Mary Doreen Archer, Baroness Archer of Weston-super-Mare ( Weeden; born 22 December 1944)
is a British scientist specialising in
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
conversion. She is married to
Jeffrey Archer
Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...
, a former chairman of the Conservative Party.
Early life and education
Mary Weeden was born in
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
, Surrey, in December 1944. She was the younger daughter of Harold N. Weeden, a
chartered accountant,
and Doreen Cox. She attended
Cheltenham Ladies' College
Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to pr ...
, before reading
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
at
St Anne's College, Oxford
St Anne's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. It has some 450 undergraduate and 200 ...
. She went on to study for a
PhD in
physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...
at
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
.
Her thesis was titled "Heterogeneous catalysis of inorganic substitution reactions" and was submitted in 1968.
Career
Archer was a
junior research fellow
A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a ...
at
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it ...
, from 1968 to 1971.
She was then a temporary lecturer in chemistry at
Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...
for the 1971/72 academic year.
After Oxford, she worked as a scientific researcher under
George Porter
George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967.
Education and early life
Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...
at the
Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...
in London.
[ It was during this period that she became interested in ]photoelectrochemistry
Photoelectrochemistry is a subfield of study within physical chemistry concerned with the interaction of light with electrochemical systems. It is an active domain of investigation. One of the pioneers of this field of electrochemistry was the Ge ...
, and has since written and lectured extensively on the subject.
In the mid-1970s, she was appointed to the board of directors of the International Solar Energy Society '
The International Solar Energy Society (ISES) is a global organization for promoting the development and utilisation of renewable energy. ISES is a UN-accredited NGO headquartered in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Dr David S. Renné is the c ...
. Between 1976 and 1986, she was a fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of Newnham College and a lecturer in chemistry at Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
College of the University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. From 1984 to 1991, she was a director of the Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...
Trust in Cambridge. She was a non-executive director
A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of the ...
of Mid Anglia Radio plc between 1988 and 1995. She sings first alto and in 1988 released a CD of Christmas carols, titled ''A Christmas Carol''. In 1988, Archer joined the Council of Lloyds Insurance Company, becoming chair of the Lloyds Hardship Committee the following year. She had been a Lloyds 'Name' since 1977.
From 1988 to 2000, she was chair of the National Energy Foundation
The National Energy Foundation (NEF) is an independent British charity, established to improve the use of energy in buildings.
Aims
The charity aims to ''improve the use of energy in buildings''. This statement simplified the earlier stated ...
, which promotes improving the use of energy in buildings. She later became its president and is currently its patron. She is also president of the UK Solar Energy Society (UK-ISES). Weeden is also a Companion of the Energy Institute
The Energy Institute (EI) is a professional organization for engineers and other professionals in energy-related fields. The EI was formed in 2003 by the merger of the Institute of Petroleum (dating back to 1913) and the Institute of Energy (d ...
and was awarded the Institute's Melchett Medal
The Melchett Award is an honour awarded by the Energy Institute for outstanding contributions to the science of fuel and energy.
It was created by and named for Alfred Moritz Mond, 1st Baron Melchett, the 20th century businessman and philanthropis ...
in 2002.
She has written and contributed to various volumes of work concerning solar energy, including ''Photochemical & Photoelectrochemical Approaches to Solar Energy Conversion'', which took 15 years to write. She co-edited ''Clean Electricity from Photovoltaics'' (2001); ''Molecular to Global Photosynthesis'' (2004); ''The 1702 Chair of Chemistry at Cambridge: Transformation and Change'' (2005) and ''Nanostructured and Photoelectrochemical Systems for Solar Photon Conversion'' (2008).[
In 1994 Lady Archer was a non-executive director of ]Anglia Television
ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...
at a time when it was the target of a takeover bid
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...
. Following reports from the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
, the Department of Trade and Industry appointed inspectors on 8 February 1994 to investigate possible insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...
contraventions by certain individuals, including her husband. No charges were brought.
She was chair of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
A foundation trust is a semi-autonomous organisational unit within the National Health Service in England. They have a degree of independence from the Department of Health and Social Care (and, until the abolition of SHAs in 2013, their local s ...
(incorporating Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals) for 10 years until 2012, having previously been a non-executive director (1993–99), and vice-chair (1999–2002) of Addenbrooke's Hospital
Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...
