Technology in Service of Nature: Isobel Ashbey, Cambridge Consultants

Isobel Ashbey is a physicist and engineer who decided, early in her career, that the most important thing she could do with deep technology expertise was direct it toward the natural world. She spearheaded the formation of an internal Tech for Good initiative at Cambridge Consultants, completed a postgraduate qualification in biodiversity, wildlife and ecosystem health with distinction, and has since built a body of work that demonstrates, project by project, that advanced engineering and environmental purpose are genuinely complementary.

Her work spans an exceptional range of conservation challenges. In partnership with Vodafone, Isobel developed a technology platform using edge AI and deep learning to detect and identify large predators, including lions, wolves and hyenas, at distance. Intelligent algorithms trigger targeted deterrents appropriate to each species, while IoT connectivity delivers real-time alerts to local communities. The result is a system that protects endangered animals and the livelihoods of the people who live alongside them. Working with Conservation X Labs, she led a multidisciplinary engineering team in redesigning a genetic diagnostics tool used by conservationists, customs agents and fisheries inspectors to identify species and interrupt illegal wildlife trafficking networks. For XPRIZE's ten-million-dollar Rainforest competition, she led Cambridge Consultants' AI team in validating biodiversity monitoring solutions designed to generate near real-time insights into rainforest health. And through an ongoing partnership with the British Antarctic Survey, she is working to develop remotely operated technologies that reduce the carbon footprint of delivering climate science in one of the world's most extreme environments.

These are not pilots or proposals. They are deployed or actively developed solutions addressing some of the most urgent environmental challenges on the planet, and Isobel has been a driving force across all of them within the first decade of her career. Her invitation to serve for two consecutive years as an XPRIZE Climate, Energy and Nature Brain Trust Member reflects the breadth of her expertise and the esteem in which she is held across the international conservation technology community.

Isobel Ashbey is an engineer who has chosen to measure her success by the health of the planet. The Planet Award exists to recognise exactly that kind of commitment.

To read more about the techUK President's Awards, visit our page here. Winners will be announced at the techUK Annual Dinner on 30 June.

Read more about our President's Award finalists: 

People Award

• Bringing Technology and Purpose Together: Fiona Dawson, Mayden
• Building a Future Where Disability Is No Barrier to Movement: Dr Malik Haddad, Northeastern University London
• Protecting People Online, at Scale: Robin Tombs, Yoti

Society Award

• Protecting Communities Through Intelligence: Clare Elford, Clue Software
• Putting Human Safety at the Centre of Technology: Dr Laura Bishop, British Standards Institution
• Connected Data, Public Value: Vishal Marria, Quantexa

Economy Award

• From Strategy to Production: Steve Chan, Stealth Labs
• Making Technology Work for Small Business: Laura Burley, Xero
• The Genetics Revolution, Made Real: Professor Sir Peter Donnelly, Genomics

Planet Award

• Sustainability by Design: Ray Knight, Atos
• Turning Buildings into Efficiency Engines: Javier Benitez, Colt Technology Services
• Technology in Service of Nature: Isobel Ashbey, Cambridge Consultants