Neville was educated at Maxwelltown High School in Dumfries and the University of Glasgow where she was awarded a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1992 followed by PhD in mechanical engineering in 1995. Neville went into engineering by accident. The Glasgow University prospectus fell open at the page with a Rolls-Royce gas turbine picture and she thought it looked interesting. Her Maths teacher was a mechanical engineer and could tell her about what was involved. After visiting the university open days, she was completely sold on this. She was very close to either studying Maths or Physics. As part of her PhD, she conducted an experimental study of corrosion and tribocorrosion processes on high alloy stainless steels and Ni-alloys and her work led to an increased understanding between the synergies that exist between corrosion and wear processes.
Career and research
Neville is a mechanical engineer with a specific interest in corrosion, tribology and Processes that occur at engineering interfaces. After her PhD, she was appointed a lecturer at Heriot-Watt University immediately after PhD and started to build a research team. This team grew to 25 researchers in the following years and in 1999 she was promoted to Reader and then Professor in 2002. Neville and her group moved to Leeds in 2003 where she is now Director of the newly formed Institute of Functional Surfaces which comprises 70 researchers. The institute has a funding portfolio that spans many agencies and industrial sectors including medical, oil and gas & automotive. Her research group was the first to measure corrosion rates in-situ in hip joint simulators. This was very important in the most recent controversies around metal-on-metal implants. They have used advanced microscopy x-ray spectroscopy to understand how surfaces are lubricated in industrial and medical components.
Neville believes that more women in engineering could be achieved by ensuring that at primary school level we have the same number of girls and boys engaging with technology. We must ensure we don't 'lose' talented girls to science and medicine as they progress through secondary school. She has never found any problems with discrimination either in her dealings with the industry nor in the academic sector. However, the proportions of girls entering engineering, especially mechanical engineering, does not seem to be rising as quickly as it could. "Male or female… go for it! You will have the time of your life. I can honestly say I love my job. As an academic in engineering I can do what I want in terms of research as long as I can raise the funds to pay for it. This is a real privilege. I have travelled the world, met some brilliant people and have had great fun. What else could you ask for in a job?"
