Dr Jess Wade wins prestigious L’Oreal-UNESCO Rising Talents Physical Sciences Fellowship

South Hampstead High School alumna Dr Jess Wade has won the Rising Talents Fellowship in the Physical Sciences category in the L’Oreal-UESCO awards for Women in Science UK and Ireland Rising Talents Programme.

Speaking about her win, Jess said, “It is a real privilege to be recognised by the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Programme. I would love to become a professor someday, and lead an exciting, diverse and well-equipped research lab. This award feels like an important step in making that happen.”

Dr Jess Wade is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London, investigating polymer-based organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). She is also an increasingly high profile champion for women in STEM, and has worked tirelessly to tackle gender bias on Wikipedia.

A multiple award winner, she combines academic excellence and rigour with a passion for creating opportunities and respect for women in science. Last year, she was named as one of Nature’s 10 – ten people who mattered in Science – and awarded the Institute of Physics Daphne Jackson Medal and Prize. To date, she has written more than 900 Wikipedia entries for women and minoritised scientists around the world. This, alongside her work in the field of OLEDs, has bought her major attention and led to mainstream media (broadcast and print) interviews and articles, TEDx talks and podcasts.

The £15,000 Rising Talents Fellowship award is designed to provide financial as well as practical support to early-career women scientists to pursue their research over a 12-month period, and was awarded to one outstanding female postdoctoral scientist in each of five different fields; namely physical science, engineering, mathematics and computing, life science and sustainable development.

Congratulations Jess!