Jane Francis

Last updated

Dame
Jane Francis
DCMG FRS
Jane Francis (cropped).png
Portrait of Jane Francis
Chancellor of the University of Leeds
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2018
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 the British Antarctic Survey. [1] She previously worked as Professor of Palaeoclimatology at the University 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 the Polar Medal for outstanding contribution to British polar research. She is currently the Chancellor of the University of Leeds. [7] [8] [9]

Contents

Education

Francis was educated at Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School in Canterbury, and received both her undergraduate degree in Geology and her PhD from the University of Southampton. [10]

Career

Francis was a NERC research student in geology/biology at Southampton University from 1979 until 1982. [1] She continued on as a NERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Bedford College, London, until 1984. [1] She was appointed to a position as Palaeobotanist at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), from 1984 to 1986. [1]

For five years Francis was a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Larry Frakes at the University of Adelaide. [1] In 1991 she accepted a position as a lecturer in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Leeds UK; she was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1996. In 2002, she was awarded the Polar 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 the British Antarctic Survey, becoming the first woman Director of the institution. [12]

Francis's principal interests are in palaeoclimatology and palaeobotany. 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 the Arctic and Antarctic. [17]

Francis was described by the Geological 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 UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Executive Board; member of the Scientific Advisory Group of the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat; Executive committee member of the European Polar Board; and UK Delegate to the international Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. [19] [12]

Awards

Francis's contributions have been recognised with numerous awards. Most notably, she was awarded the Polar Medal in 2002 for outstanding contribution to British polar research, presented by H.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 the University 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 the Geological Society of London (2014); [23] the President's Award of the Paleontological Society; [24] the Antarctic Service Medal from the US National Science Foundation; [24] and the Workplace Achievement Award from the BBC's 'eve' magazine, sponsored by Nivea. [24]

In the 2017 New Year Honours, Francis was appointed Dame 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 the University of Leeds, succeeding Melvyn Bragg. [27] In December 2020 the British Antarctic Survey named a peak on Adelaide Island, Francis Peak, after her. [28] She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2021. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic Peninsula</span> Peninsula located in northern Antarctica

The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Gondwana</span> Animals that lived below the Antarctic circle in the Cretaceous

The South Polar region of the Cretaceous comprised the continent of East Gondwana–modern day Australia, Zealandia, and Antarctica–a product of the break-up of Gondwana in the Cretaceous Period. The southern region, during this time, was much warmer than it is today, ranging from perhaps 4–8 °C (39–46 °F) in the latest Cretaceous Maastrichtian in what is now southeastern Australia. This prevented permanent ice sheets from developing and fostered polar forests, which were largely dominated by conifers, cycads, and ferns, and relied on a temperate climate and heavy rainfall. Major fossil-bearing geological formations that record this area are: the Santa Marta and Sobral Formations of Seymour Island off the Antarctic Peninsula; the Snow Hill Island, Lopez de Bertodano, and the Hidden Lake Formations on James Ross Island also off the Antarctic Peninsula; and the Eumeralla and Wonthaggi Formations in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Oceanography Centre Southampton</span> Centre for research, teaching, and technology development in Ocean and Earth science

The National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS) is a centre for research, teaching, and technology development in Ocean and Earth science. NOCS was created in 1995, jointly between the University of Southampton and the UK Natural Environment Research Council and is located within the port of Southampton at a purpose-built dockside campus with modern facilities. In 2010 the university and NERC components demerged, and the NERC-managed component became the National Oceanography Centre. The two components of NOCS continue close collaboration through the jointly run Graduate School, shared research facilities and laboratories, complementary research groups, and many joint research grants and publications. The university component “Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton” (OES) is part of the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, (FELS). It was ranked 46th in the world for Earth and Marine Sciences by the QS World University Rankings in 2019.

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is a marine science research and technology institution based across two sites, one in Southampton and one in Liverpool, England. It is the UK’s largest institution for integrated sea level science, coastal and deep ocean research and technology development. The Centre was established to promote co-operation with institutions across the UK marine science community, to better address key issues including sea level change, the ocean's role in climate change, computer simulation of the ocean's behaviour, and the long term monitoring and future of the Arctic Circle.

