Women In Physics Group, Lancaster University

It’s officially tops for research – and now Lancaster University’s physics department wants to be tops for women too.

Autumn 2011: A must for anyone considering a physics PhD.
Rachel Sparks, who is due to submit her thesis soon, will reflect on her experiences as a PhD student in Lancaster's condensed matter theory group.

***New March 2011*** "SHE IS A PHYSICIST" download poster

Our new women in physics group aims to provide a forum for the women in the department to get together to get to know one another better, discuss research and make new contacts.

The group meets roughly once a month, and events such as research seminars and careers briefings are set to follow.

Recently we launched of our innovative partnership scheme between undergraduates and postgraduates/postdocs.

The aim of the scheme is to improve relations between women at different stages of their careers, and to provide undergraduates with a first port of call for advice on physics-related matters such as careers and research options.

Lancaster physics – officially top of the country in the recent RAE – has about 30 female undergraduates and more than 20 women at postgraduate level and above. It is currently seeking Juno Champion status, under an Institute of Physics programme designed to advance women’s careers in physics higher education.

Prof Aneta Stefanovska, Physics department, said:

“Generally, there are two extreme scenarios of survival in science: to learn the game and play it as perfectly as possible in order to climb smoothly up the hierarchy; or to have a dream for which one is prepared to struggle, and to do so successfully. Perhaps the best known 'dreamer' in science was Galileo.”

“How does life in a Physics department feel, having those two extremes in mind? It is not so much a question of whether one is male or female. Rather, what really matters is that there are far fewer females than males. And being a minority in any respect is liable to make life more difficult.”

“Having an IoP Women in Physics Group gives a feeling of belonging to a nest (of course, it is not the only one). I am positive that all females, and our young female colleagues especially, will benefit by having the chance to meet, discuss, exchange experiences and get to share stories of female survival in what is still mainly a man's world.”