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9 August 2018
The science laboratories at Bolton School Girls’ Division are to be named after famous female scientists. The school held a competition in the summer term and many girls took part, nominating women who have made a contribution to science.
Dr Anne Fielder, the Head of Science in the Girls’ Division, said, “Some of these women have been little recognised for their work and contributions to science, due to the fact that they were female. We would like to honour them for their scientific contributions, and ensure that their names live on.”
Pupils whose nominations were chosen as one of the nine laboratory names received a small token of appreciation from the school, and the results were revealed in an assembly. A plaque bearing the name will be hung outside each of the laboratories.
The labs will be named as follows:
The Mary Anning Laboratory after the English fossil hunter and pioneering palaeontologist whose findings significantly impacted the study of prehistoric life. She was nominated by Maryam Ali and Rhianna Lucas.
The Nettie Stevens Laboratory after the American geneticist who discovered sex chromosomes and studied sex determination in many species of insects. She was nominated by Nabila Thagia.
The Rosalind Franklin Laboratory after the British woman whose X-ray diffraction images of DNA made a huge contribution to the discovery of its structure. She was nominated by Mia Langtree, Glory Steer, Maryam Ali, Zara Jiva, Jennie Taberner, Olivia Stubbs.
The Eva Wittgenstein Laboratory after the researcher who investigated and explained the skin-colouring effects of dihydroxyacetone (DHA), paving the way for the creation of fake tans. She was nominated by Harriet Forster.
The Jocelyn Bell Laboratory after Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell, an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who, as a postgraduate student, discovered radio pulsars in 1967. She was nominated by Lily Rimmer.
The Marie Curie Laboratory after the physicist and chemist who discovered radioactivity and the elements polonium and radium. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and only woman to win two Nobel Prizes, and the only person to win in multiple sciences. She was nominated by India Corlett-Moore and Ellie Wallis.
The Caroline Herschel Laboratory after the German astronomer who discovered eight comets in her lifetime, and was the first woman to be named an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society. She was nominated by Katie Riggs.
The Hertha Ayrton Laboratory after the pioneering physicist, engineer and promoter of women’s rights. She is famous for her work on electric arcs and ripples in sand and water, as well as the Ayrton fan which was used in the First World War to disperse poisonous gasses from trenches. She was nominated by Nabilah Thagia.
The Florence Bascom Laboratory after the American geologist who was one of the first women to earn a master’s degree in geology and led the next generation of notable female geologists. She was nominated by Emily Bilsborough.
