Laureation address: Professor Lesley Yellowlees
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science
Laureation by Professor Russell Morris, School of Chemistry
Wednesday 26 June 2019
Vice-Chancellor, it is my privilege to present for the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Professor Lesley Yellowlees.
In the early 1840s, 77 scientists engaged in the ‘practice and pursuit of chemistry’ convened a meeting and started the Chemical Society. Eventually, the Society changed its name to the Royal Society of Chemistry, or the RSC as we know it today. It is the UK’s professional chemistry body, and many of the chemists you've just seen graduate will actually have been student members.
The headquarters of the RSC are in a beautiful building, Burlington House, on Piccadilly, just across the way from Fortnum and Mason. As with most of the fantastic old buildings in London, there is an impressive staircase, and halfway up there is a portrait of a woman dressed in bright red and with blue hair. The woman is the 93rd President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Professor Lesley Yellowlees.
Lesley was the first woman to hold the presidency of the RSC. Prior to this, the upper echelons of the RSC were, as you would probably expect, a little bit stuffy. The 92 preceding RSC Presidential terms were filled by grey-suited men. This is probably the closest Lesley has ever been to wearing a grey suit.
At a stroke, the RSC changed. Lesley made inclusivity a priority and suddenly the society became an approachable body. I am pretty sure she was a shock to some, but there can be no doubt of her lasting influence – the RSC is a much more modern institution because of her.
Professor Yellowlees is a chemist of great repute. Her main area of expertise is in electron paramagnetic resonance and other types of spectroscopy, a subject beloved of all our graduating students. She has applied these techniques to a wide range of different problems, but in particular to those involving electrochemistry – the sort of science that ends up in solar panels or the next generation of energy materials used, for example, in batteries.
Lesley did her undergraduate studies at the University of Edinburgh, before completing a PhD in solar cell chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. She spent some time in Australia and in Glasgow, before heading back to the University of Edinburgh in 1985 where she was appointed first as a demonstrator, then she became a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, and then Professor of Inorganic Electrochemistry at the University of Edinburgh. In 2005 she was made Head of the School of Chemistry there, and in 2011 was promoted to Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. Now, I know what you're all thinking - every single one of you is thinking, "The University of Edinburgh? Where's that? Never heard of it." Let me assure you though, that while Edinburgh is a relative newcomer to the Scottish universities, it's not actually a bad educational establishment. Given her immense contribution to the University of Edinburgh, it is hardly surprising that, in 2013, she was named their Alumnus of the Year.
But it is not only in Edinburgh where she has made an impact. While we do enjoy a little at the expense of our younger sibling, the Schools of Chemistry at St Andrews and Edinburgh have a very close relationship. Since 2005 we have been linked as the Edinburgh and St Andrews School of Chemistry – EaStCHEM. We collaborate extremely closely, and we have enjoyed the fruits of our shared vision of what chemistry in Scotland in the 21st century should be for the last decade and a half. Lesley Yellowlees has been integral to this project and has served as both Deputy Director and Director of EaStCHEM. There is no doubt that the University of Edinburgh would have been a much poorer place without her, but we in St Andrews have equally benefited from her imaginative leadership.
Lesley has used her positions at Edinburgh and EaStCHEM to make a lasting impact as a champion of women in science, technology, engineering, and maths – the STEM subjects. She speaks on the subject around the world, and her leadership and scientific roles have led to her being awarded many prizes; I will list only a few. In 2011, she was given the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (that's the worldwide body that looks after chemistry), she was given their Distinguished Woman in Chemistry Award; in 2013 she was awarded the Medical Research Council’s Woman Scientist of the Year Award; and in 2014 she was named by the Science Council as one of the 100 leading scientists. In 2005 she was honoured by the Queen with an MBE for services to science, and was invited to the Palace again in 2014 when she was made a CBE for her services to Chemistry.
Lesley is an inspirational advocate of science to those in power. She regularly gives evidence to parliaments in the UK on diversity issues and has chaired a large number of panels and committees aimed at developing science policy in Scotland and the wider UK.
But Lesley does not only talk to people in power; she engages with everyone – from primary school pupils all the way to the MPs. She is known for her tireless work promoting science, which has seen her give countless demonstration lectures. She gives these anywhere and everywhere; science festivals, schools and colleges, shopping centres, and even nightclubs. For those graduated students from St Andrews today, Lesley is available to tell you what a nightclub is.
