Diversity-Inclusion and Membership Committee: Marta Peña Fernández

School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University

United Kingdom

Marta Peña Fernández is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering within the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot Watt University (UK) since 2023. She gained an MEng in Industrial Engineering in 2014 from the University of Seville (Spain), an MSc in Biomedical Engineering in 2015 from the University of Paris-Descartes (France) and a PhD in biomechanics in 2018 from the University of Portsmouth (UK). After a year at KTH (Sweden) as a postdoctoral researcher (2019), she joined Heriot Watt University (UK) as a research associate in 2020.
Her research focuses on the multiscale mechanical characterisation of mineralised tissues, such as bone and coral skeleton, through a combination of multiscale mechanical testing, functional imaging and computational modelling, aiming to better understanding the role of structure and composition on the load-bearing ability of healthy and affected tissues.
She has been a member of the ESB since 2016 and was elected to the council in 2026. Besides her research, she actively advocates for advancing women careers in science through participation and leadership in various EDI committees.

Email to membership.chair@esbiomech.org