Dame Julia Stretton Higgins (née Downes; born 1 July 1942) is a British polymer scientist. Since 1976 she has been based at the Department of

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

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 ...

, where (since 2007) she is professor and senior research investigator.

Education

Higgins was educated at the

Ursuline High School, Wimbledon The Ursuline High School, Wimbledon (“the Ursuline”) is a voluntary-aided, Roman Catholic Secondary School for girls aged 11 to 19. The school is based at Crescent Road and the Downs, Wimbledon, London. It was founded in 1892 by the Ursulines ...

and Somerville College, Oxford where she was awarded

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

and

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degrees.

Career

In 1999, Higgins was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

for the application of neutron scattering and reflectivity to polymeric materials, and for service to the scientific community. Higgins chaired the

Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education The Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME) is a British policy council for the Royal Society based in London, England. Founded in 2002 by the Royal Society and the Joint Mathematical Council, ACME analyzes mathematics education practices ...

(ACME) from 2008–2012. She is also a former chair (1998–2003) of the Athena Project, which aims for the advancement of women in science, engineering and technology (SET) in Higher Education. Between 2003 and 2007, she was also chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Higgins was president of the Institution of Chemical Engineers 2002–03, and president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 2003–04. She was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in 1995 and was its foreign secretary 2001–06. She is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...

and the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the

City and Guilds of London Institute The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

, of which she is Vice-President. She is an honorary fellow of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...

and of Somerville College, Oxford. She was appointed a

CBE 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 ...

in 1996 before being named a dame in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours list. Dame Julia replaced Professor

Adrian Smith Adrian Frederick "H" Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio. Smith grew up in London ...

FRS as ACME Chair in September 2008 when Adrian became Director General of Science and Research at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. She holds honorary degrees from a number of UK universities and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

, Australia. Her scientific work has concentrated on the investigation of polymers with

neutron scattering Neutron scattering, the irregular dispersal of free neutrons by matter, can refer to either the naturally occurring physical process itself or to the man-made experimental techniques that use the natural process for investigating materials. Th ...

. She co-authored a monograph on that field (Higgins & Benoit 1997). In April 2003 she became chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. She was succeeded by

John Armitt Sir John Alexander Armitt (born 2 February 1946) is an English civil engineer, and current chairman of the UK's National Infrastructure Commission. From 2007 Armitt was chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body which successfully bu ...

on 1 April 2007. In June 2006 Higgins was appointed principal of the Faculty of engineering at Imperial College London. The Faculty of engineering at Imperial College is one of the largest in the UK, comprising nine departments with 1,000 staff, over 4,200 students and an annual turnover of around £80 million. She is a member of the World Knowledge Dialogue Scientific Board, president of the

ESPCI ParisTech ESPCI Paris (officially the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la Ville de Paris; ''The City of Paris Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution'') is a prestigious grande école founded in 1882 by ...

Scientific Committee. She is a Patron of WISE, a charitable organisation that encourages young women to pursue careers in Science, engineering and Construction, as well as a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering. She served as president of the

from 1 October 2017 to 30 September 2019.

Awards and honours

Higgins was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1989. Her nomination reads: Other awards and honours include: * Principal of the Faculty of engineering (2006–07) * Chair of the engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (2003 – April 2007) * Trustee,

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

until 2010 * Trustee,

Daphne Jackson Trust The Daphne Jackson Trust is an independent UK charity based in the Physics Department at the University of Surrey. It was established in 1992 to provide Fellowships to scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians to return them to ...

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 the Royal Academy of Engineering * Foreign member of the

of the United States *

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

in 2003 * President, British Association for the Advancement of Science from 2003 until 2004. * Received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2000 *She is a foreign member of the

of the United States. She was named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the

2001 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2001 was announced on 16 June 2001 for the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland), New Zealand (4 June), Australia (11 June), Barbados, Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sai ...

. In March 2010, the

UKRC The UKRC (UK Resource Centre) is a UK organisation for the provision of advice, services and policy consultation regarding the under-representation of women in science, engineering, technology and the built environment (SET). It is funded by the ...

announced Professor Higgins as one of six Women of Outstanding Achievement in Science, engineering and Technology. *A portrait of her by Tess Barnes was unveiled in June 2014 at Imperial College. * In 1999 she was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in the UK and from aroun ...

(FREng). * She was chair of the Royal Society's 2008 State of the Nation Report Steering Group for 'Science and mathematics education 14–19'. * In 2016, she was interviewed by

Jim Al-Khalili Jameel Sadik "Jim" Al-Khalili ( ar, جميل صادق الخليلي; born 20 September 1962) is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in scien ...

on ''

The Life Scientific ''The Life Scientific'' is a BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, dra ...

''. * Awarded the

Sir Frank Whittle Medal The Sir Frank Whittle Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Academy of Engineering to an engineer, normally resident in the United Kingdom, for outstanding and sustained achievement which has contributed to the well-being of the nation. The field ...

by the Royal Academy of engineering in 2020 "for her sustained excellence in polymer engineering".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Julia 1942 births Living people Academics of Imperial College London British chemists British people of Irish descent British women academics British women scientists Presidents of the Institute of Physics Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Female Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Female Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Presidents of the British Science Association Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford 21st-century women engineers Deans of the City and Guilds College