Athene Donald

Read the full letter from ten Fellows of the Royal Society to the Prime Minister, following the announcement of the outcome of the Curriculum and Assessment Review last week: royalsociety.org/news/2025/11...

Practical science at school is really important for developing curiosity as well as examinable skills! Reflections on last week's workshop @royalsociety.org occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

Reflections on the importance of science practicals now and the messes I made of my own school practicals. Now with a 'hair-raising' comment from @jane-bernal.bsky.social, a near contemporary at my school occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

Did you enjoy the Gordon book too? I still have it on my shelf....

Great blog by Athene Donald on how doing experiments at school can turn children on to science. Also, in passing, the joys of Nuffield Physics A Level & particularly the first module in which The New Science of Strong Materials was required reading.

On the joys, challenges and importance of school science practical work, something the recent Curriculum and Assessment Review barely touched on occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

Broken education system is holding back the young, top scientists warn PM | The Observer

Britain’s top scientists have written to the PM warning that the education system is holding back children and the country and expressing concern about the timidity of the government’s curriculum and assessment review @theobserveruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

What we still get wrong about women’s role in global economics From the Enlightenment to today’s ‘tradwives’, three books look at the tension between production and reproduction

Do economists value women's unpaid labour in the home appropriately? A review of three books about economics points to a' need to rethink social and economic structures with care in mind'. www.ft.com/content/f646...

East Anglia: home to the richest and poorest The Office for National Statistics has just published a report on deprivation in communities across England. What does it tell us about our deeply divided region?

13 East Anglian are among the most deprived. Every one lies on the coast.

Jaywick, the most deprived is represented by a very wealthy MP. As a community it's residents report a good quality of life.

Today is Lise Meitner's birthday, as well as Marie Curie. I wrote this blogpost about Meitner and her life a while back. Let's celebrate the woman who 'never lost her humanity'. occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

In honor of the upcoming #WomenInPhysics Day, let's create a thread of amazing women physicists. I'll start with one my favorites, Chien-Shiung Wu, who is best known for conducting the Wu experiment, which proved that parity is not conserved. ⚛️ 🧪 👩‍🔬 🎢

WOMEN IN PHYSICS DAY! In honor of the pioneering women in physics who broke down barriers to do what they love, we celebrate Women in Physics Day on November 7th, the birthdate of both Marie Curie and Lise Meitner. Marie Skrodowska-Curie (1867-1934) Radioactivity pioneer, two-time Nobel laureate A giant of science, Marie Sktodowska-Curie conducted pioneering research on radioactivity, a term she coined. She discovered two elements, founded two medical research centres, won two Nobels, and invented mobile X-ray units (dubbed petites Curies), saving countless lives in World War Lise Meitner (1878-1968) Nuclear physicist When Lise Meitner was a teen, Austria restricted female higher education. She pursued physics anyway, and 25 years later became the first woman in Germany to hold a professorship in physics. She helped discover nuclear fission, but was contentiously not awarded the 1944 Nobel alongside collaborator Otto Hahn. NOVEMBER 7TH

Dear Physicists and Physics fans,

I would like to encourage you to celebrate #WomenInPhysics Day this Friday, November 7th.

Why November 7th? Because it is the birthday of two of the most impactful women physicists of the 1900's: Marie Curie and Lise Meitner. 🎢 ⚛️ 🧪 👩‍🔬

Thanks! It really made me think hard

I've been reading @andrewmaynard.net and Jeffrey Abbott's book on AI and the Art of Being Human. It prompted me to question myself about what makes me human occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

I've been reading Jeffrey Abbott and Andrew Maynard's book AI and the Art of Being Human. It's prompted some self-reflection. Is that what makes me human? occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

For 61 years the #BBCWorldService has been broadcasting the latest in science via its weekly Science in Action programme. That dies in the next half hour, with this final edition, reflecting on the fall in trust in expertise driven by malign interests over recent years.

Striking, if slightly threatening light in Cambridge this evening

In a week of big announcements for the OxCam corridor and Cambridge specifically including an Innovation Hub, the University of Cambridge has also published its Civic Framework, setting out its responsibilities and priorities occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

There were many important announcements for the Cambridge region this week, discussed at Thursday's Innovate Cambridge summit and more widely. I consider @cam.ac.uk's Civic Responsibilities and plans occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

Great day at Innovate Cambridge Summit. 2 ministers to talk about funding for OxCam Corridor and fascinating presentations and panel discussions

Coming up: Mon. Oct. 27 ~ 3pm ET /7pm UK

"On the Marginalisation of Women in #Philosophy and #Science"

Join Athene Donald, Francesca Peacock, & Jennifer Park in conversation with Peter West on how and why women were were excluded from these disciplines.

www.tickettailor.com/events/theph...

UK immigration costs: an international comparison of skilled worker, researcher and student visas in 2025 | Royal Society 2025 update to the Royal Society's analyses of upfront immigration costs in the UK and 17 other leading science nations.

Today we have published a new analysis of UK immigration costs, comparing the 2025 costs of skilled worker, researcher and student visas in the UK and 17 other leading science nations. This updates previous analysis from 2019, 2021 and 2024:
royalsociety.org/news-resourc...

My weekend post: learning to be difficult as a teenager. Good practice for coping with academic life as an adult occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

Good for you! One has to keep trying….

Today's post looks back to when I started finding my spine as a teenager at school: Mrs Handley and the Whippets occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

Ah, the need sometimes to speak up and be difficult! Some stories from my youth, when I was just practicing....Sunday morning reading: Mrs Handley and the Whippets occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

In praise of 'difficult' women occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

Sunday reading explores 'difficult' women: from Jane Goodall to Jess Phillips. We need more to move things forward #equality occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

Sunday morning reading in praise of difficult women occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

Why are women missing from school history? The extent to which history lessons ignore female figures has been revealed by new research. Here, teachers share the changes they are making to address this gender imbalance

History lessons are just as short of female representation in the national curriculum as STEM, says End Sexism in Schools (ESIS) report. We need to find ways o make all lessons more respresentative of society (then and now). www.tes.com/magazine/tea...