Women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Where are we now and how can we move?

by Dr Jocelyn BELL BURNELL

Monday 4 Nov 2013, 16:30 → 18:30 Europe/Zurich

80-1-001 (CERN)

Lecture will be in English– Translation available in French

Jocelyn Bell Burnell is a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. In a career spanning over four decades, she has made outstanding contributions to astronomy, the public understanding of science, in particular advancing the role of women in science, and to the promotion of physics.
Working on a pioneering radio telescope as a graduate student in Cambridge in the 1960s, she made the observations that led to the discovery of pulsars. Subsequently she has performed roles in many branches of astronomy, working part-time while raising a family.
Bell Burnell is a well-known figure in the public understanding of science, giving over 40 public lectures each year and making regular appearances in the media. Her work in this area was recognised in 2010 through the award of the Royal Society’s Michael Faraday prize. Increasing the number of women in science is particularly important to her, and she is an inspirational role model for young women considering a scientific career. 
As President of the UK Royal Astronomical Society from 2002-2004, and President of the UK Institute of Physics from 2008-2010, and again in 2011, she has worked tirelessly to promote the value of physics in society. For this, she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2012.
In her spare time she gardens, listens to choral music, collects poetry with an astronomical theme, and is active in the Quakers.