Outstanding scientists from different ends of the scientific spectrumhave today been awarded two of the UK's most prestigious prizes in science.

The University of Glasgow's very own Professor Christine Davies has been awarded the 2005 Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award on the basis of her scientific achievement and work in promoting women in science.

Christine Davies was the first woman in the UK to become a professor in the field of theoretical particle physics ﾖ and her proposal to promote women in science by developing a public lecture which highlights the role of a number of women scientists to inspire a younger generation to follow suit.

Professor Davies said: "I feel very honoured to receive the Rosalind Franklin award. It will be a great platform from which to encourage more women into science. I have been very lucky to be part of exciting recent developments in particle physics and I hope that I can convey my enthusiasm to a new generation of women scientists and give them confidence in what they can achieve."

Professor Julia Higgins, Vice-President of the Royal Society and chair of the Rosalind Franklin Award Committee, said: "Professor Davies has been at the top level of research in particle physics for the last twenty years and her work on the properties of some of the fundamental particles of nature is testament to that. But what makes her a particularly worthy recipient of the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award for 2005, is her work for the Institute of Physics in helping research departments improve the climate for the women scientists who work in them."

The Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award was set up in 2003, at the suggestion of Patricia Hewitt, the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, to address the issue of under-representation of women in SET and is open to mid-career scientists who have developed an area of science with which they are identified. Nominees must propose a project that will raise the profile of women in SET in either their host institution or field of expertise. The award is funded by the Government's Office of Science and Technology as part of its efforts to promote women in SET. Professor Davies will deliver the Rosalind Franklin Lecture on 6 December 2005.

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For further details contact the University Press Office on 0141 330-3535.

The Rosalind Franklin Award committee is chaired by Professor Julia Higgins. For the full list of members, and further information about the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award, go to www.royalsoc.ac.uk/franklin.

First published: 19 May 2005