11/02/2025
For the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate the incredible contributions of six of Cambridge’s pioneering women in science.
SOPHIE WILSON is a British computer scientist and Cambridge graduate who co-designed the BBC Micro and ARM architecture, which is used in billions of devices worldwide. Her innovations have shaped modern computing…it’s more than likely that the device that you’re reading this on contains the microchip that Sophie co-designed.
MARGARET CAVENDISH (1623–1673) was a writer, scientist, and philosopher who made significant contributions to scientific thought. Though Cavendish, also known as the Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, did not receive formal recognition in her lifetime, she is now celebrated as one of the most important female intellectuals of the 17th century.
ELIZABETH BLACKBURN is an Australian-American biologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for her work on telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. A Cambridge graduate, Blackburn’s discoveries on telomeres and the enzyme telomerase have transformed our understanding of ageing and cancer.
DAME ANNE MCLAREN’s pioneering work in embryology and genetics laid the foundation for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), revolutionising reproductive science. Her legacy in reproductive science is profound, and she remains a key figure in the history of biology.
DAME ATHENE DONALD is a British physicist and Cambridge graduate whose research in soft matter physics has advanced our understanding of the structures and properties of polymers. Beyond her research, Donald continues to be a leading advocate for women in STEM.
ROSALIND FRANKLIN was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer. Though she did not receive major recognition during her lifetime, Franklin's vital contributions to the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure are now widely acknowledged and she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2020.
