Molly Fergusson was a British civil engineer and the first woman to graduate with honours in civil engineering from the University of Edinburgh. On International Women’s Day 2026, the Molly Fergusson Room was officially opened in her honour. Mary Isolen (Molly) Fergusson was a pioneering civil engineer who made history by becoming the first woman to reach the top grade of membership in the Institution of Civil Engineers MInstCE (now FICE), the first female partner in a civil engineering consultancy (Blyth and Blyth) in the UK and the first female member of the Association of Consulting Engineers. After retiring from her full-time employment, she continued her work as a consultant using her fees to create and support a bursary to help engineering students and was actively involved in the Women’s Engineering Society among other community organisations. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 1979 for her professional achievements and efforts in encouraging young women to pursue careers in engineering and was conferred an Honorary DSc from Heriot-Watt University in 1985. A plaque in her honour can be found at the main entrance to the Sanderson Building at King’s Buildings, erected by the University of Edinburgh as part of its 150th anniversary of the School of Engineering in 2018. In the same year, The Molly Fergusson Initiative was also created to celebrate her legacy.Molly was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2019 and on International Women’s Day 2026, the Information Services Group hosted a ceremonial opening of the Molly Fergusson Room in King’s Buildings House, King’s Buildings Campus. To read more, please visit: Mary Fergusson - Wikipedia; The Molly Fergusson Initiative This article was published on 2026-03-02
