The Joan Woodward Memorial Event series was set up in memory of the late Professor Joan Woodward. Joan was the second ever female professor at Imperial College London and continues to be a role model for women in science, engineering, and technology.

Born in 1916, Joan was a trailblazing industrial sociologist known for her groundbreaking research on the relationship between technology and organizational structure. After joining the Production Engineering and Management Section at Imperial in 1958, she became the second woman to hold a Chair at the university when appointed Professor of Industrial Sociology in 1969. She created the Industrial Sociology Unit at the same time. Her influential study, Industrial Organisation: Theory and Practice (1965), demonstrated that successful organizations aligned their structures with the type of technology they used — a revolutionary concept at the time that remains foundational in organizational theory today.

Her expertise gained her global recognition, and she was invited to join an elite group of organization theorists for a famous conference in Cape Cod in the 1960s. Joan was the only female in this group. Known for her collaborative approach, she worked closely with industry, bringing academic insights directly into practice.

Joan’s legacy at Imperial endures through this annual memorial event and student prizes established in her honour after her early death at 54, from breast cancer. A respected scholar and inspiring mentor, she left an indelible mark on both her field and those who worked alongside her.