THE Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), a group of civil engineers in the UK, has made history by electing its first-ever-Indian-origin president, Professor Anusha Shah.
With a membership of 95,000, ICE is a professional association and charity that has been around for 205 years.
Professor Shah, an expert in water and environment engineering with over 22 years of experience, assumed her role as the 159th president.
She is also the youngest ever and first female chair of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London Region, before becoming a fellow of ICE in 2016.
She delivered her inaugural address at ICE’s London headquarter earlier this month, focussing on the theme of nature-positive civil engineering.
In her address, Shah, who is in her 40s, highlighted that construction is responsible for 30 per cent of global biodiversity loss.
“My presidential year will be about how we become a nature and people-positive profession at heart,” Shah said.
Originally from Kashmir, India, Shah’s journey into civil engineering began at the age of 23 when she discovered a consultancy in New Delhi, India, working on the conservation of Dal Lake in her home town.
She successfully secured a consulting project engineer role and later earned a prestigious Commonwealth scholarship in 1999.
This led her to the UK, where she pursued an MSc in Water & Environmental Engineering at the University of Surrey.
In 2021, the University of Wolverhampton awarded her an honorary professorship for knowledge transfer.
Shah has achieved several milestones, including being the youngest and first female chair of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London Region.
She also found the climate change consultancy, Plan for Earth, in 2018, focusing on raising awareness about the climate crisis.
Professor Shah holds various roles, including being a non-executive director at the Meteorological Office, a visiting professor at King’s College London on climate adaptation, sustainability, and inclusive design, and a visiting professor at the University of Edinburgh.
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