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Muriel Tomlinson in 1956.
P ioneering Women O xford Women

Chemists at Oxford in Chemistry

In 2020 the University marked one hundred years which may have inspired her choice This year, Oxford Women in Chemistry (OxWiChem)
since women were awarded Oxford degrees. of tweed. was founded by a group of DPhil students. The aim
Women had studied at Oxford since the 1870s, of our initiative is to celebrate and promote the work
but were only admitted as full members of the She had been a brilliant student of women in chemistry, and encourage diversity and
University in 1920. Oxford Chemistry alumna at Somerville, doing Part I in two inclusion within the department. OxWiChem has three
Judith Mirzoeff (St Hilda’s, 1956) remembers years and getting a first. She was main goals: to promote the research and achievements
pioneering Oxford women chemists Muriel made a fellow of St Hilda’s in 1946 of female chemists, to encourage an inclusive
Tomlinson and Margaret Christie, and describes and worked in the DP with Robert community within in the department, and to highlight
her own experience of studying chemistry at Robinson, on indoles and carbazoles. the array of career opportunities available to graduate
Oxford in the 1950s. She was the only woman there chemists.
at the time. We could not use her
Exactly 60 years ago, I handed in my Part II thesis, student text, Introduction to the Our inaugural seminar saw the department’s own
which did little to elucidate the decomposition of Chemistry of Benzenoid Compounds, not published Professor Dame Carol Robinson give an inspirational
polythionates, and left Oxford. until 1971 (and still listed by Amazon). Despite her and motivating talk about her career to a brimming
formidable aspect she was kind and helpful if students audience! She captivated the audience by taking them
I shall never forget the thrill of my first day four years had family or financial problems. OxWiChem representatives Kathryn Leslie and Daniella Cheang.
earlier – freedom at last, even though we were still through her unique career journey to academia, from One of the ways OxWiChem have been celebrating
minors and college rules were quite parental. Coming We knew little of her outside interests, although I leaving school at 16 to becoming the first female the achievements of women in the department
from a girls’ school I was used to clever women, but remember her buying a handsome mahogany table for Professor of Chemistry at Cambridge, and later and highlighting varying career-paths, has been
was nevertheless relieved that the other freshers in her sitting room, and taking care of the strip of college Oxford, and finally her current role as President of the through our twitter profile series. In this series, we
St Hilda’s were not too daunting. There were only a garden edging the Cherwell. She was also said to drive Royal Society of Chemistry. feature profiles of women both currently working
handful of girls in our chemistry year, perhaps 10% of to the opera at Glyndebourne with her friend Helen in the department or from part of our extensive
the couple of hundred students. Our days were well Gardner, the English don. They would find a handy barn The OxWiChem inaugural seminar with Professor alumni community. If you would like to read some
defined, morning lectures, afternoons in the lab. One on the way to Sussex where they could change into Dame Carol Robinson. of the profiles you can find them by searching
elderly Fellow could be relied on to give women A their evening dresses. #OxWiChemProfiles on twitter.
grades for their practical work. I’m afraid we made sure
to seek him out. In 1958, St Hilda’s acquired an inorganic chemist OxWiChem ultimately strives to form a supportive
from Cambridge, the Scotswoman Margaret Christie. community, therefore we would love to hear from our
Laboratory work with my personal tutor, the She was a gentle unflappable soul and it was with alumni members, working across an array of sectors.
redoubtable Dr Muriel Tomlinson, in the organic Dyson her that I did my Part II. One afternoon, sucking up If you are interested in taking part in our profile
Perrins, was a different experience. She would stalk 25ml of copper sulphate solution into a pipette, I series or other initiatives, please get in touch with
the benches looking for sloppy practice and smeary lost concentration and got a mouthful. I washed out our President, Daniella Cheang, at our email address
glassware. When the culprit, usually male, protested the bitter taste and thought no more of it until I was Since the inaugural seminar, we have coordinated oxwichem@chem.ox.ac.uk.
that a flask was clean inside, “How do you know?” very sick in the middle of the night. Such an accident various events for the department, notably hosting
she would retort. The only mistake of mine that went would be impossible now, I imagine. I realised that an IUPAC Global Women’s breakfast event for If you would like to know more about us and
uncorrected was a careless misspelling of phthalic acid practical research was not for me and went off to edit the academic, administrative, technical staff and what we are doing, please visit our website
throughout an essay. abstracts and then became a science writer. I believe undergraduate and postgraduate students. We have http://www.oxwichem.co.uk
I was the only applicant for my first job, at the Zinc forged strong links with chemical industry and recently
Miss Tomlinson was a tall figure usually wearing a blue Development Association (motto:Think Zinc). Touring hosted a virtual interactive workshop on implicit bias,
tweed suit (skirt not trousers then of course), with the brilliant new integrated undergraduate labs last run by Dr Rebecca Ruck, Executive Director of Process
a pearl brooch on the lapel. She has related that she year, many of us thought that we might like to start Research and Development, Merck. Keen to promote a
had been attracted to chemistry at school because again and perhaps make different choices. variety of chemical careers, OxWiChem will be hosting
the word conjured up a delightful blue colour for her. a panel of female scientists from Pfizer later this year.
This colour-thinking or synesthesia is a rare condition, Judith Mirzoeff (Topper) 1956-60

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