Julia Higgins

Julia Higgins (1942-), polymer scientist and physicist, is a pioneer in the application of neutron scattering techniques to the study of materials, particularly polymers. Her research has frequently straddled the boundaries of physics and chemistry. During her career she has worked in interdisciplinary research institutes, such as the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, as well as departments of chemistry and chemicalengineering in the UK and in France. Since 1976 she has been based at Imperial College, London. From 2001 to 2006 she was Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society and has held senior roles at Imperial College and outside, including as chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council from 2003-2007, chair of the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education, and a founding member of the Athena Project to promote women in science and engineering.