Diversity in Physics - Focus on Women in Physics (online event)

The School of Physical Sciences is planning a series of online events showcasing diversity in physics and related subjects. We are inviting all students interested in these disciplines to our first online evening event where we will hear about the work and experiences of two women physicists throughout their career.

The evening will comprise a plenary talk about a current area of research followed by a panel discussion on the speakers’ experiences and career trajectory. Please see the preliminary programme below.

Speakers

We are delighted to announce that we will be joined by Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Professorial Fellow of the University of Oxford and Dr Rhian Chapman, recent Open University PhD graduate (2018), who works for the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

This year, Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell will receive the highest award of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2021 in recognition of her outstanding work and leadership in astronomy, her work in science communication and dedication to widening participation into this field. For more information about Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, please visit: https://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/professor-jocelyn-bell-burnell.

For a more detailed biography of Dr Rhian Chapman, please visit: https://www.ceh.ac.uk/staff/rhian-chapman

Registration

To register, please complete the registration through our Eventbrite page.

The event will be held in Adobe Connect, which is the Open University’s platform for delivery of online tuition. No prior experience of the platform is required to participate in the event and we will email registered participants with more information ahead of the day.

Your questions and suggestions

We are keen to know your views and questions for this event and suggestions for future events so please contact Sharron.Jenkins@open.ac.uk.

Preliminary Programme

7:00 pm          Welcome and Introduction School of Physical Sciences' Equality and Diversity Team

7:10 pm           Plenary talk 1 – “Women in astrophysics around the world”
                        Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Professorial Fellow, University of Oxford.
                        The International Astronomical Union has, for the last 20 years, compiled its membership data
                        ​segregated by gender. I will talk about what this data shows us about women in astrophysics in
                        many countries around the world.

7:30 pm          Plenary talk 2 – “A Bit of This, a Byte of That”
                       Dr Rhian Chapman, Mathematical Modeller, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology  
                       A short walk through a meandering scientific career, from Physics to Engineering and back again,
                       with a PhD in the middle.

7:50 pm          Break

8:10 pm          Panel discussion
                       Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Dr Rhian Chapman
                       Chaired by the School of Physical Sciences' Equality and Diversity Team

8:40 pm          Conclusion and Feedback
                       School of Physical Sciences' Equality and Diversity Team

9:00 pm           End