F. Gwendolen Rees facts for kids
Florence Gwendolen Rees, often called Gwendolen or Gwen, was a brilliant Welsh scientist. She was a zoologist and a parasitologist. This means she studied animals, especially tiny creatures called parasites. She made history by becoming the first Welsh woman to join the Royal Society, a very important group for scientists. By the time she was 80, she had written 68 scientific papers!
Early Life and Education
Gwen Rees was born in 1906 in a Welsh town called Abercynon. She went to school there from 1918 to 1924. After school, she won three scholarships to attend University College, Cardiff, which is now known as Cardiff University.
At university, she studied chemistry, biology, and zoology. She was especially good at zoology. She finished her advanced degree, called a doctorate, in just 18 months. For her research, she studied tiny worm-like trematode parasites that live inside different kinds of snails. She collected over 5,000 snails from many places in Wales for her studies.
Career
Gwen Rees spent her whole career at the Zoology Department of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. She started as an Assistant Lecturer in 1930. Over the years, she moved up, becoming a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader, and finally a Professor in 1971. She became a Professor Emeritus when she partly retired in 1973.
She also held important leadership roles. She was the Chairman of the School of Biological Studies for a year. She also acted as the Head of the Zoology Department several times. During her time at the university, Professor Rees taught and guided many students. She supervised 215 undergraduate students and 25 postgraduate students.
Her main research area was helminthology, which is the study of parasitic worms. She focused on trematode and cestode parasites. She studied their structure, how they work, and their life cycles. Her work was very important for understanding how these parasites interact with the animals they live in, especially their intermediate hosts.
From 1960 to 1981, Professor Rees was involved with a scientific journal called Parasitology. She was on the editorial board for 10 years. Then, she became the chair of the editorial board until 1981. She also helped start the British Society for Parasitology. She served as its vice-president and then as its president.
Gwen Rees passed away in Aberystwyth on October 4, 1994.
Awards and Honours
In 1971, Florence Gwendolen Rees became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This was a huge honour, and she was the first Welsh woman ever to be elected. In the same year, she also became a Fellow of the Institute of Biology.
In 1990, she received the Linnean Medal. This is the highest award given by the Linnean Society of London, another very respected scientific group. Her achievements were even recognized in popular culture. In 1975, she was featured in an article in Vogue magazine about influential British women.
See also
In Spanish: Florence Gwendolen Rees para niños
