Irish Examiner view: Jocelyn Bell Burnell awarded Royal Society's Copley Medal

Ms Bell Burnell has become only the second woman to win the Royal Society’s highest prize

Jocelyn Bell Burnell hopes her senior status in science will encourage women to pursue scientific careers. File picture: Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize

Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the Armagh-born astrophysicist who has been awarded the Royal Society’s Copley Medal, has said she hopes her senior status in science will encourage women to pursue scientific careers.

It is an uplifting and important message from a woman who had to battle to be allowed to study science at school, but who has become only the second woman to win the Royal Society’s highest prize.