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IOE academics named British Science Association 'Section Presidents'

24 May 2018

Two UCL Institute of Education (IOE) academics have been announced by the British Science Association (BSA) as Scientific Section Presidents for 2018.

The new elected section presidents are Professor Louise Archer, President of the Sociology and Social Sciences section, and Dr Andrew Morris, President of the Education section. Professor Jon Butterworth (UCL Physics and Astronomy) was also named President of the Physics and Astronomy section. They are among 17 new section heads that were this week announced by the BSA.

Professor Louise Archer is the Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education at the IOE. Her research focuses on educational identities and inequalities, particularly in relation to gender, ethnicity and social class.

She is the Principal Investigator of a number of large national projects, including the ten year ESRC funded Aspires / Aspires2 study (a mixed-method longitudinal tracking of students' science and career aspirations from ages 10-18). 

Dr Andrew Morris is an honorary senior lecturer at the IOE. He specialises in the interaction of research, policy and practice.

Outside of UCL he is director of the National Educational Research Forum (NERF) in England, is a member of the Advisory Group of the National Foundation for Educational Research and works with several education organizations, including the Institute of Effective Education, the Learning and Skills Research Network, the Coalition for Evidence Based Education and the EIPPEE European evidence initiative.

The BSA's sections play a key role in developing content for the British Science Festival, advising the BSA on key topics in their subject areas, as well as suggesting leading figures who could be involved. Comprised of science professionals, the sections contribute to the events programme and arrange activities such as talks, demonstrations, and debates. 

Each year, the sections nominate an individual who has made a significant contribution to their scientific field for presidency of the section. The elected presidents are also invited to give their Presidential Address at the British Science Festival in September to mark the start of their year-long Presidency.

Professor Louise Archer said: "I am delighted to have the honour of taking on this prestigious role of President of the Sociology and Social Sciences section. Sociology and the social sciences are offering us valuable insights and perspectives on key science-related issues, such as the persistence of inequalities in STEM participation, which will be the topic of my presidential address at the British Science Festival in Hull this September. We warmly welcome everyone to join us at this exciting celebration of science - it promises to be a lively, engaging and rich programme." 

Media contact

Rowan Walker, UCL Media Relations
rowan.walker@ucl.ac.uk
+44 (0)20 3108 8516

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