Susan Greenfield
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Susan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield (born October 1, 1951 in London) is a British scientist, writer, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords. Greenfield is Professor of Pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford University and Director of the Royal Institution. She attended St Hilda's College, Oxford.
Greenfield's research is focused on brain physiology, particularly the etiology of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, but she is best known as a populariser of science. Greenfield has written several popular-science books about the brain and consciousness, and regularly gives public lectures and appears on radio and television. In 1994 she gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, then sponsored by the BBC, entitled "The Brain".
Greenfield created three Research and Biotechnology companies, Synaptica, BrainBoost and Neurodiagnostics, which research neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
Greenfield was married to Oxford University Professor of Physical Chemistry Peter Atkins but divorced in 2003.
As well as several honorary degrees Greenfield has been awarded the Royal Society's Faraday medal, in January 2000 a CBE for her contributions to the public understanding of science, and in 2003 the French Legion d'honneur. In June 2001 she was made a life peer of the House of Lords, where she sits as Baroness Greenfield of Otmoor in the County of Oxfordshire.
Despite her prominent positions, achievements and science-popularising work, it was suggested in 2004 that the Royal Society had passed Greenfield over for a nomination for the highly regarded Fellowship of the Royal Society. Following a brief news story in the scientific journal Nature entitled "Popularizer Greenfield is blackballed by peers" John Enderby & David Read, two Vice Presidents of the Royal Society, wrote saying 'Susan Greenfield has not been "blackballed" by the Royal Society, nor have we "decided not to admit" her. Your report neglected to point out that candidates are eligible for election as a fellow for up to seven years after nomination, in the first instance, and they are considered afresh each year by new panels of distinguished scientists.'
Bibliography
- Journey to the Centres of the Mind: Towards a Science of Consciousness
- The Human Brain, A Guided Tour
- Tomorrow's People
Online articles
- The Wrong Chemistry (http://education.guardian.co.uk/gendergap/story/0,7348,849552,00.html)
External links
- Bio from the Social Issues Research Centre (http://www.sirc.org/about/susan_greenfield.html)
- Education Guardian biography (http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/sciences/story/0,12243,1206804,00.html)
- Fellows keep Greenfield off Royal Society list (http://education.guardian.co.uk/gendergap/story/0,7348,1205831,00.html)
- Letter from the Royal Society (http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040614/pf/429699c_pf.html) on Greenfield's Fellowship nomination
- Biography and Interviews (http://www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/duncan1.html)