Dr Francesca Doddato from Lancaster University has been awarded a Phillips award by the Institute of Physics for outstanding contributions and service to promoting equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.

The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the professional body and learned society for Physics, and the leading body for practising physicists, in the UK and Ireland.

Dr Doddato – known as “Frankie”- has been an active member of several committees within the Institute of Physics (IOP), promoting diversity and inclusion across the organisation including the creation and leadership of the I&D Advocates Initiative. This initiative is based on the role she founded on the local IOP regional branch.

Alongside her work within IOP, she heavily advocates for greater disability inclusion in STEMM. Disabilities, including neurodivergence, is an area which she feels is often overlooked and not included even in EDI forums.

Dr Doddato is an active member of the National Association of Disabled Staff Networks STEMM Action Group and has contributed to work setting out recommendations for overcoming barriers for disabled researchers.

She said: “I am truly honoured to receive this award. It is reward enough seeing the good that has come of the work I have been involved with, such as establishing the Inclusion & Diversity Advocates initiative, and sitting on multiple national level IOP committees. Receiving this award is a sign that people are hearing the message I am conveying of the importance of EDI in physics, in our teaching, in our research, in our community.

“Disabilities, including neurodivergence, rarely gets discussed in even EDI specific spaces, and this is something that must be addressed in particular, and it must be led by disabled people. As we say in the NADSN STEMM Action Group, “There’s no about us without us”.”

In 2021, Dr Doddato was commissioned by IOP Publishing to write a book on supporting disabled scientists in universities with a primary focus on physics. She is also co-chair of the Disabled Employees Network (DEN+) for Lancaster University, and its sister network, DEN+ Allies.

Congratulating this year’s Award winners, Institute of Physics President, Professor Sir Keith Burnett said: “On behalf of the Institute of Physics, I want to congratulate all of this year’s award winners. Each one has made a significant and positive impact in their profession, whether as a researcher, teacher, industrialist, technician or apprentice and I hope they are incredibly proud of their achievements.

“There is so much focus today on the opportunities generated by a career in physics and the potential our science has to transform our society and economy and I hope the stories of our winners will help to inspire future generations of scientists.”

Dr Doddato said: “The aim is to create a central nervous system of EDI which runs throughout all of the IOP. Inclusion must sit at the hearthstone of our community.”