Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield

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The Right Honourable Professor
 The Baroness Greenfield 
CBE
Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield
Born 1 October 1950 (1950-10-01) (age 58)
Nationality British
Alma mater St Hilda's College, Oxford
Occupation Peer and Academic

Susan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, CBE[1] (born 1 October 1950) is a British scientist, writer, broadcaster, and member of the House of Lords. Greenfield, whose specialty is the physiology of the brain, has worked to research and bring attention to Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Greenfield is Professor of Synaptic Pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford, and Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain.[2] On 1 February 2006, she was installed as Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

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[edit] Early life

Baroness Greenfield was born in the west London borough of Hammersmith to Doris (Thorp) and Myer Reginald Greenfield, a machine operator, whose Jewish parents were Austrian and Russian.[3] Greenfield attended the Godolphin and Latymer School, and was the first member of her family to go on to university, at St Hilda's College, Oxford.[4]

[edit] Career

Greenfield's research is focused on brain physiology, particularly the etiology of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, but she is best known as a populariser of science. Greenfield has written several popular-science books about the brain and consciousness, and regularly gives public lectures, and appears on radio and television. In 1994, she was invited to be the first woman to give the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture, then sponsored by the BBC.[2] Her lecture was titled "The Brain". From 1995 to 1999, she gave public lectures as Gresham Professor of Physic.

Greenfield created three research and biotechnology companies: Synaptica, BrainBoost, and Neurodiagnostics, which research neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

Greenfield has expressed concerns that modern technology, and in particular social networking sites, may have a negative impact on child development.[5] This was criticised by Dr Ben Goldacre, who argued that "this is Baroness Greenfield unfortunately abusing her position in order to give extra weight to conjecture and opinion".[6][7]

Baroness Greenfield is a Patron of Dignity in Dying.

[edit] Awards

As well as several honorary degrees, Greenfield has been awarded the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize, and in January 2000, received the CBE for her contributions to the public understanding of science.[1] She is a Patron of the Alzheimer's Research Trust. [1] In 2003, she was given the French Légion d'honneur, and in June 2001, she was created a life peer, as Baroness Greenfield, of Otmoor, in the County of Oxfordshire.[1]

In 2004, a 'whispering campaign' prevented her nomination to the Royal Society, a suggestion being that her research lacked sufficient substance worthy of fellowship.[8]

[edit] Personal life

Greenfield was married to an Oxford University Professor of Physical Chemistry, Peter Atkins; they divorced in 2005.[9]

One of the school houses of Didcot Girls' School in Oxfordshire is named after Greenfield.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c House of Lords (2001). "Minutes and Order Paper - Minutes of Proceedings". UK Parliament House of Lords. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200102/minutes/010626/ldminute.htm. Retrieved on 27 October 2007. 
  2. ^ a b The Royal Institution of Great Britain (2007). "Baroness Susan Greenfield". The Royal Institution of Great Britain. http://www.rigb.org/abouttheri/detail.jsp?&id=1. Retrieved on 27 October 2007. 
  3. ^ The Telegraph (2006). "Family Detective". Telegraph Media Group. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/30/nbarratt30.xml. Retrieved on 27 October 2007. 
  4. ^ British Council on Science (2007). "Baroness Greenfield". British Council on Science. http://www.britishcouncil.org/science-testimonials-baroness-greenfield.htm. Retrieved on 27 October 2007. 
  5. ^ Derbyshire, David (February 24, 2009). "Social websites harm children's brains". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1153583/Social-websites-harm-childrens-brains-Chilling-warning-parents-neuroscientist.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-05. 
  6. ^ "Social websites: bad for kids' brains?". BBC Newsnight. 25 February 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7909847.stm. 
  7. ^ Arthur, Charles (25 February 2009). "Age Concern backs social networks but Ben Goldacre's blood pressure still rising". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/feb/25/social-networking. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  8. ^ Connor, Steve (29 April 2004). "Campaign stops leading female scientist joining Royal Society". http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/campaign-stops-leading-female-scientist-joining-royal-society-561622.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  9. ^ Cole Moreton "Susan Greenfield: The girl with all the brains", The Independent on Sunday, 11 May 2008.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] Bibliography

  • Greenfield, Susan (1995). Journey to the Centers of the Mind: Toward a Science of Consciousness. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. pp. 236 pages. ISBN 0-7167-2723-4. 
  • Greenfield, Susan (1997). The Human Brain: A Guided Tour (Science Masters Series). New York: Basic Books. pp. 160 pages. ISBN 0-465-00726-0. 
  • Greenfield, Susan (2002). The Private Life of the Brain (Penguin Press Science). London, England: Penguin Books Ltd. pp. 272 pages. ISBN 0-14-100720-6. 
  • Greenfield, Susan (2003). Tomorrow's People: How 21st Century Technology is Changing the Way we Think and Feel. London: Allen Lane. pp. 304 pages. ISBN 0-7139-9631-5. 
  • Greenfield, Susan (2006). Inside the Body. London: Cassell Illustrated. pp. 288 pages. ISBN 184403500X. 
  • Greenfield, Susan (2008). ID: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century. London: Sceptre. pp. 320 pages. ISBN 0340936002. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Peter Day		 Director of the Royal Institution
1998–Present		 Succeeded by
incumbent
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Greenfield,_Baroness_Greenfield"
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