More than anything though, Lesley Yellowlees proves that wonderful people can be successful and have a lasting influence on those around them. As you walk down the stairs at the RSC in Burlington House, you can tell that the subject of the portrait that looks back at you is: warm, colourful, friendly, imaginative, intelligent and inspirational. I think the artist did a pretty good job.
Vice-Chancellor, in recognition of her leadership in science and for her services to the chemistry community in particular, I invite you to confer the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, on Professor Lesley Yellowlees.
Professor Lesley Yellowlees's response
Vice-Chancellor, staff, students, and friends of the University of St Andrews, it is with a real sense of pleasure and privilege that I stand here today. Pleasure, because who doesn't love a great celebration surrounded by those we love? And privilege, because receiving a degree from this wonderful, ancient university is a rare and precious thing, especially when you don't have to sit an exam to get one.
My father, Hamish, who was immensely proud of having a physics degree from St Andrews, would have been particularly pleased today that I am graduating from what he regarded as the best university. So, thank you very much indeed for bestowing on me this honorary degree. I am thrilled and delighted to accept it. And thank you, Russell; thank you for your kind words. Russell and I go way back, and he has shown excellent judgement in what he has selectively remembered today.
The School of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews has played a pivotal role in my career. Initially, through research collaborations, but ultimately through EaStCHEM, our joint research school, which has been an extremely fruitful relationship within Scotland, the UK, and internationally. I always enjoyed working with colleagues in St Andrews and thank them for all their help and encouragement that they've given me. And I have to also say, you've been the best of company with which to celebrate our many successes.
I love attending graduation ceremonies. I love all the pomp and the ceremony, and I love seeing everyone dressed up - the graduates and the staff in their colourful robes, and the guests in the Sunday best, all ready for a party. I love the laughter, the smiles, the relief, the expectation, the joy. But today is also a feeling of transition: the transition from being a graduand to a graduate. Passing to the next phase of your life. Exciting, yet anxious times. And these are anxious times. But you've given yourself a tremendous advantage with a degree from this highly regarded university in the top 100 in the world, according to the QS rankings (that's the system everyone aspires to do well in).
So, everyone here today wishes you well. And in the future, remember your time at St Andrews with pride and affection. Remember the good times and the not so good. The high points as well as the low. The hard work and the late nights. The moments of revelation when it all made sense and the testing periods when nothing made sense. The parties and the nine o'clock lectures. Expanding horizons and contracting bank balances. Remember, the University of St Andrews will always be here for you. Support it, and it will be here to support you.
So, in wishing you well, please allow me to offer you, our wonderful graduates, what might be construed as a few words of wisdom, but in reality, will be observations from my life experiences to date. Here are my top ten tips in no particular order:
- Say yes. So often today we, and women in particular, are encouraged to learn to say no. But I would urge you to look for opportunities - grasp them with both hands - and not be afraid to say yes. My guiding principle has been to never look back and wish I'd done something. I've enjoyed the best of times, and occasionally, when it doesn't work out, I learn and move on.
- Difficult colleagues. You will encounter difficult colleagues. Accept that as a fact. You don't have to like them, but you do have to learn a way of working with them, and that way may well be different for each one. Always, always be professional.
- Don't try and do too much at any one time. I do believe you can have it all, but not all at the same time.
- Be true to yourself and believe in yourself, because if you don't believe in yourself, why should anybody else?
- If you have a problem, then when you go to speak about it, present a possible solution at the same time. Your solution may not be liked, but it shows you want to move forwards, and it is then up to the other party to come up with a more acceptable one.
- Mentors. Find yourself a good one, and then change your mentor as you change. When the time feels right, become a mentor. Mentoring is challenging, but it is also very rewarding.
- Find out what brings you joy and, providing it's legal, do more of it. For me, it's laughing.
- Give back. Remember the help, support, advice you get and then give it back ten-fold.
- Learn to accept criticism and rejection positively. In my experience, not at all easy.
- Acknowledge the support you get. Say thank you.
So finally, let me take a moment to thank, on your and my behalf, all those who have helped us arrive here today. In my case, a very big thank you to my husband, Peter, who has been my biggest supporter. Thank you for your love and encouragement over the years. I also wish to thank the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of Chemistry for giving me opportunities and support. And to my long-suffering students. And on your behalf, a very big and a very public thank you to everyone here today. We couldn't have done it without you.
Congratulations to you all. Thank you.