Thread by @OxfordChemistry

It’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science! @OxfordChemistry we’ve been speaking to our students, staff, alumnae and friends to celebrate the amazing achievements of women and girls in chemistry, and think to the future. Read on... 🧵#IDWGIS #WomenInChem #WomenInScience

PhD student @Karen__Clare is helping develop an understanding of how proteins help our bodies respond to low oxygen levels, important for treating diseases like cancer. For her, representation is the key to supporting women and girls in chemistry:

“What interests me most about chemistry is how it can be used to understand biological systems. Science works best when it’s interdisciplinary, and there’s so many places where our knowledge and skills as chemists can help.”

Dr Vivienne Cox DBE is Chair of @victrexplc and @RosFrankInst – she believes that women add a different dimension to groups or teams, in chemistry and in so many other areas:

For her, one of the biggest global concerns is how to enable this planet and its people to live sustainably. “Science will be fundamental to finding solutions. Chemists, working with other scientists, have an important role to play”

Prof @Claire_Chemist likewise believes that chemists have a unique perspective on solutions to global issues. “I think we need more people in the world who are trained to think like scientists – to balance and evaluate the available evidence and make informed decisions.”

For Claire, the maths is simple: “Women are half the population, so it will be difficult to achieve this aim if we don’t keep encouraging more girls and women to study science subjects”.

“I’m a strong believer in ‘you have to see one to be one’. It’s really important to have visible female role models, so that girls from a young age can see that chemistry and other sciences are career options for them.”

Research in @Claire_Chemist’s group spans gas-phase experiments that help us understand reactions in biology and space, through to measurements on human tissue samples that help us answer challenging questions in clinical medicine vallance.chem.ox.ac.uk

@RuthMastenbroek is a master perfumer and an alumna of @OxfordChemistry, and she agrees that visibility and representation matter. “It’s important that we show the breadth and depth of careers open to chemistry graduates and students. It’s not just research and teaching on offer”

Ruth says that “the depletion of the world’s natural resources is always on my mind. We are currently looking at creating 100% synthetic fragrances sustainably using green chemistry, so as to reduce the amount of natural resources needed to produce a given essential oil.”

Sixth form student Ayesha, who is studying A-Level Chemistry and has visited @OxfordChemistry @ChemOutreachOxf, thinks that inspiring girls to study chemistry and science should start at a young age:

“Plastic pollution is my biggest concern for our planet – plastic can take thousands of years to degrade, and is harming millions of creatures and people every year. Its extensive lifespan is a huge issue, but if anyone can find a way to solve this problem, it would be chemists.”

Alice Wyndow is a secondary school teacher who has brought school groups to visit @ChemOutreachOxf @OxfordChemistry. For her, the appeal of chemistry is its "endless possibilites of solving the world's problems, and how it shows up in everything around us, all the time!"

Alice was inspired by Kathleen Lonsdale, one of the pioneers in X-ray crystallography, who had to navigate a male-dominated world to access the education that she was passionate about. You can read more about Kathleen Lonsdale in this blog from @UniKent blogs.kent.ac.uk/ice-p/2018/01/…

For Jordan it was her A-level chemistry teacher who initially encouraged her to look at Chemistry as a further education and career option:

She believes that “young girls can be encouraged into the field by providing interaction with successful women chemists. This could be through shadowing opportunities, or events orientated around girls and women in STEM. To encourage girls, women need to be seen as role models.”

Jordan is currently doing her master’s research project in Stephen @GroupFaulkner’s laboratory, which investigates how metal complexes can be used to image diseases like cancer and stroke. Steve is also the Associate Head of Department (People) @OxfordChemistry:

Steve has been inspired by Josephine Peach, one of the authors of the @OxUniPress book “Foundations of Organic Chemistry”, which has been part of generations of chemists’ introduction to the field.

“Josephine Peach taught me more about chemistry than I could ever have expected. She’s one of Oxford’s unjustly unsung women scientists, and the book she wrote with Mike Hornby continues to provide a bridge into university chemistry thirty years after it was written”

Hannah Hayler did a PhD in Susan Perkin’s research group, and is fascinated by the applicability of chemistry: “not a day goes by where we do not encounter it. Boiling a pan of water, baking a cake, or just walking around – chemistry is so fundamental”.

Prof Yujia Qing also did her PhD @OxfordChemistry working in @bayley_lab, after studying at @sheffielduni. She is now an Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry @OxfordChemistry @lmhoxford:

Yujia says that “the broad scope of chemistry, from understanding the building blocks of life to developing modern technologies to solve real-world problems, never fails to fascinate me.”

Mary Anne Cordeiro, @OxfordChemistry alumna, is a technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Amongst other roles she is the founding CEO of ThermoTraumaPort – a novel emergency transfer device that transforms the management of trauma or critically ill patients.

Like many, climate change concerns Mary Anne: "Chemistry can provide solutions – more efficient energy systems, recycling or repurposing of materials”. She and @OxfordChemistry are working on a summer research programme to encourage young scientists in sustainable chemistry.

Dr Elena Castellani is a postdoctoral researcher at both @OxfordChemistry and @RosFrankInst, working on developing new scientific instrumentation for chemical analysis.

Alongside this, Elena is one of @OxfordChemistry’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) fellows, part of a team across @mplsoxford who are passionate about ensuring that those from underrepresented communities are supported by their departments mpls.ox.ac.uk/equality-diver…

“Ever since I was a child I was interested in science. My passion for chemistry bloomed in high school thanks to my science teacher (grazie Prof. Poli!), who always supported and encouraged me by taking us on school trips to scientific labs, and giving me extra material to read.”

"There are three chemists who inspire me the most: Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin, two of the cleverest minds the world has ever seen, and Prof Luca Dore, one of my undergraduate professors who taught me that the most important quality in an academic’s career is kindness”.

Dr Laura Cunningham, @Double_Anne_, works alongside Elena as an EDI fellow @OxfordChemistry @mplsoxford. She is a postdoctoral researcher in @spfletcher’s research group, working on synthetic organic chemistry.

“As a synthetic organic chemist (somebody who makes new molecules or invents new reactions), it is fascinating being able to connect and disconnect atoms in the exact way we want to, despite the fact they are so small we can't see them.”

“Despite the fact that, currently, there are more men in chemistry than women, there's no doubt that some of the biggest breakthroughs in chemistry have come from (and will continue to come from) female researchers. We must continue to work towards equity for men and women alike”

“One thing that would provide great support for all aspiring chemists, not just young girls, is making it normal to ask for help. Everybody is different and has their own challenges to face – talk about those challenges and let people know that struggling does not mean failing!”

Laura is also the president of @OxWiChem, which celebrates and encourages diversity and inclusion in @OxfordChemistry and promotes the research and achievements of woman students and academics. Check out their series of career and researcher profiles here: oxwichem.co.uk/profiles

@WomenScienceDay @mplsoxford @UniofOxford @ChemOutreachOxf @OxWiChem #WomenInChem #WomenInScience #ThinkScienceThinkPeace #February11

For #IDWGIS23 @enterprisingox is featuring @OxfordChemistry's Prof.Kylie Vincent, non-executive director of @HydRegen_Oxford tinyurl.com/45da29t3