MP, NSW Minister for Women, presented that prize.
Hayley Jiang studies chemical engineering and was recognised for leadership, innovation and community work, including her role as team lead on the Redback Racing student project. Sarah Muller is completing a master’s degree in space systems engineering and was honoured for mentoring school and university students and promoting STEM in her community.
Nickel Alofainamailelagi, Josephine Kelly and Yuka Maruyama also received special recognition in the student award category.
