Women and gender minorities in Physics at Warwick

Warwick's support of women's careers in physics benefits the whole Department. The Department is working to attract women and gender minorities into Physics, both in academic, research and technical roles. It is also seeking to retain those who might otherwise leave a career in physics by introducing more flexibility into the workplace and, at the same time, creating a better work environment for all staff. There are a number of flexible working initiatives which are promoted and supported to encourage a healthy work life balance for our staff and students.

Women in Physics

We have a Women in Physics group which is an informal network for female and gender minority academics, research staff, technical staff, professional services staff and postgraduate and final year undergraduate students. The network hosts events throughout the year which range from informal catch ups and lunches to more formal talks and relevant film screenings. You can keep up to date with upcoming events on our events page. Some events are targeted to those within the groups outlined above, and other events are open to everyone for example to celebrate observance days.

'Women in Physics' group photo, taken on International Women's Day March 2023.

Staff and Student Profiles

• Eva-Maria Ahrer - She / Her (PhD student in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group)
• Professor Geetha Balakrishnan (Professor in the Superconductivity & Magnetism Group)
• Alina Bendt - They / Them (PhD student in the Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics)
• Katherine Branch She/Her (Director of Operations)
• Dr. Susan Burrows (Associate Professor (teaching focussed), and Senior Tutor)
• Professor Sandra Chapman (Professor and Head of CFSA)
• Dr Wing Ying Chow - They / She (Assistant Professor in Condensed Matter Physics Group)
• Dr Deanne Coppejans - She / Her (Assistant Professor in Astronomy and Astrophysics Group)
• Dr Elnaz Darsheshdar (Research Fellow in Theoretical Physics Group)
• Dr. Rachel Edwards (Reader in the Ultrasonics Group)
• Eleanor Jones (PhD student in the Elementary Particle Physics Group)
• Professor Emma MacPherson - She / Her (Reader in the Ultrafast and Terahertz Photonics Group and Postgraduate Admissions Tutor)
• Dr Jessica Marshall (Senior Research Fellow in Condensed Matter Physics Group)
• Catriona McDonald - She / Her (PhD student in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group)
• Dr Farzana Meru (Associate Professor (Reader) and Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow in the Astronomy and Astrophysics group)
• Dr Rebecca Nealon (Assistant Professor, Stephen Hawking Fellow in Astronomy and Astrophysics Group)
• Jennifer OrmeLink opens in a new window (PhD student in the Diamond Group)
• Dr Ingrid Pelisoli Link opens in a new window(Assistant Professor in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group)
• Professor Julie Staunton (Professor and Head of Theoretical Physics)
• Professor Pamela Thomas (Professor in the Ferroelectrics and Crystallography Group and CEO of the Faraday Institution)
• Dr. Oksana Trushkevych - She / Her (Assistant Professor in Engineering)
• Saffron Tyler (PhD student in Condensed Matter Physics Group)
• Rebecca Webb (PhD student in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group)

Students at Warwick - Support for Female Undergraduate Students

All Physics undergraduate students are assigned a Personal Tutor who is a member of the academic staff, and he or she will normally remain their tutor throughout the student's time at Warwick. The Department endeavours to ensure that whenever possible, mixed gender tutorial groups are made up of at least two female and two male undergraduates.

There may be occasions when students would like to discuss personal matters with a member of staff who is of the same gender. In these situations, female students with a male tutor can contact any of our female members of academic staff.

Please see the Departmental Undergraduate HandbookLink opens in a new window and the links therein for more details on student support.

Nobel Prize Awarded WomenLink opens in a new window

Nobel Prizes awarded to women in Science.

Donna Strickland Link opens in a new windowwon the Nobel prize for Physics in 2018 alongside Arthur Ashkin and Gerard Mourou.

Emmy NoetherLink opens in a new window - an outstanding mathematician of the early 20^th Century.

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Contributions of Women to Modern PhysicsLink opens in a new window

Prof S Jocelyn Bell Burnell working with Antony Hewish et al. discovered the pulsar.