Female scientists hold the formula for world success
Children who are asked to draw a picture of a scientist are likely to sketch a white man with “mad professor” hair. But, during British Science Week until March 14, a former teacher says children should be shown that brilliant, creative women are the dominant force in the field.
Former primary pupils teacher Abby Harper of education resource experts PlanBee, offers these five women trailblazers in science as proof.
Mary Anning: geology rocks
Mary was a palaeontologist and a fossil collector. She was born in 1799 in Dorset. Her finds include a 5.2m-long skeleton of an Ichthyosaur, the first to be found, and a Plesiosaurus skeleton initially considered too good to be genuine.
Even though she was an expert in fossils, Mary was not often credited with her finds. Women were not allowed to be members of the Geological Society of London until 1904, 57 years after she died.
Anning is now starting to get the recognition she deserves: a statue of her is to be erected in Lyme Regis after a campaign by 13-year-old Evie Swire, and a film about the life of Anning – Ammonite starring Kate Winslet – is due out later this year.
Ada Lovelace: switched-on programmer
The daughter of poet Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke, Lovelace was born in 1815. She became interested in Charles Babbage’s machines, which were designed to calculate mathematical tables mechanically, removing the errors that can appear when calculations are done by humans.
Although Babbage’s machines were never built, Ada’s notes are an important part of early computer programs and a computer programming language was named Ada after her.
Mary Somerville: astronomical achiever
Somerville was a Scottish scientist who studied mathematics and astronomy. She was jointly admitted as the first female member of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Her work focused on the sun’s radiation effects on Earth’s substances and many have agreed that her works and books led to the discovery of the planet Neptune. At one point she was Ada Lovelace’s tutor and now features on the new Scottish £10 note.
Marie Curie: prized Nobel laureate
Polish-born physicist and chemist, Marie worked with her husband as they discovered the radioactive elements Polonium and Radium.
In 1903 Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for her involvement in research on radiation. In 1911, she became the first person to win a second Nobel Prize, this time for her work towards the discovery of Polonium and Radium.
Mae C Jemison: out of this world
Mae became the first black woman to travel into space in 1992. American
born Jemison, who achieved chemical engineering and medical degrees, was part of the 1992 STS-47 mission during which she orbited the Earth 127 times!
She was in space for almost 200 hours during which she conducted experiments on the effects of weightlessness on herself and the crew.A huge Star Trek fan, Mae appeared in an episode of the cult TV series.
Sarah Gilbert: COVID vaccine hero
Sarah is a British vaccinologist and professor of vaccinology at Oxford University. She specialises in the development of flu vaccines and has been working on new ways to create vaccines for more than ten years.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, she co-developed a much-needed vaccine with the Oxford Vaccine Group. Sarah would often work from 4am until very late at night.
Priorities have changed when it comes to ideal homes, as revealed by recent research into the effects of a global pandemic and lockdowns on people’s choice of property.
A study of 2,000 homeowners revealed that a countryside location, plenty of kitchen storage and space for a home office all feature on the modern list of key requirements.
A private driveway, utility room and downstairs toilet would also help to create the dream home.
Separate dining and living rooms are important to many, along with having a large patio or decking for BBQs in the summer.
And four in ten also want their forever home to be within walking distance of the local park and handy shops.
Julia Berkin, spokesperson for glass specialist Pilkington United Kingdom that commissioned the research, said: “Most of us have our dream home in mind from the small details to the large, essential things.
“After the last year, some areas of a home have become more important, with gardens and space for an office likely to make any home more attractive.
“But spending so much more time inside means many now want to bring the outside in with plenty of natural light topping the list of requirements and favoured by 60 per cent of us.
“Introducing options such as bi-fold doors, glass roofs and skylight windows are all great ways to update a property and let in that much sought-after natural light,” she added.
The top 50 requisites in a home, as shown by the study, are now as follows ... natural light, large garden, ensuite bathroom, downstairs toilet, utility room, private driveway, extra storage, countryside location, separate dining and living rooms, patio or decking, proximity to food shops and park, lots of kitchen cupboard space, guest bedroom, space for a home office, double garage, fireplace, vegetable garden, summer house, social garden space, island in the kitchen,
open plan kitchen, big space for a TV, underfloor heating, covered outdoor areas, smart technology, dressing room, balcony, space for gym equipment, quiet location, loft conversion, outdoor hot tub, window seat, high ceilings, bi-fold doors, skylight windows, woodburner, rainforest style shower, home cinema, free standing bath, wine cooler/drinks fridge, outdoor swimming pool, rooftop terrace, glass box extension, games room, playroom, original floorboards, home mini bar, window shutters, and exposed brick walls.
The study found that just 32 per cent of respondents feel they are currently living in their dream property, with another 21 per cent confident that they will one day live in their ‘forever home’.
Although homeowners are looking ahead towards one day having their dream
house, they felt there are several obstacles slowing their plans, with a lack of money the biggest barrier for 77 per cent.
The study, carried out via OnePoll, also found that 23 per cent of people felt they would struggle to find the right property in the current market, while more than one in ten simply don’t have time to look.
But the average adult hopes to be living in their dream home by the age of 51.
It also emerged that lockdown has increased the urgency to find the perfect home for 87 per cent of adults.
Julia added: “The pandemic has made many homeowners rethink their living situations.
“And, as we spend more time in our properties, having everything we need to live comfortably is more important now than ever.”