STEM: Britain’s Brightest
What Does STEM Stand For?
To mark British Science Week, from the 8th to the 17th of March, let’s shine a light on some of the greatest contemporary British minds in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (or STEM, for short).
Sue Black
Sue Black is a Professor of Computer Science at Durham University. An outspoken and active social media campaigner, Sue led a campaign to save Bletchley Park and is one of the most influential women in tech. An advocate for equality, diversity, and inclusion, particularly for women in computing, she founded BSCWomen, an online network for women in tech, and #techmums, a social enterprise which empowers mothers and their families through technology. In the 2016 New Year Honours, Sue received an OBE for services to technology.
Timothy Berners-Lee
Timothy Berners-Lee is a computer scientist and software engineer who is most famous for inventing Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, and the World Wide Web. He also created the first internet browser, the HTML language, and the URL system, and in 1991 was named one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century by Time Magazine. In 2004, Timothy was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his pioneering work, and he now works as Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford. He is also a professor emeritus at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Often referred to as MIT).
Maggie Aderin-Pocock
Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist, educator, and communicator. Throughout her career, she has worked on some of the most prestigious projects at some of the UK’s top universities and is currently an honorary research associate within the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London and Chancellor at the University of Leicester. She is also a presenter of the TV show The Sky at Night and does much outreach work to engage young people in science. Her academic work now focuses on building instruments and equipment to aid the fight against climate change. Maggie received an MBE for services to science education in 2009 – an honour that was upgraded to OBE in this year’s New Year Honours.
Donald Palmer
Donald Palmer is an Associate Professor of Immunology at the Royal Veterinary College where his current research interests focus on the ageing of the immune system. After completing his PhD at King’s College London, he took post-doctoral fellowship positions at Cancer Research UK and Imperial College where he carried out research on lymphocyte development. Donald is also a co-founder of the Reach Society – an initiative to inspire, encourage and motivate young people, particularly young Black men and boys, to achieve their full potential.
Roma Agrawal
Roma Agrawal is a structural engineer who is most known for her work on The Shard in London. Born in Mumbai, she completed her undergraduate degree in physics at the University of Oxford and gained an MSc in structural engineering from Imperial College London. She has gained several awards for her work, including the Institute of Structural Engineers’ Structural Engineer of the Year’ award in 2011 and, more recently, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s ‘Rooke Award for Public Promotion of Engineering’. She is an active public speaker and advocate for diversity and inclusion within STEM.
Saiful Islam
Saiful Islam is Professor of Materials Modelling at the University of Oxford. He gained a chemistry degree and PhD from University College London and his research interests focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the processes that exist within energy materials, particularly batteries. As well as numerous academic awards and honours, Saiful holds a Guinness World Record for the highest voltage lemon battery (usually a low powered, simple battery used for the purposes of education).
To learn about more successful British scientists, visit the Inspiring Scientists website.
If you are interested in studying a Science or Maths, Oxford Open Learning offers the opportunity to do so at a variety of levels, listed below. You can also find advice via our Contact Us page here.
