• About the Society  |
• Our work  |
• Science news  |
• Events diary  |
• Support Us  |
• Science issues  |
• Publishing  |
• Students  |

The Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award (2003)

The Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award is funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) as part of its efforts to promote women in science, engineering and technology (SET). The award is made to an individual for an outstanding contribution to any area of SET.

The Award, made annually, consists of a medal and a grant of £30,000, and the recipient is called upon to deliver a lecture as part of the Society's public lecture series. It is anticipated that the award will be made to someone in their mid-career and actively involved in scientific research. Nominations are welcomed for both women and men.

As part of the nomination process for the Award all nominees are asked to put forward a proposal for a project that would raise the profile of women in SET in their host institution and/or field of expertise in the UK. The recipient of the Award will be expected to spend a proportion of the Award fund on implementing their project.

Most recent winner

The winner of the 2007 Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award is Professor Ottoline Leyser from the Department of Biology at the University of York for her groundbreaking work on plant hormones and how they control plant development. Professor Leyser plays a very active role in promoting women in science and has proposed a highly imaginative project that will illustrate how successful women can manage both science and family.

Professor Leyser delivered her associated award lecture "Thinking like a vegetable: how plants decide what to do" on Wednesday 24 October 2007 which is now available to view on our video microsite tv.royalsociety.org

Nomination Process

The online nomination process for the Award comprises two parts: a nomination by a proposer summarising the nominee's scientific record; and a statement by the candidate outlining how they intend to spend the £30,000 Award fund and, in particular, providing details of their proposed project to raise the profile of women in SET in the UK. Nominations must also include a copy of the candidate's CV and list of their 20 most important publications.

Nominations are then assessed by a Committee made up of Fellows of the Society, non Fellows and members of industry and a candidate is recommended to Council.

Committee

Dr Mike Bonsall - Department of Zoology,University of Oxford

Professor Lorna Casselton FRS - Vice President and Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society (Chair)

Professor E Brian Davies FRS - Department of Mathematics, King's College London

Dr Annette Doherty - Senior Vice President, Pfizer Sandwhich Laboratories

Professor Uta Frith FRS - Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London

Dr Jason Hall-Spencer - School of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth

Sir David King KB ScD FRS - Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge

Professor Carol Robinson FRS - Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge

Dr Lidunka Vocadlo - Department of Earth Sciences, University College London

Dr Nina Wedell - Evolutionary Biology, University of Exeter in Cornwall