Professor Greaves receives OBE from HRH the Prince of Wales

Professor Greaves has been working in the sector for more than two decades, and since arriving in Plymouth in 2008, has continued to cement her position as one of the UK’s foremost ORE researchers.

She has secured in excess of £9m research funding from organisations including the European Union, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and InnovateUK.

She was selected by the EPSRC to head the ORE Supergen Hub, a programme supported by government and industry which aims to pull together leading figures in wave, tidal and offshore wind to share skills and expertise to address the many synergies and research challenges.

At the University, she led the development of the COAST (Coastal, Ocean and Sediment Transport) Laboratory – the flagship research facility within the £19million Marine Building – and in May 2017, was appointed as the inaugural Head of the University’s School of Engineering.

She is founding chair of PRIMaRE (the Partnership for Research in Marine Renewable Energy), a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Women’s Engineering Society, and a member of the RCUK Energy Programme’s Scientific Advisory Committee, and the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub Advisory Board. She has recently edited the new Wiley book, Wave and Tidal Energy.

Professor Kevin Jones, Executive Dean of Science and Engineering at the University, said:

“This accolade is very well-deserved, and a reward for Deborah’s ongoing work to push the boundaries of what can be achieved in the offshore renewable energy sector. It is also very appropriate that it not only reflects Deborah’s status as a world-leading researcher, but also her work to support current and aspiring female engineers to realise what is possible if they choose engineering as a career.”