Jane Francis | |
|---|---|
.png) Portrait of Jane Francis | |
| Chancellor of theUniversity of Leeds | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Melvyn Bragg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jane Elizabeth Francis October 1956 (age 68) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Southampton |
| Awards | |
| Website | Jane Francis at British Antarctic Survey |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Palaeoclimatology |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | The fossil forests of the basal Purbeck formation (upper jurassic) of Dorset, Southern England (1982) |
Professor Dame Jane Elizabeth Francis,DCMG FRS (born October 1956) is the Director of theBritish Antarctic Survey.[1] She previously worked as Professor ofPalaeoclimatology at theUniversity of Leeds where she also was Dean of the Faculty of Environment.[2][3][4][5][6] In 2002 she was the fourth woman to receive thePolar Medal for outstanding contribution to British polar research. She is currently the Chancellor of theUniversity of Leeds.[7][8][9]
Francis was educated atSimon Langton Girls' Grammar School in Canterbury, and received both her undergraduate degree in Geology and her PhD from theUniversity of Southampton.[10]
Francis was aNERC research student in geology/biology atSouthampton University from 1979 until 1982.[1] She continued on as a NERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow atBedford College, London, until 1984.[1] She was appointed to a position as Palaeobotanist at theBritish Antarctic Survey (BAS), from 1984 to 1986.[1]
For five years Francis was aPostdoctoral Research Associate with Larry Frakes at theUniversity of Adelaide.[1] In 1991 she accepted a position as a lecturer in the Department of Earth Sciences at theUniversity of Leeds UK; she was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1996. In 2002, she was awarded thePolar Medal, becoming only the fourth woman in history to receive the award.[11]
She was promoted to Professor of Palaeoclimatology in the School of Earth and Environment and was the Director for the Centre for Polar Science at the University of Leeds,[8] before becoming Dean of the Faculty of Environment in 2008.[1] She is an Honorary Professor at the University of Leeds. On 1 October 2013 Francis took up her post as Director of theBritish Antarctic Survey, becoming the first woman Director of the institution.[12]
Francis's principal interests are inpalaeoclimatology andpalaeobotany. She specialises in the study of fossil plants, and their use as tools for climate interpretation and information about past biodiversity:[13][14] for example, understanding past climate change during greenhouse and icehouse periods.[15] Her research has emphasised the "Antarctic paradox," that although the Antarctic is largely inhospitable now, its abundant plant fossils indicate a drastically warmer past climate.[16] She has undertaken more than 16 expeditions to theArctic andAntarctic.[17]
Francis was described by theGeological Society of London during the awarding of her Coke Medal as playing a "pivotal role in shaping and directing the Earth science carried out in polar regions, through her extensive service on a staggeringly wide range of national and international policy committees."[13] She is also the first woman to chair the Operations Working Group of Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, the international forum of nations concerned with legal and operational issues in Antarctica.[18]
Francis holds a number of memberships of national and international scientific bodies.[15] She is a member of the UKNatural Environment Research Council (NERC) Executive Board; member of the Scientific Advisory Group of theSwedish Polar Research Secretariat; Executive committee member of the European Polar Board; and UK Delegate to the internationalScientific Committee on Antarctic Research.[19][12]
Francis's contributions have been recognised with numerous awards. Most notably, she was awarded thePolar Medal in 2002 for outstanding contribution to British polar research, presented byH.M. Elizabeth II, and was the fourth woman ever to receive the award.[20]
She received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Leeds in 2014,[21] as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Environmental Science from theUniversity of Plymouth, also in 2014.[22] In that same year she was named "Explorer Scientist" among 100 leading UK scientists by The Science Council.[17] She also has been awarded the Coke Medal from theGeological Society of London (2014);[23] the President's Award of thePaleontological Society;[24] theAntarctic Service Medal from the USNational Science Foundation;[24] and the Workplace Achievement Award from theBBC's 'eve' magazine, sponsored byNivea.[24]
In the2017 New Year Honours, Francis was appointedDame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) for services to polar science and diplomacy.[25][26]
In 2017, Francis became the seventh Chancellor of theUniversity of Leeds, succeedingMelvyn Bragg.[27] In December 2020 the British Antarctic Survey named a peak onAdelaide Island, Francis Peak, after her.[28] She was elected aFellow of the Royal Society in 2021.[29]
| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chancellor of the University of Leeds 2017– | Incumbent |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
