Raffaella Ocone: 2025–2026

Raffaella is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, where she has been since 1999, and was the first female professor of chemical engineering in Scotland.

She graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Università di Napoli, Italy and obtained her MA and PhD from Princeton University, US.

Raffaella was appointed the first Caroline Herschel Visiting Professor in Engineering at RUHR Universität, Germany in recognition of her work in ethics and was the recipient of a Visiting Research Fellowship from the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Bologna, Italy.

In 2007, Raffaella was appointed Cavaliere of the Italian Republic and in The Queen’s 2019 New Year Honours she was appointed Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for services to engineering.

Raffaella’s expertise lies in the field of complex reactive systems and their application in the energy industry. She has taken the lead in the teaching of engineering ethics and the role of responsible technologies for the energy transition.

View the recording of Raffaella's Presidential Address.