CIHT has its fair share of leaders who have received honours, and one of the latest is Sarah Sharples who was awarded a CBE in January for services to transportation, to manufacturing research and to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

Currently Vice President and Dean of Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester, Sharples was previously the Chief Scientific Advisor at the Department of Transport. 

“I was obviously really pleased, but over time I’ve realised just how important this recognition is for someone who has had a career path like mine,” says Sharples. “I'm a multi-disciplinary individual – I'm a human factors professional and the fact that I've been able to work in a context where that type of contribution has been recognised is really, really pleasing.” 

Sharples further explains there is immense pride how she was able to raise the profile and impact of human-centred thinking within transport: “That could be applied to everything from the advice I was able to give the Department of Transport as it progressed the legislation and guidance around increased automation in automotive vehicles, to supporting their brilliant work on the development of transport user personas.

“It's recognition for human-centred thinking in transport that has helped change the attitudes and understanding of the value and importance of placing people at the centre of our thinking around transport design.”

Today, at the University of Manchester, Sharples continues to push the boundaries and look for solutions that will benefit road users, with inclusion firmly in mind.

“There is so much to talk about for the future, everything from new techniques to enabling the scale up and production of future fuels, to the role of quantum technologies in future sensing that will transform the way in which we manage our infrastructure,” she reasons. “Not to mention the use of graphene in transforming the way that we can decarbonise concrete.”
 

Inclusion is ‘second nature’

Within CIHT improving EDI is a major goal, and one shared by Sharples.

“EDI has been at the heart of much of my thinking for my whole career,” she reveals. “As a human factors professional, inclusion is second nature. Making sure we design with consideration of the diversity of the people who are going to be using that technology or working in that environment is absolutely [vital]. 

“I'm very proud of some of the work I led at the University of Nottingham when I was Pro Vice Chancellor for EDI where we delivered some real change in our culture and national leadership in gender equality and race equality in particular.

“Designing in and including considerations for accessibility and transport technology for disabled and vulnerable people – such as those who are visually impaired – was another big highlight.”

It’s a mission that she urges her fellow professionals to join and not give up on: “There is absolutely no room for complacency. We still see really significant under-representation of particular groups in all types of contexts, whether it's in senior leadership roles or in the continued under representation of women within engineering and science senior leadership roles.

“We also need to continue our work to ensure that future transportation systems are truly designed with consideration of their accessibility to all potential users – now and in future.”

Read more: CIHT Members recognised in New Year Honours 2026.
Image: Sarah Sharples holding her award. Credit: Sarah Sharples.