through the eyes of polymers and moleculesBy Professor Dame Julia Higgins
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By Naomi Weston
From neutrons and polymers to collections of molecules and mixtures, Professor Dame Julia Higgins, Principal of the Faculty of Engineering, has conducted research in the field of physics and chemical engineering for over 30 years.
The annual Athena Lecture, which highlights the advancement of women in science, engineering and technology in higher education, was held last week, and focused on the past 30 years at the College.
The lecture 'Growing Interactions: from individuals to systems in my research in the College' gave the audience an insight into how research and people have changed over Professor Higgins’ time at Imperial. After joining the Chemical Engineering Department in 1976 from a nuclear reactor in Grenoble, France, she continued her research on the behaviour of individual polymer molecules.
"Imperial College was a very different place in 1976," comments Professor Higgins. "There were 4,000 students and only 300 of them were women. It was an extremely masculine place with few female professors."
The 1960s and 70s were a vital time in the development of understanding how molecules were organised and how they moved, she says. Two Nobel prize winners emerged during this time including Paul Flory and Pierre Gilles de Gennes, with whom Professor Higgins worked. In the 1980s, Professor Higgins became more involved in the affairs of the College and became a Reader in 1985 and a College Tutor in 1990.
In addition, she became increasingly active in the teaching of engineering and design. "I was delighted that my colleagues in Chemical Engineering allowed me to get involved in so many engineering projects. I came in as a physicist and thoroughly enjoyed working in both areas." During this time her research broadened to investigation of the behaviour of collections of molecules particularly in mixtures and their material properties.
In 1993 she became Dean of City and Guilds, and heavily involved in College affairs. Together with other senior women she encouraged the Rector – Lord Oxburgh to set up the College’s Academic Opportunities Committee which has worked to provide a level playing field for the academic women at Imperial. Professor Higgins was the first Chair of this committee, a role now filled by Professor Dorothy Griffiths.
Under the leadership of her fourth Rector, Sir Richard Sykes, Professor Higgins explained, there was much improvement in structure and in infrastructure. There was a huge building renovation programme including the full renovation of the Bessemer building.
The College and Faculty structure also changed with the introduction of more interdisciplinary work. "These changes led to more flexible research being carried out and more interaction between the different departments." She went on to explain: "These important changes mean we have maintained strong academic departments but capitalised on the interaction between them."
The national Athena Project was started in 1999 and the College through the Academic Opportunities Committee has been successful in obtaining grants and awards from Athena. The project aims to advance and promote the careers of women in science, engineering and technology (SET) in higher education and research to achieve a significant increase in the number of women recruited to top posts.
In the College’s Centenary year there are now 12,000 students with just under half female, revealing a big difference in 30 years. There are 51 female professors and more women at a senior level in the College.
Professor Higgins concluded: "I have been here a third of the century! It has been great fun working with my female colleagues through the Academic Opportunities Committee and the more informal networks we have made. Similar to my research in polymer molecules shifting from individual studies to looking at collections of molecules, I have moved through different departments and positions and watched the College change from individual departments to greater interaction at senior level."
"I would like to thank the College and wish it well for the next 100 years."
