Raffaella Ocone

Raffaella Ocone OBE FREng FRSE is Professor of Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University and the first woman to hold a chair in the discipline in Scotland.

In 2017, she became the first Caroline Herschel Visiting Professor in Engineering at Ruhr University, in recognition of her contributions to engineering ethics; the same year she was appointed Cavaliere of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity by the President of the Italian Republic. In 2019, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to engineering and was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Engineering. In 2025, she became the 84th President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). In 2026 she was elected to the prestigious Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL (Italian National Academy of Sciences).

Her internationally recognised research on complex reactive and multiphase systems has enabled advances in carbon capture, sustainable hydrogen production and industrial decarbonisation, helping the chemical industries develop cleaner, more efficient processes. She is a leading advocate for engineering ethics, diversity and inclusion.