First Outstanding ED&I Champion - Researcher: Alexandra Ramadan

An award made to a researcher who has shown outstanding dedication, sustained commitment, and effective leadership in advancing equality, diversity and inclusion. To confirm, this category includes students.

Alexandra has received a number of nominations for her commitment to improving ED&I in the Physics department and the wider university community. One of Alexandra’s nominations reads: “Alex has gone above and beyond what is required of her in her role as a postdoctoral research assistant to work towards a fair and welcoming academic environment. In her lab group, year after year, she takes it upon herself to mentor and train younger students to support them in their research when mentorship from academics is missing. Outside of her research, Alex organizes and participates in outreach activities more than anyone else I know. She mentors students from under-represented backgrounds, hosts students for research placements, and regularly talks to classrooms full of students about what it is like to be a scientist. However, the strongest reason why I think she deserves this award is related to the initiative she took after the Black Lives Matter protests last summer. When others only shared superficial sympathies and platitudes that resulted in no clear and immediate action, Alex independently set up a hugely popular lecture series called ‘Challenges and Changes’ in Physics. She created a platform to host incredible speakers to talk about sexism, racism, and homophobia in academic environments. Beyond the lecture series, she organized reading groups and panel discussions to engage as many people in the Department as possible. Alex is an incredible role model for women in Science and in my opinion the best representative for what I consider an ‘Outstanding ED&I Champion’.”

Thank you, Alexandra, for everything you are doing.