The prizes, awarded to Katharine Field (Mechanical Engineering), Bhuma Limbu (Chemical Engineering), Luhtu Murphy (Physics), Monica Plotkin (Computer Science) and Isobel Mawby (Theoretical Physics) for outstanding academic achievement in Part I of their respective degrees, are awarded by Ede & Ravenscroft, who supply robes for Lancaster University’s students during graduation.
Prize-winner Katharine Field is proud to receive the award, and is glad that doing so is promoting women’s involvement in scientific subjects. “I am very grateful and excited to win the Ede & Ravenscroft Prize,” she says. “I am glad women in science are getting recognition, and I am sure that there are many other people in my year, women and men, who would have been worthy of the prize, so I feel very lucky.”
All five students are enjoying their time at Lancaster University, and have found their first year a highly enriching and rewarding experience. “The best thing about my degree programme would be how it challenges you, either through problems or understanding concepts,” says Luhtu Murphy of her Physics degree. “It’s a very satisfying feeling to finally work one of these out, and you get to do this regularly throughout the degree.”
The students feel that the friendly and supportive environment of Lancaster University is helping them to flourish and reach their full potential. “I love the campus and the feel of the University, as well as the mix of the practical and intellectual challenges of my degree,” Katharine Field tells us. “I love the lab sessions and being in the workshop, and also really enjoyed our trip to Jaguar Land Rover. I like the tutorial sessions, as I could ask questions and we could have discussions about the subjects we had been learning about.”
In terms of their career aspirations, all five students feel that their degrees are providing excellent groundwork for their future careers. “With computer science I think I can go into many different sectors, as computers are pretty much everywhere now,” says Monica Plotkin. “Having the knowledge of how they work would certainly prove to be valuable in any career.”
Additionally, Isobel Mawby aspires to a career in research when she leaves Lancaster, and hopes to discover the areas that most interest her over the course of her degree. “I need a challenging and interesting career in an area of which I enjoy,” she says. “This is why, currently, I aspire to go into research. I am unsure of the subject I wish to research, but hope to figure this out whilst doing my degree.”
Many congratulations to Bhuma, Isobel, Katharine, Luhtu and Monica. We wish them every success for the future.