uk resource centre for women in science, engineering and technology

On the 11 March the annual launch of the Women of Outstanding Achievement in SET Photographic Exhibition was held at the Royal Society, London; the official sponsor of the evening.

 

To view the full portraits click on the names below:

 

                         

 

The prestigious event welcomed eighty guests from the SET community to hear more about the project’s impact on inspiring more women into the SET professions.  Director of the UKRC, Annette Williams welcomed guests to the this celebratory event and recapped on the aims of the project;

 “The Women of Outstanding Achievement Photographic Exhibition, now in its third year, is designed to profile leading women in science, engineering and technology (SET) – a sector in which only 18.5% of employees are female. The aim is to create a growing collection of portraits that will act as inspirational images to encourage other women to take part and progress in a career within SET.

 

 

“We are extremely keen to profile outstanding women scientists and engineers as it demonstrates that it is possible to succeed in what has traditionally been considered to be a male discipline.”

 

“All of the nominations we received this year were outstanding but these six women have been chosen to represent all of those nominated in the exhibition. They are all exceptionally high achievers who have reached the top levels of their professions and have exciting, fulfilling careers.”

 

Phil Willis MP, Chair of the House of Commons Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee, went on to officially congratulate the UKRC on the success of this project and the continued importance of profiling successful women in these professions as role models to inspire future generations.  Each woman was formally presented with a memento of the exhibition by Phil Willis.

 

The six pioneering women chosen for the final exhibition were the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland, Professor Anne Glover; Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, the Deputy Director of the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Professor Uta Frith, ‘Science made Simple’ founder Wendy Sadler; Oxford University Professor Kay Davies and leading civil engineer Joanna Kennedy.

 

Professor Averil MacDonald and Julia King, Women of Outstanding Achievement in SET 2006, spoke about the impact they had personally felt from being recognised as a woman of outstanding achievement.  Averil spoke about this accolade being the impetus for her to persuade Reading University Vice Chancellor to award her the first professorship in Science Communication with responsibility for action to support and advance women in science.

 

Professor Julia King, Vice Chancellor at Aston University, commented on how the powerful impact of this exhibition inspired her to commission a similar project at the University to profile staff members; who collectively represent the University staff as a whole and contribute to the successful running of the University. 

 

The evening was drawn to a close by Peter Cotgreave, Director of Public Affairs at the Royal Society who accepted the portraits of Society Fellows, Professor Frances Ashcroft, Professor Carol Robinson, Dame Nancy Rothwell, Dame Kay Davies and Professor Uta Frith.  The UKRC has worked closely with the Professional Societies and SET Employers to secure permanent homes for the individual portraits in an effort to integrate this project into society and counter the high numbers of portraits featuring men that hang on the corridors of these great establishments.

 

  Click photo for slide show

 

2008 Booklet is also available as a pdf.