Gold Medal for Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Quaker scientist receives Royal Astronomical Society award
The Quaker scientist Jocelyn Bell Burnell has been awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society 2021, following in the footsteps of former recipients including Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, Arthur Eddington and Stephen Hawking. The medal recognises her ‘extraordinary achievements’ and has been awarded not only for her personal research but also for her contributions to the field of astronomy generally. The prominent astrophysicist was famously overlooked for her discovery of pulsar stars in 1967 when the 1974 Nobel Prize for Physics went to her male PhD supervisor instead.
‘I am indeed honoured to join an illustrious list of recipients of this medal, including our own Carole Jordan,’ said Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
Ian Shipsey, head of the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford, said: ‘Jocelyn is an extraordinarily accomplished physicist, a champion of diversity, and a role model for us all. She is a force of nature, a national, and indeed, global treasure. We are incredibly proud of her achievements as recognised by so many awards, and now by the Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. It is a privilege that Jocelyn is our colleague in the Department of Physics here at Oxford.’
The Quaker astrophysicist was also interviewed by Jeremy Vine on his BBC Radio 2 show last week. ‘What a joy to hear an interesting and sensitive interview of Jocelyn Bell Burnell,’ said Christine Hayes from Wokingham Friends Meeting.
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