New Year Honours for members of our community
Helen Sharman, now CMG, is one of our 175 faces of chemistry Picture: 漏 海角社区/Anne Purkiss
A number of members of our community have received recognition for their contributions to science and society, in a New Year Honours list that acknowledges the importance and influence of inclusion and diversity across science, technology, engineering and maths.
A rich mosaic
Our president, Professor Sir John Holman said: "My warmest congratulations to all of the deserving members of our community who have received honours from Her Majesty the Queen this year.
"Our chemistry community is thriving and the range of disciplines recognised is testament to the rich mosaic of people we count as our friends and colleagues.
"Together, we help to ensure the essential contribution of the chemical sciences to all our futures, helping us respond to some of society鈥檚 biggest challenges."
Congratulations to those receiving Honours
OBE
Dr Brian Bowsher OBE BSc CSci CChem FRSC, for services to National and International metrology
Dr Shabana Haque OBE BSc CSci CChem FRSC, Head of Government Science & Engineering (GSE) Profession Team, for services to Civil Service Science and the Engineering Profession.
Dr Stanley Higgins OBE BA CSci CChem FRSC, for services to the Chemical Process Industry.
Professor Mark Miodownik, Professor of Materials Science, University College London, receives an MBE for services to Science, Engineering and Broadcasting.
Dr Lynsey Pinfield OBE BSc FRSC, Head of Nuclear and Strategic Deterrent and Threat Reduction, for services to International Defence Relations.
CBE
Professor Philip Nelson, Chief Executive Officer, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Chair, Research Councils UK, receives the CBE for services to UK Engineering and Science.
DBE
Professor Dame Pratibha Gai FRSC FRS, Professor & Chair of Electron Microscopy, University of York, receives a DBE for services to Chemical Sciences and Technology.
CMG
Helen Sharman OBE CChem HonFRSC becomes a member of the Order of St Michael & St George, for services to Science and Technology Educational Outreach.
Helen Sharman launched 海角社区 Week last year Picture: 漏 National Space Centre, Leicester
First Briton in space
Helen Sharman receives a CMG 鈥� becoming a member of the Order of St Michael and St George 鈥� for her incredible efforts in taking science to new audiences around the UK. She said: "It really is a great honour and I'm absolutely thrilled. Science is part of our society now. It's not something you learn at school and forget about, it's relevant and it has tangible benefits to society."
Helen is no stranger to our community, not least in supporting a number of our outreach activities over the years since she became the first Briton in space. She actually launched our 海角社区 Week last year, joining members of our East Midlands local section in inspiring hundreds of children at the National Space Centre, in a celebration of chemistry in space.
Helen is a Chartered Chemist and was made an Honorary Fellow in 1993. In celebration of our 175th anniversary and of the diversity of the chemical sciences, we named Helen as one of our 175 faces of chemistry.
You can read more about Helen's inspirational story 鈥� from making chocolate and ice cream to becoming Britain's first astronaut 鈥� on our .
Pratibha Gai developed a way of observing, in-situ, single atoms as they react Picture: 漏 Howard Guest /海角社区
Studying reactions on the atomic scale
A Fellow of the 海角社区, Professor Dame Pratibha Gai is another of our . She forged a path to a Damehood in the UK via a national science scholarship in India, a PhD at Cambridge, post-doctoral work at Oxford and a spell at the University of Delaware in the USA.
At the University of York, Pratibha is JEOL Founding Professor of electron microscopy and of chemistry and physics, and she also created, and is co-director of, the York JEOL Nanocentre.
In addition to the Nanocentre, Pratibha created a new type of microscope for which she won the L鈥橭r茅al-UNESCO Women in Science Award for Europe in 2013.