The portrait series '100 Women – 100 Visions'

'100 Women – 100 Visions' consists of 100 photographic portraits celebrating women scientists and engineers from all academic levels at Imperial College London. The series was designed and commissioned by the Imperial College Union student society WSET (Women in Science, Engineering & Technology), with wide College support.

The one hundred portraits were first on display in the College Main Entrance during 9-13 March 2009, in a large exhibition opened by Rector Sir Roy Anderson in support of International Women’s Day. Marking the same day one year later in 2010, the '100 Women - 100 Visions' images were on show in London's City Hall for a full month. The portraits are now on permanent display on this website and are used in outreach and other activities to promote women in science, technology, engineering and medicine.

As a whole, the series aims to capture a snapshot of the growing community of women scientists and engineers across College, and their increasingly important role in all disciplines and levels of academic work. It depicts the influx of the next generation of students as well as senior members of staff who have already made significant contributions in their fields.

Giving each woman an artistic platform on which to represent herself, the images are also a colourful display of the diversity of individuals who now study and work at Imperial College London. Creativity has been at the heart of this project, and is also central in science and engineering – a reminder that these disciplines are about more than numbers and formulas.

This project is supported and funded by the Imperial College Academic Opportunities Committee, the Academic Ambassadors for Women, the HR Equalities Unit, the Faculties of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and the Imperial College student union.

Special thanks go to Professor Dorothy Griffiths (Deputy Head of the Business School), Christine Yates (Equality and Diversity Consultant for the College), professors Lesley Cohen, Maria Petrou, and Maria Belvisi (the Academic Ambassadors for Women from the faculties of Science, Engineering, and Medicine respectively), and the Representation and Welfare Board for funding this project and their helpful advice. WSET would also like to thank Hannah Theodorou (Deputy President for Education and Welfare 2008/2009) for her help.

Jackie King, photographer

Jackie King, the photographer of the portraits, is the recipient of numerous accolades including British Professional Photographer of the Year and UK Portrait Photographer of the Year in 2005.

King’s vision and artistic direction has brought a unique character to the portraits. While maintaining a professional theme, she has channelled the creative and lively personalities of the women, and portrayed the energy and enthusiasm with which they approach their scientific work. Her aim has been to capture a moment in time that is full of opportunity, for Imperial’s female students and staff, and for advancement in science and engineering.

Based in Hampshire, England, Jackie King was elected as the first woman onto the board of directors of the British Institute for Professional Photographers in 2007. In addition to a body of work that includes limited edition pieces, she also teaches, lectures internationally, works with clients on commissions and has a product line featuring images from her work. Most recently she has gained her MA in Fashion Photography, exploring subliminal messaging within advertising.

The student society WSET: Women in Science, Engineering and Technology

The Imperial College Union student society WSET (Women in Science, Engineering & Technology) was created in the summer of 2007 by Eirini Spentza, Ellin Saunders and Milena Peric, and began its activities in the academic year 2007-2008 with another four founding members.

The creation of the society was the culmination of a three-year project, funded by the UK Resource Centre (UKRC) for Women in SET from 2004-2007, to encourage more female students to remain within SET industries after graduating. The project was managed by Alison Ahearn, lecturer in civil engineering and part of the EnVision team, whose ‘by the students, for the students approach’ sowed the seeds that led to the creation of the society.

The aims of the society are to encourage female science and engineering graduates to pursue careers in SET, but also to encourage young girls to consider pursuing science, engineering and technology degrees at university. Through the events we organise we aim to challenge the preconceptions students have about scientists and engineers, raise the profile of SET careers for women, and provide budding women scientists with visible role models they can aspire to.

Building on existing know-how from the UKRC project, the society has grown quickly and in the last two years has been involved in organising many large scale events. These include symposiums with prominent women scientists on the panel, for students interested in research and academia; networking evenings with various speakers from industry, covering all science and engineering disciplines; workshops focusing on CV’s and job applications as well as softer skills and awareness for women scientists and engineers.

We also work with schools to encourage more girls to choose engineering and science degrees at university. As part of this we organize open days for schools, with fun activities, lab demonstrations, hands-on experiments and much more. These open days are run with the help of a large number of volunteer students.