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The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on behalf of the UK. It is part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). With over 400 staff, BAS takes an active role in Antarctic affairs, operating five research stations, one ship and five aircraft in both polar regions, as well as addressing key global and regional issues. This involves joint research projects with over 40 UK universities and more than 120 national and international collaborations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seymour Island</span> Island in Antarctica

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Jane Francis". www.bas.ac.uk. British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  2. ↑ Frakes, L. A.; Francis, J. E. (1988). "A guide to Phanerozoic cold polar climates from high-latitude ice-rafting in the Cretaceous". Nature. 333 (6173): 547. Bibcode:1988Natur.333..547F. doi:10.1038/333547a0. S2CID   4344903.
  3. ↑ Dettmann, M. E.; Molnar, R. E.; Douglas, J. G.; Burger, D.; Fielding, C.; Clifford, H. T.; Francis, J.; Jell, P.; Rich, T.; Wade, M.; Rich, P. V.; Pledge, N.; Kemp, A.; Rozefelds, A. (1992). "Australian cretaceous terrestrial faunas and floras: Biostratigraphic and biogeographic implications". Cretaceous Research. 13 (3): 207. Bibcode:1992CrRes..13..207D. doi:10.1016/0195-6671(92)90001-7.
  4. ↑ Francis, J. E.; Poole, I. (2002). "Cretaceous and early Tertiary climates of Antarctica: Evidence from fossil wood" (PDF). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 182 (1–2): 47. Bibcode:2002PPP...182...47F. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(01)00452-7.
  5. ↑ Woolfe, K. J.; Stewart, L. K.; Francis, J. E.; Arnot, M. J. (2000). "PC99: A new freeware for manipulating and graphically displaying palaeocurrent data". Sedimentary Geology. 133 (1–2): 1. Bibcode:2000SedG..133....1W. doi:10.1016/S0037-0738(00)00034-8.
  6. ↑ "Jane Francis interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili". BBC.
  7. ↑ Solutions, Web. "Senior lay officers and the executive". www.leeds.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  8. 1 2 "University of Leeds". University of Leeds Faculty of Environment. 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Jane Francis's publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
  10. ↑ Francis, Jane E. (1982). The fossil forests of the basal Purbeck formation (upper jurassic) of Dorset, Southern England (PhD thesis). University of Southampton.
  11. ↑ "Reporter 480, 22 April 2002 -". reporter.leeds.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Jane Francis: Highlights". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  13. 1 2 "The Geological Society of London – 2014 Awards: Citations and Replies". www.geolsoc.org.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  14. ↑ "Impact of global disturbances on evolution of polar life – Project – British Antarctic Survey". www.bas.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  15. 1 2 "Jane Francis – British Antarctic Survey". www.bas.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  16. ↑ Francis, Jane; et al. (2008). "100 Million Years of Antarctic Climate Evolution: Evidence from Fossil Plants" (PDF). Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  17. 1 2 "2014 list of leading UK practising scientists – The Science Council". The Science Council. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "ATS – The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM)". www.ats.aq. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  19. ↑ "NERC - Membership". NERC. National Environmental Research Council. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  20. ↑ "The Reporter, Issue 480". University of Leeds. 22 April 2002. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  21. ↑ "News Inner: Earth and Environment". www.see.leeds.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  22. ↑ "Legends of music and dance take to the Graduation stage at Plymouth University". Plymouth University. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  23. ↑ "The Coke Awards". The Geological Society. 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  24. 1 2 3 "Jane Francis – British Antarctic Survey". www.bas.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  25. ↑ "No. 61803". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2016. p. N3.
  26. ↑ "Jane Francis". Thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  27. ↑ Abel, Antoinette. "Welcome back, Professor Dame Jane Francis". Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  28. ↑ "Polar scientists and staff awarded place names in Antarctica". British Antarctic Survey. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  29. ↑ "Royal Society elects outstanding new Fellows and Foreign Members". The Royal Society. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
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