Sue Ion

Dame Susan Elizabeth Ion (; née Burrows; born 3 February 1955) is a British engineer and an expert advisor on the nuclear power industry.

Ion was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2012 for contributions to nuclear fuel development.

Early life and education Born on 3 February 1955 in Cumbria, she is the daughter of Lawrence James Burrows, a planning officer for British Rail, and Doris Burrows (née Cherry), a secretary. She recalled, "When I was in school ... it was quite different. You were given every encouragement possible to do science subjects if you were interested in them". and subsequently a PhD degree in Metallurgy and Materials Science in 1979, supervised by F.J. Humphreys and S.H. White.

Ion's work, along with David King, took about 10 years of educating government officials to consider the scientific evidence surrounding the issues of nuclear power and renewable energy to inform policy.

Ion was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) in 1996 and was a vice-president from 2002 to 2008.

In 2006, Ion was appointed visiting professor of Imperial College

Nuclear power and renewable energy

Ion has studied energy supplies for more than 30 years. She spent a lot of time early in her career advising government officials about nuclear reactors and countering the negativity caused by the incidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

Ion views her biggest challenge is "persuading decades-worth of politicians that nuclear energy is really needed."

Science education and gender stereotypes In Ion's outreach as a spokesperson for the nuclear power industry, she has expressed a belief that more needs to be done to attract women into the field of engineering. She has expressed concerns that some areas of the educational system still view engineering as a subject only for males.

"Grab every chance you've got to watch and learn from others. Take control of your career and ask for the development moves and the experiences that you feel will get you ahead."|Sue Ion Board of Governors of Manchester University (since 2004) MacRobert Award Judging Panel for the Royal Academy of Engineering (Chair, 2015) Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (Member, 1994–2001) Council for The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (Member, 2005) The UK must take the lead on carbon capture and storage (Financial Times, 2008) Nuclear Energy: Current Situation and Prospects to 2020 (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 2007) South Africa nuclear project arousing US interest (Financial Times, 2005) BNFL reactor far ahead on efficiency and safety (Financial Times, 2000)

Keynotes and interviews

Guest Speaker, QED conference, Manchester, UK (April 2015) Keynote speaker, IChemE's Sustainable Nuclear Energy Conference, Manchester, UK (April 2014) The nuclear power industry and the politics of power. The Life Scientific, Radio 4 (February 2013) "How safe is nuclear power?" Infinite Monkey Cage, Radio 4, London, UK (November 2013) Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Nuclear Power Industry, Athena Lecture at Imperial College (May 2004)

Personal life She married John Albert Ion in 1980

Honours Ion was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2002 New Year Honours, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours and Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to engineering. She represented the Order at the 2023 Coronation.

Scholastic

Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships

Memberships and fellowships

Awards

Location Date Institution Award 2014 Royal Academy of Engineering President's Medal