Emily Rayfield (Biological Sciences, 1993)
Emily originally thought of reading Fine Art at Oxford, but soon changed her mind and came to Hertford to study Biological Sciences. Following a PhD in Cambridge, she has embarked on an academic career as a Palaeontologist, and now works around the world in this field. She is also dedicated to promoting diversity in the scientific community.
I originally encountered Oxford when I decided I wanted to be an artist and study at the Ruskin School of Art. Over the next year or so my interest in studying art at higher level waned, but my curiosity with Oxford did not. My interest was further peaked by a lower-sixth visit with a school physics teacher and three of my peers to the Oxford Science open day. I settled on applying to study Biological Sciences, and duly did my research, eagerly awaiting the arrival of official and unofficial college prospectuses in the post. I didn’t need to be so diligent. The Hertford prospectus stated that the college were interested in female applicants from northern state schools who would like to study science. At that point my mind was made up. I can still recall the moment I opened what would be the offer letter from Hertford, and the floods of tears that followed. I could sense that this was going to be a big deal.
We were told back in the early 90s that biotechnology was the next big thing for biosciences, and at the time I supposed that my degree in Biological Sciences would in some way set me up for a career in this area. Lectures, courses, and practical sessions on vertebrate evolution and anatomy, however, fostered my latent interest in whole organism biology and the biology of extinct animals – palaeontology. Post-graduation and after a brief stint as a mildly incompetent and frequently hungover research technician, I began a PhD in palaeontology at the University of Cambridge.
Palaeontology is not the dry and dusty subject it was once perceived to be. My research career has focused on bringing new technologies to the palaeontological sciences; the use of X-ray technologies to image the internal anatomy of fossils and using engineering analysis to reconstruct extinct animal function and evolutionary history. After completing my PhD and flipping between postdoctoral positions and fellowships in Oxford, Cambridge and the Natural History Museum London, I arrived at the University of Bristol in late 2005. I was awarded my professorship in 2014 and managed to slip out a couple of children along the way.
Hertford opened my eyes to the possibilities offered by academic study. The sheer fact that academia was a potential career path was previously beyond comprehension. In a full turn of circle from these early days, an artistic image derived from my research will soon grace the front cover of the new edition of the vertebrate biology core textbook we poured over in our lectures. New technologies allow us to revisit old ideas, and one of my current research projects tests theories on the origin of mammals proposed and championed by our former lecturer. Such things do require an occasional pause for thought. Would my former 19-year- old self ever believed I’d be in such a position 20 odd years later?
My work takes me around the world, to exotic locations, exciting fossils and interesting people. It’s now my job now to engage future generations of earth scientists and palaeontologists in my role as lecturer, supervisor and mentor. I also serve on the councils and executive committees of learned societies and help steer their diversity agenda. The percentage of ethnic minorities, individuals from lower socioeconomic groups and those who identify as disabled reaching the upper echelons of academia in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects has yet to reach double figures. The percentage of female Earth Sciences professors has only recently reached the double-digit mark; the situation is worse in other physical sciences. All figures except gender diversity have remained depressingly static over the last ten years. There is clearly much more that needs to be done to encourage and foster diversity within the sciences. It’s a privilege and a challenge to be in a position to strive for change and fight for others to have the opportunities I was offered at the start of my university career.