Ulrike Tillmann named as Chair of Royal Society's Education Committee

Professorial Fellow in Mathematics Ulrike Tillmann has been appointed as Chair of the Royal Society Education Committee. Professor Tillmann, who was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2008 and served an eight-month term as its Vice-President in 2018, will hold the post until 2025.

Commenting on her appointment, Professor Tillmann said:

"I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed to chair this important committee of the Royal Society. Educating the next generation is a contender for the most essential thing any society does, and it is vital that we get this right.

"For a long time the Royal Society has favoured an approach to post-GCSE education where all pupils continue to study science and mathematics amongst a broader array of subjects. If anything the present pandemic has made this an even more urgent cause. It shows not only how vital scientists, engineers and mathematicians are to defeat it, but also how crucial it is that policy makers are able to capitalise on the science advice given, and how, with some basic understanding of the scientific principles behind viral spreading, all of us individually can help to keep ourselves and those around us safe."

The Education Committee's remit is two-fold: to keep under review the Royal Society’s education strategy, and make recommendations to its Council on any changes; and to oversee the delivery of a programme of activities to be undertaken by the Society that is aligned with its education strategy. This programme includes the Society's Summer Science exhibition, which this year goes online, with a free digital programme of talks, quizzes and videos celebrating cutting-edge and historic science that runs from today until Friday.

Professor Tillmann was also recently announced as the London Mathematical Society's President Designate; she will take over from the LMS's current President, Professor Jon Keating FRS, in November 2021.