New funding scheme to boost black science professors

A LEADING London-based physicist is helping to promote a funding scheme designed to increase the number of black science professors in the United Kingdom (UK).

Dr Mark Richards, a physics researcher and senior teaching fellow at Imperial College, whose parents are Jamaicans, helped to carry out the research which triggered the launch of the Royal Society Career Development Fellowship (CDF) this month.

The CDF will provide £690,000 in funding over four years for each black researcher who is completing, or have recently completed, his or her PhD. Five CDFs are expected to be awarded in the first year.

Speaking exclusively to The Weekly Gleaner, Dr Richards said he believes it’s imperative that black youth are encouraged to pursue careers in scientific disciplines, along with technology, engineering and mathematics – STEM subjects.

VALUABLE PROBLEM-SOLVER

Discussing the value of STEM subjects, the physicists stressed: “If a person has a STEM or a technical background, they become a valuable problem-solver.

“That’s why people with STEM backgrounds go into finance or other areas outside of their preferred disciplines.

“Within our community we have lots of problems, and have to try and solve some of our own problems. We can’t keep relying on others, we need our own problem-solvers.”

Richards believes that with more encouragement to pursue STEM careers, the black community in the UK can improve its economic potential.

The physicist believes that within the British black community there needs to be a change in mind-set. He said: “There is a lot of evidence to show that we (the African Caribbean community) serve others well and are creative and innovative, but how much of what we create and innovate do we own?

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

“I think we need to get back to finding innovative solutions to our own problems and owning them, because that’s how wealth is generated and communities are economically empowered. Scientific research is often at the root of innovation.

“No nation has ever risen to greatness because its people were talented musicians and sports people. We’ve got to be a bit more serious about education, which is why I’m passionate about more people who look like me studying subjects such as physics at institutions like Imperial.”

It was Richards’ passion for equality that resulted in him becoming a member of the Royal Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, who commissioned reports and researched trends across 11 years of Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) data.

The HESA data for 2021-22 shows four per cent of STEM students at PhD level were from black backgrounds, which falls to 2.5 per cent among STEM academic staff, and drops to a lower percentage at the most senior roles.

Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, commenting on the findings, said:

“The data is clear on the unacceptable underrepresentation of people from black backgrounds in STEM academia. The transition from PhD to postdoctoral research is a critical stage where we are losing too many talented young scientists from underrepresented groups, and particularly black backgrounds, who could become the research leaders of tomorrow.

“These Career Development Fellowships are designed to start addressing this by combining the independence of a fellowship with a package of support to help establish and develop early career researchers.”

Commenting on the HESA data, Dr Richards, said: “Some people may be shocked that a scheme like this is needed in 2023, but the data presents a clear case for action on the systemic underrepresentation of UK scientists from black backgrounds in academia.

SECURITY OF FUNDING

“That will take work across the academic and research pipeline, but it begins with those researchers taking their first steps in academia by providing security of funding, independence, and connections to collaborators and networks that all scientists depend on.

“Alongside the work of the Royal Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, I hope this scheme opens up rewarding careers to many more talented individuals from diverse backgrounds – and when we look back in years to come, we see this as a turning point.”

The fellowship will finance research at a UK university or not-for-profit research institution for four years. Additionally, budding scientist will receive training and mentoring opportunities through links with Royal Society fellows, Research fellows and professional networks.

If successful, the pilot scheme may be broadened to researchers from other underrepresented groups.

Applications for the CDF fellowship will close on January 23, 2024. The first cohort of career development fellows are expected to be announced in June 2024.

All Royal Society grants are awarded on the basis of scientific excellence.

Dr Richards also develops air pollution-monitoring instruments sold by a high-tech company that he co-founded, Duvas Technologies.

The scientist of Jamaican descent also founded a UK-wide network for black physicists, the Blackett Lab Family, aiming to diversify perceptions of physics and promote black representation at all levels in the field. The initiative began in 2006 when Dr Richards took on the mentorship of two black physics students.

Further details of the CDF can be found on https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/grants/career-development....