Frances Saunders (scientist)
Dame Frances Saunders | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 June 1954 |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Frances Carolyn Saunders |
| Alma mater | University of Nottingham |
| Known for | Chief Executive of Dstl President of Institute of Physics |
| Board member of | Engineering Development Trust - Trustee Cranfield University - Council Member |
Dame Frances Carolyn Saunders DBE CB FREng HonFInstP (born 28 June 1954) is a British scientist and former civil servant. She was the chief executive of Dstl between August 2007 and March 2012.[1][2] Prior to this Saunders was a policy officer at the Office of Science and Technology and research scientist into liquid crystal devices at the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment. Saunders was the president of the Institute of Physics from 2013 to 2015.[3]
Saunders attended the girls-only Portsmouth High School, before attending the University of Nottingham to study physics. She became Leyland's first female graduate engineer, on an electronic engineering apprenticeship, eventually leaving due to frustration that the electronic systems she worked on were not used on mass-production scales. This was when she joined the RSRE and started a part-time PhD in liquid crystal devices.[4]
After retiring from Dstl in 2012, Saunders took on a number of activities promoting science, engineering and leadership, especially for young people. She was appointed as a member of the UK Space Agency Steering Board in 2015, was president of the IOP from 2013 to 2015, and is a trustee of the Engineering Development Trust. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2011, and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath the same year.[3]
In 2018, Saunders was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for "services to Science and Engineering", announced as part of the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours List.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Gilbert, Natasha (20 November 2007). "Interview: Frances Saunders | Education | The Guardian". The Guardian. London: GMG. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
- ^ "Jonathan Lyle named as new Dstl Chief Executive". Ministry of Defence. MOD. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Dr Frances Saunders". Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- ^ Pinnell, Heather (July 2013). "Pioneer prepares for a new challenge" (PDF). Interactions. Institute of Physics. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ "Birthday Honours 2018 - High Awards" (PDF). 8 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- 1954 births
- Living people
- British civil servants
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- 20th-century British physicists
- British women physicists
- Fellows of the Institute of Physics
- Presidents of the Institute of Physics
- Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
- Female fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
- People educated at Portsmouth High School (Southsea)
- Alumni of the University of Nottingham
- Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- 20th-century British women engineers
- 21st-century British women engineers