NHS Trust. Between 2005 and 2008, she led a pioneer NHS-funded initiative to create patient decision aids for patients with localised prostate cancer (or BPH). In 2007 she was awarded the Eva Philbin Award of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland The Institute of Chemistry of Ireland (ICI) is a society representing chemists in the Republic of Ireland. It is led by Celine Marmion, a Professor of Chemistry at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
History
The first meeting was held on 15 ...
. She was founder director of Cambridge University Health Partners, 2009–2012, and was deputy chair of ACT (Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust) from 1997 to 2015. She is currently leading a group to create an online PDA and information/advice for bladder cancer patients in Addenbrooke's Hospital, and across the Anglia Cancer Network.
On 24 February 2020, Archer was installed as chancellor of the University of Buckingham
, mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings
, established = 1973; as university college1983; as university
, type = Private
, endowment =
, administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support
, chance ...
.
Archer served as a trustee of the Science Museum Group
The Science Museum Group (SMG) consists of five British museums:
* The Science Museum in South Kensington, London
* The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester
* The National Railway Museum in York
* The Locomotion Museum (formerly the Natio ...
from 1990 to 2000, and was appointed its chair in 2015.
Honours
Archer was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(DBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom. on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand,[Jeffrey Archer
Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...]
in July 1966, having met him at Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, where he had been studying for a diploma in education. They have two children: William Archer (born 1972), a theatre producer, and James Archer (born 1974), a financial advisor and businessman.
The Archers live in the Old Vicarage, Grantchester
The Old Vicarage in the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester is a house associated with the poet Rupert Brooke, who lived nearby and in 1912 referenced it in an eponymous poem – The Old Vicarage, Grantchester.
The Old Vicarage was built ...
, near Cambridge.
In the summer of 1974, the Archers were struck by a financial crisis when Jeffrey lost over £400,000 in a bad investment. Faced with the threat of bankruptcy, the Archers were forced to move out of their large house in The Boltons
The Boltons is a street and garden square of lens shape in the Brompton district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England (postcode SW10). The opposing sides of the street face the communal gardens (as two non-semicircula ...
. Mary took up a teaching post at Cambridge University which, together with her husband's eventual success as a novelist, saved them from financial ruin.[
In 1987 she gave evidence at the High Court in a libel case brought by her husband against the '' Daily Star'' newspaper, which had correctly reported that Jeffrey had slept with a prostitute. In 2001, when Jeffrey Archer was prosecuted for having committed ]perjury
Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
and for perverting the course of justice in the 1987 trial, she appeared at the Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
as a defence witness. Jeffrey Archer was subsequently convicted and imprisoned for perjury and perverting the course of justice. The trial judge, Mr Justice Potts, questioned the veracity of Lady Archer's evidence, suggesting that she too had perjured herself. However, no further action was taken.
In 2003, she sued her former personal assistant, Jane Williams over her breach of confidentiality. Archer was granted a permanent injunction against Williams plus £2,500 damages, for her claim she misappropriated confidential documents about the Archer family, and had contracted the sale of the personal information to the media which was then published by the Sunday Mirror newspaper. Williams had taken Lady Archer to an industrial tribunal on a complaint of unfair dismissal. The complaint was dismissed by the panel in 2002.
Between 1991 and 1999 she sat on the council of The Cheltenham Ladies' College
Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to p ...
.
In 2011 she said she had recently undergone major surgery for bladder cancer.
References
Further reading
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Mary
1944 births
20th-century chemists
21st-century chemists
20th-century British women scientists
21st-century British women scientists
Archer of Weston-super-Mare
British physical chemists
British women chemists
British women academics
Living people
People from Epsom
People from Grantchester
People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College
Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford
Alumni of Imperial College London
Fellows of Newnham College, Cambridge
Members of the University of Cambridge Department of Chemistry
Women academic administrators
English science writers
Directors of museums in the United Kingdom
Women museum directors
People associated with the Science Museum, London
British women in business
British women business executives
20th-century British businesspeople
21st-century British businesspeople
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Spouses of life peers
British academic administrators
British women educators
20th-century English educators
21st-century English educators
20th-century English businesswomen
20th-century English businesspeople
21st-century English businesswomen
21st-century English businesspeople
People associated with the University of Buckingham
20th-century women educators
21st-century women educators