College condemns race and gender comments about experts who appeared on Newsnight to talk about origins of universe
University College, London, has written an open letter of protest to the Daily Mail's editor, Paul Dacre, about a "profoundly insulting" item that appeared to question the credibility of two of its scientists.
A piece in the Mail's Ephraim Hardcastle column on Wednesday used their appearance on BBC's Newsnight on Monday to comment on the possibility of a new era in understanding the origins of the universe to have a dig at the programme's "Guardian-trained editor, Ian Katz", who, it said, "is keen on diversity".
The item added: "So, two women were invited to comment on the report about (white, male) American scientists who've detected the origins of the universe – giggling Sky at Night presenter Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Sri Lanka-born astronomer Hiranya Peiris."
The discoveries from the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization 2 (Bicep2) experiment, a telescope at the south pole, were announced by the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
David Price, the college's vice-provost for research, said: "The implication that anything outside of her academic record qualifies Dr Peiris to discuss the results of the Bicep2 study is profoundly insulting. She is a world expert on the study of the cosmic microwave background, with degrees from Cambridge and Princeton. Dr Aderin-Pocock is a highly-qualified scientist and engineer with an exceptional talent for communicating complex scientific concepts in an accessible way."
Price also said the study in question was conducted by a diverse group of researchers from around the world not just white Americans: "It is deeply disappointing that you thought it acceptable to print an article drawing attention to the gender and race of scientific experts, suggesting that non-white, non-male scientists are somehow incapable of speaking on the basis of their qualifications and expertise."
Aderin-Pocock, honorary research associate in UCL's physics and astronomy department, said:"I picture the Newsnight team flipping through their Rolodex, saying 'too white, too male… ah, two ethnic minority females, perfect!'. Monday was very busy for me, receiving 10 requests for news interviews. I was able to do Radio 4's PM, 5 Live, Channel 5 News and Newsnight. I believe the requests were made for my ability to translate complex ideas into something accessible, rather than my gender or the colour of my skin."
Peiris, reader in astronomy at UCL, said:"I deeply pity the sort of person who can watch a report about ground-breaking news on the origins of the universe and everything in it, and see only the gender and skin colour of the panellists. I am disturbed that he has even erased the contributions of all of the non-white and non-male and non-American scientists involved in the discovery."
A Newsnight spokesman said: "We ask people on to Newsnight because we think they know what they are talking about and have something interesting to say."
A Mail spokesman made it clear that the paper fully accepts that the women were highly qualified in their field and that was the reason they were chosen for interview. The Mail is in contact with Professor Price. Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.
University College, London, has written an open letter of protest to the Daily Mail's editor, Paul Dacre, about a "profoundly insulting" item that appeared to question the credibility of two of its scientists.
A piece in the Mail's Ephraim Hardcastle column on Wednesday used their appearance on BBC's Newsnight on Monday to comment on the possibility of a new era in understanding the origins of the universe to have a dig at the programme's "Guardian-trained editor, Ian Katz", who, it said, "is keen on diversity".
The item added: "So, two women were invited to comment on the report about (white, male) American scientists who've detected the origins of the universe – giggling Sky at Night presenter Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Sri Lanka-born astronomer Hiranya Peiris."
The discoveries from the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization 2 (Bicep2) experiment, a telescope at the south pole, were announced by the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
David Price, the college's vice-provost for research, said: "The implication that anything outside of her academic record qualifies Dr Peiris to discuss the results of the Bicep2 study is profoundly insulting. She is a world expert on the study of the cosmic microwave background, with degrees from Cambridge and Princeton. Dr Aderin-Pocock is a highly-qualified scientist and engineer with an exceptional talent for communicating complex scientific concepts in an accessible way."
Price also said the study in question was conducted by a diverse group of researchers from around the world not just white Americans: "It is deeply disappointing that you thought it acceptable to print an article drawing attention to the gender and race of scientific experts, suggesting that non-white, non-male scientists are somehow incapable of speaking on the basis of their qualifications and expertise."
Aderin-Pocock, honorary research associate in UCL's physics and astronomy department, said:"I picture the Newsnight team flipping through their Rolodex, saying 'too white, too male… ah, two ethnic minority females, perfect!'. Monday was very busy for me, receiving 10 requests for news interviews. I was able to do Radio 4's PM, 5 Live, Channel 5 News and Newsnight. I believe the requests were made for my ability to translate complex ideas into something accessible, rather than my gender or the colour of my skin."
Peiris, reader in astronomy at UCL, said:"I deeply pity the sort of person who can watch a report about ground-breaking news on the origins of the universe and everything in it, and see only the gender and skin colour of the panellists. I am disturbed that he has even erased the contributions of all of the non-white and non-male and non-American scientists involved in the discovery."
A Newsnight spokesman said: "We ask people on to Newsnight because we think they know what they are talking about and have something interesting to say."
A Mail spokesman made it clear that the paper fully accepts that the women were highly qualified in their field and that was the reason they were chosen for interview. The Mail is in contact with Professor Price. Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.