A Lancaster University statistician has been chosen to receive a prestigious award celebrating the achievements of women in STEM subjects.

Dr Juhyun Park, of Lancaster University’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will be honoured at the third Suffrage Science Awards for Mathematics and Computing online celebration on Friday 6 November 2020.

She is among 11 mathematicians and computer scientists, who work in STEM fields across the world, who will be recognised for their scientific achievements and the work they do to promote maths and computing for the next generation. The Suffrage Science awards scheme, curated by the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, celebrates women in STEM subjects, and encourage others to enter scientific fields and reach senior leadership roles.

The 11 awardees are chosen by the previous award holders for their scientific achievements and ability to inspire others. This scientific “relay” takes place every two years, and creates an inspiring network of women connected by their link to the scheme.

Dr Tereza Neocleous of the University of Glasgow, nominated Dr Park, whose research interests lie in developing new statistical tools to deal with complex data science problems particularly in relation to health science and medical statistics.

Dr Neocleous said: “Juhyun's research in statistics combines mathematical rigour with practical applications in emerging fields such as the monitoring of complex multivariate health data. Juhyun has also made important contributions in training the next generation of researchers in mathematical statistics.”

Dr Park said: “It has been a complete surprise and a great honour to me. As a woman in science and someone from a very different cultural background, I believe it is important to recognise cultural diversity and different needs in education and research.”

More than one hundred years after the first women in Britain got the vote, women still make up only 24 per cent of those working in core science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupations in the UK.

Solving the ‘leaky pipeline’ issue is a long-term challenge for maths and computing. Recent data has revealed that women make up just 13% of students studying computer science or related university courses in the UK. When you compare that figure to other STEM related courses, the stark contrast becomes evident. Women studying biology total 61% and of students studying chemistry, 44% are women. There is a similar lack of females studying mathematics courses – a total of 36% of students.

The Suffrage Science scheme was initiated by Professor Dame Amanda Fisher, Director of the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, in 2011.

Professor Fisher said: “The creation of the Maths and Computing Suffrage Sciences Awards in 2016 recognised the increasing importance of mathematics and computing to the life sciences. As in all branches of the awards, their purpose is to celebrate women scientists, their scientific achievements and ability to inspire others. This is especially important in maths and computing, where women students studying these subjects are still in the minority. We are delighted to welcome this year’s awardees into the growing Suffrage Science community of over 130 women from across the globe, and look forward to supporting them to inspire the next generation.”

The awards themselves are hand-crafted items of jewellery created by art students from Central Saint Martins-UAL, who worked with scientists to design pieces inspired by research and by the Suffragette movement, from which the award scheme takes its name.