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The Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award (2003)

The Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award is funded by the DTI's Office of Science and Technology 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 will deliver her associated award lecture Thinking like a vegetable: how plants decide what to do on Wednesday 24 October 2007.

Selection Process

The call for nominations is circulated to University departments, learned societies, research institutions, the Fellowship and other identified organisations. 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.

The online nomination process for the Award comprises two parts: form A is completed by the nominator and outlines the nominees scientific record. Form B is completed by the nominee and outlines how they intend to spend the £30,000 Award fund, in particular outlining a proposed project to raise the profile of women in SET in their own discipline or institution in the UK. Nominations must also include a copy of the nominees CV and list of their 20 most important publications.

Nominations for the 2008 Award will open on 30 November 2007

Committee

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

Dr Mike Bonsall - Department of Zoology,University of Oxford

Dr Jean Bradbury - Executive Director of Science Policy, External Relations and Communications at Pfizer Ltd

Professor Peter Dornan FRS - Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College

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

Dr Timothy Palmer FRS - European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts, Reading

Professor Carol Robinson FRS - University of Cambridge Chemical Laboratory

Dame Nancy Rothwell FRS - School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester

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

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