Katherine Theresa Stewart Mathieson (born 17 August 1975) is the Chief Executive of the

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

. She previously led the science education projects at Nesta.

Early life and education

Mathieson was born on 17 August 1975 in Durham, the daughter of Martin and Susan Mathieson. She received her BSc in

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

from

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

in 1996. She completed a Masters in

Science Communication Science communication is the practice of informing, educating, raising awareness of science-related topics, and increasing the sense of wonder about scientific discoveries and arguments. Science communicators and audiences are ambiguously def ...

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 ...

in 1999. She earned two postgraduate diplomas, in Information Science from the

City University of London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

in 2003 and in Voluntary Sector Management from Cass Business School in 2011.

Career

Mathieson worked as a GP rep for Merck & Co. from 1996 to 1998. In 1999, she became a Science Information Officer for Science Line until joining the

Forensic Science Service The Forensic Science Service (FSS) was a government-owned company in the United Kingdom which provided forensic science services to the police forces and government agencies of England and Wales, as well as other countries. The UK Government ...

as an Information Scientist from 2000 to 2002. Mathieson led science education and enterprise education at Nesta from 2000. She contributed to 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 Physica ...

' report ''Girls in the Physics Classroom''. As Director of Education at the

, Mathieson coordinated outreach activities for school teachers and their students. Mathieson encourages others to take part in citizen science. In 2015 she joined the

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

Youth Access and Equity Research and Practice Agenda. She took part in the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

's Science Communication enquiry in June 2015. In July 2016 Mathieson took up the role as chief executive of the

in July 2016. At the British Science Association she works to make science as fundamental to society. She launched ''Not Just for Scientists'' a campaign that looked for "''ideas from people who would like to contribute to debate about science’s role in society''". In 2017 Mathieson met the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

. She is worried about the teaching of practical science at schools. In 2018 she became concerned that Brian Cox and

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

did not make science accessible to all of the general public. Mathieson has written for the ''Huffington Post'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and Open Access Government. She appeared on the radio and been on several podcasts. Mathieson is a

Girlguiding Girlguiding is the operating name of The Guide Association, previously named The Girl Guides Association and is the national guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest girl-only youth organisation. Girlguiding is a char ...

leader and is a trustee at the

Royal Commonwealth Society The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is a non-governmental organisation with a mission to promote the value of the Commonwealth and the values upon which it is based. The Society upholds the values of the Commonwealth Charter, promoting confli ...

. She is a Brownie leader. She has taken part in a

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

Tech She Can charter. In her current role, Katherine is taking her organisation on a journey to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of the organisation's mission. This has included diversifying the board membership.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathieson, Katherine 1975 births Science communicators Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Imperial College London British women biologists Alumni of Bayes Business School 21st-century British scientists 21st-century British women scientists 21st-century biologists Living people