On Monday 8th October, 11 scientists from across the UK were presented with hand-crafted jewellery at the Suffrage Science awards ceremony held at the British Library, London. One of these awards was presented to the School's own Dr Tereza Neocleous. The awards celebrate women in science and encourage others to enter science and reach senior leadership roles.

A hundred years after the first women in Britain got the vote, women still only make up 23% of those working in core science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupations in the UK.

Solving the pipeline issue is a long-term challenge for maths and computing with female students making up only 15% of undergraduate computer science students and 37% of mathematical sciences students in 2016/17, compared to 61% of Biological Sciences students.

The 11 awardees are chosen by the previous award holders for their scientific achievements and ability to inspire others. The awards themselves are items of jewellery, inspired by the Suffrage movement, and are passed on as heirlooms from one female scientist to the next.

Tereza was nominated by Professor Jane Hutton, University of Warwick. Jane’s reasons for her nomination were as follows:

“She has made important contributions to forensic statistics, as well as other areas of application. Tereza has applied her research interests, in a range regression models to an impressive variety of disciplines. In particular, she has contributed to forensic statistics (statistics in the law) through her work in both hard sciences e.g. chemometrics, and social science, e.g. -linguistics. She presents her work with engaging style which encourages others to explore new fields.”

Congratulations Tereza!

The Suffrage Science scheme was initiated by Professor Dame Amanda Fisher, Director of the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (MRC LMS) in 2011.

Amanda says “The creation of the Maths and Computing Suffrage Sciences Awards in 2016 recognised the increasing importance of mathematics and computing to the life sciences. As in all branches of the awards their purpose is to celebrate female scientists, their scientific achievements and ability to inspire others. This is especially important in maths and computing where female students studying these subjects are still in the minority. We are delighted to welcome this year’s awardees into the growing Suffrage Science community and look forward to supporting them to inspire the next generation.”

The 2018 award winners are:

  • Dr Ruth Keogh, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  • Dr Tereza Neocleous, University of Glasgow
  • Dr Nina Snaith, University of Bristol
  • Dr Daniela De Angelis, MRC BSU/Cambridge
  • Dr Eugenie Hunsicker, Loughborough University
  • Professor Sally Fincher, University of Kent
  • Professor Julie McCann, Imperial College London
  • Professor Jane Hillston, University of Edinburgh
  • Professor Ursula Martin, University of Oxford
  • Dr Hannah Dee, University of Aberystwyth
  • Dr Vicky Neale, University of Oxford

The jewellery was created by art students from Central St Martins who worked with scientists to design pieces inspired by research and the Suffragette movement, from which the award scheme takes its name.

First published: 18 December 2018

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