NI born astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell urges girls to shoot for stars with careers in science

During the visit she also showcased the new Ulster Bank £50 note which comes into circulation next week and which features her iconic pulsar discovery.

Dame Jocelyn said she hopes the appearance of women in science, alongside her 1967 discovery of pulsars on new bank notes, will help inspire more Northern Ireland women to pursue scientific careers.

She was only the second woman to be awarded the Royal Society’s highest prize, the Copley Medal.

Pupils at Strathearn School had been studying Dame Jocelyn’s Nobel Prize-winning work in recent months and were delighted to find the woman herself entering their classroom to take a lesson.

In addition to speaking about astrophysics, Dame Jocelyn talked with the pupils about science as a career and about how pleased she is to have women in science and her work feature on the new bank notes.

Dame Jocelyn said: “This will help raise the profile of women in science, which is a really good thing. I am passionate about encouraging more women to pursue scientific careers and I think it’s something that is very important for Northern Ireland. There is a burgeoning scientific sector here. More women pursuing careers in science will support that ongoing growth.”

In addition to featuring Dame Jocelyn’s iconic 1967 discovery of pulsars – spherical, compact objects that are about the size of a large city but contain more mass than the sun – Ulster Bank’s new £50 note also heavily features women working in NI’s fast-growing life sciences industry.

Nicola Connery, principal of Strathearn School, said: “At Strathearn, we see many of our girls demonstrating a passion for the STEM [science, technology, engineering, Maths] subjects from an early age and, in recent years, have seen a notable increase in the number of pupils choosing to pursue careers in this space after school. They were hugely inspired by Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell’s incredible knowledge and wisdom on her visit to the school today, and benefited greatly from her insight and advice around careers in science in particular.”

Dame Jocelyn, who was born in Belfast and spent her early childhood in Lurgan, is considered one of the world’s foremost astrophysicists. Her pulsar discovery was a sensational find, recognised with the Nobel prize for physics in 1974. She has since been a trailblazing promoter for women and the marginalised in science.