2022 Phillips Award

Lynne Long is currently chair of the West Midlands Committee of the IOP, in which she has been involved for over 20 years, in the organisation of outreach events and provision of education/teacher support before taking officer roles in the 2010s.

Her efficient and inspiring leadership of the group has allowed this branch to thrive and multiply events of interest for the IOP, its members and the general public as a whole, including among others, Evening Lecture centres as well as diverse and numerous outreach events, such as the momentous ‘Physics in the City’ event at Birmingham New Street train station, in close partnership with the University of Birmingham Particle Group.

She has been personally and directly responsible for the creation of new centres, the latest to date in Wolverhampton, where prestigious international speakers now address a fast-growing local Black Country audience on a monthly basis under the patronage of the IOP.

The propitious and creative atmosphere encouraged by Long has been particularly effective during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she has encouraged and supported online and later hybrid events to take place, thereby succeeding in continuing the charitable purpose of the IOP and holding communities together despite exceptional circumstances and restrictions.

As she is now about to retire from her position as chair of the West Midlands Committee, but remains dedicated and passionate about her mission there, she is highly deserving of an award named after a pioneer of the IOP, for her own contributions that mix unfaltering support, sustained growth and impact, as well as the creation of and/or contributions to multiple activities to raise awareness and interest in physics.