measure
Julia Higgins and Athene Donald examine changing perceptions of women in science
Thirty young teenagers are noisily exploring the mechanics of levers while Julia Higgins, their teacher, cogitates on a possible escape to pursue just wasn’t for me,” she admits frankly. To the newly wed in the mid 1960s, teaching seemed a logical progression from her PhD. Two years later, however, she found the way out. A letter she’d sent to a friend of her father-in-law fortuitously ended up in the hands of a chemist at Manchester University. Sir Geoffrey Allen made no bones about recruiting her to do a postdoc in his lab.
Julia Higgins time for science is proving scarce. Demands on her time include serving on a number of Councils
She proved an asset to Allen’s research group
including that of the University of Cambridge
thanks to a technique learnt during her PhD:
where she currently works, the Royal Society and
neutron scattering – a way to probe the structure
the European Research Council, as well as chairing
of polymers. Over the next four decades her career in science would take her to the top of
the Royal Society’s Education Committee and the
including Foreign Secretary for the Royal Society
several years to go before she reaches retirement
Athena Forum (born of the Athena Project). With age, she has surprised herself by taking on so
and Chair to the Engineering and Physical Sciences
much, but feels a moral duty to support younger
Research Council. In 2001 she was made Dame
researchers and free up their time for research.
chair of the Athena Project, aimed at improving
Campaigning Careers
the career prospects for women in science and engineering. Julia knows Dame Athene Donald well. Both are physicists with a common grounding
Through her campaigning work for women in
in polymer studies. Athene started out doing
science, Athene says she is following in Julia’s
electron microscopy of metals but her research model and I’ve never forgiven her,” quips Julia. To
interests now lie in soft matter physics. Although she has taken on so many leadership roles that
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