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Women scientists who inspire us at Boult
Today is the UN’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
It’s fair to say that, in modern science, we stand on the shoulders of giants. From the earliest days of science and the Babylonian chemist Tapputi-Belatekallim, to the contributions of Ada Lovelace to early computing, to the legendary Marie Curie, the inaugural female winner of a Nobel Prize, the contribution of women to modern science is far-reaching. Indeed, earlier this month a new generation of pioneering women scientists were recognised by Innovate UK’s “ Women in Innovation Awards”. This award celebrates 50 women leading the charge in groundbreaking and diverse industries – from revolutionary peat-free farming solutions, to continuous green electricity to AI platforms.
In celebration of the day we wanted to share some examples of women in science and innovation that personally inspire members of our team here at Boult.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell: A Northern Irish Astrophysicist who discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967. Bell Burnell has had a stellar career with the University of Southampton, University College London, the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh and with the Open University. She was Project Manager for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii for five years and President of the Royal Astronomical Society between 2002 and 2004. Bell Burnell has won various awards through the years in recognition of her scientific contribution, including the Royal Medal of the Royal Society (2015); the Institute of Physics President’s Medal (2017); the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (2021); and the Copley Medal of the Royal Society (2021).
In 2018, she received a Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in recognition of her discovery. She donated the £2.3 million prize to fund women, under-represented ethnic minority and refugee students to become physics researchers, administered through the Institute of Physics.
“I’ve always been inspired by Bell Burnell’s dedication and how she used what she had to open doors for others.” – Maryam Ahmed, Patent Trainee
Hedy Lamarr: Perhaps most famously known as an actress during the golden age of 1930s-1950s Hollywood, Lemarr was a keen inventor in her spare time. She had no formal training and was self-taught, but filed a number of patents, including for a newly improved traffic light and a tablet that, when dissolved in water, would produce a carbonated soft drink.
She attended meetings with her then-husband, Fritz Mandl, where she began to develop the idea of “Frequency-hopping spread spectrum” communication as way to control torpedoes by radio whilst making the signal difficult to jam, alongside a friend, the pianist and composer George Antheil. Although the navy pursued the invention no further, the legacy of Lamarr’s innovation is considerable: nowadays, Bluetooth (RTM) uses a form of this technology to reduce the effects of interference.
“Hedy Lamarr inspires me as someone who did not receive a formal technical education, but came up with wonderful ideas by just trying to understand how things work and applying some imagination to improve them.” – Simon Kahn, Partner
Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock: Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist, broadcaster and author. Her scientific career has included working with the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency; as a fellow of the Science and Technology Facilities Council on high-resolution spectrograph for the Gemini telescope in Chile; and on observation instruments for the Aeolus satellite, investigating climate change. Aderin-Pocock is the founder of Science Innovation Ltd, through which she has engaged some 350,000 school children in the UK and globally. She is an Honorary Research Associate of University College London’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Chancellor of the University of Leicester. As a broadcaster, she is a presenter on the long-running programme The Sky at Night. She has also presented programmes such as Do We Really Need the Moon, Stargazing (on CBeebies) and Out of this World (on CBBC).
“I am inspired by Aderin-Pocock’s ability to convey complex scientific principles in a clear and engaging fashion to a public audience. I really admire that she is using her skill as a science communicator and her platform as a broadcaster to inspire a new generation of scientists and innovators.” – Farzana Miah, Senior Associate
Dr Helen Sharman: In 1991 Dr Helen Sharman became the first British person to go into space. Sharman had studied chemistry and obtained a PhD from Birbeck, University of London before being selected to go to the Mir Space station as part of Project Juno. During her mission, she spent eight days aboard the space station, travelling three million miles in orbit. After returning to earth, Sharman worked in science communication, including presenting for BBC Schools as well as publishing an autobiography and a children’s book about space.
“Dr Helen Sharman came from my hometown and became an astronaut when I was still in primary school. Seeing a woman from the same kind of background as me doing something that exciting and important really expanded my ideas about what was possible for me and encouraged me in studying science at school.” – Frances Baxter, Senior Associate
Professor Dorothy Hodgkin: Hodgkin was an X-ray crystallographer who advanced the techniques used in determining the structure of biomolecules – a core component of structural biology. Among Hodgkin’s findings was the confirmation of the structure of Penicillin, defining the structure of the steroid cholesteryl iodidethe, mapping vitamin B12 and the definition of the structure of Insulin after 35 years of research. She won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964 for her work in defining vitamin B12, becoming the third woman to do so. The Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship honours her work and is awarded by the Royal Society to support outstanding early career scientists who might require a flexible working environment due to personal circumstances or health conditions.
“Hodgkin was an alumni of my college, having initially completed her BA in Chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford and then returning later for a research fellowship and to become a tutor at the college. She was a big part of my undergraduate life at the College and an inspiration for my own studies in chemistry.” – Olivia Murray, Patent Attorney