Professor Judith L MacManus-Driscoll
I am Professor of Materials Science in Cambridge and Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies. I am a Visiting Staff Member at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico. I was founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, APL Materials, from the American Institute of Physics and served for 10 years until 2023. I am a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Materials Research Society, American Physical Society, IOM3, and IOP, Women Engineers Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
My group's research is concerned with the nanoscale design and tuning of functional oxide thin film materials for energy efficient electronic applications. Our particular focus is oxide thin films owing to their wide range of functionalities and their stability. However, their compositions tend to be complex, defects are prevalent, and interface effects play a strong role. Also, for many applications device structural dimensions are required down to nanometre length-scales. Together, all these factors produce exciting challenges for the materials scientist.
We collaborate with several groups, including those in Cambridge and others around the world. We also work with industries in the UK and across the world.
Honours and Awards
2002 Federation of European Materials Research Societies Lecturer of the Year
2005 USDOE Prize Lecture Superconductivity First Place Annual Award
- 2011 Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society
- 2015 Elected Materials Research Society Fellow
- 2015 Institute of Physics Joule Medal and Prize
- 2015 Royal Academy of Engineering Armourers and Brasiers' Company Prize
- 2017 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers James Wong Award
- 2017 Elected Fellow of Women's Engineering Society
- 2017 Elected Chartered Engineer
- 2018 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Kroll Prize
- 2021 Elected American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow
- 2022.Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Griffith Medal
- 2022 Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) Silver Jubilee International Medal
- 2024 Royal Society of Chemistry Interdisciplinary Award
- 2024 Women's Engineering Society Top 50 Women Engineers
- 2024 Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
- 2025 Fellow of the Royal Society
- 2026 Koji Kobayashi Computers and Communications Award
Prof. Driscoll outside the Wren Library in Trinity College
Prof. Driscoll was delighted to initiate, and organise with her excellent female academic collaborators and students, the first conference in Cambridge’s long history celebrating women in electronic materials, Femincam, https://driscoll.msm.cam.ac.uk/femincam. We hosted nearly 100 early career women in Cambridge to meet, give presentations and discuss challenges they may be facing in their careers. The joint report on the outcomes of the meeting will be uploaded soon.
Women in Science
Prof. Driscoll mentors several younger female researchers in science. In a minority situation, and often in a very competitive situations, she understands the great need for mentors and friends. If anyone (wherever you are!) has any concerns or queries about their position or career path or anything, she is always happy to chat. The best way to contact her is to email her at: jld35@cam.ac.uk and with subject header, “women in science”, She will not be not acting in any formal capacity or on behalf of any organisation.
Prof. Driscoll has been deeply committed to promoting equity and visibility for women in science and engineering. She founded the WISPER (Women in Science Promoting Energy Research), https://wisper2025.my.canva.site/, symposium in 2025, which brought together around 100 researchers across all career stages to celebrate women leaders and discuss challenges in building a more inclusive research community (IOM3 article here). She also established Femincam, https://driscoll.msm.cam.ac.uk/femincam, in 2023 a one-day conference at the University of Cambridge that connects women researchers in functional electronic materials, fostering scientific exchange and collaboration.
Both events, the first of their kind, aim to empower the next generation of women leaders in science by providing a platform to discuss challenges and experiences, and share strategies for support and perseverance. The meetings were met with great enthusiasm and highly positive feedback. We hope to host these events annually; anyone interested in contributing to future meetings is warmly encouraged to contact Prof. Driscoll.
We canvassed opinion from over 200 women from these meeting to discuss their experiences. This led to a very interesting paper which we hope will guide female researchers. Please see here:
Gaggio B, Driscoll EH, Robinson FCH, Singleton J, MacManus-Driscoll JL, Anecdotes and Guidance Notes: Surviving and Thriving as a Woman in Science, J. Phys. Energy, https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7655/ae26cb, Jan. 2026, 8, 01100.
Further Information
Click here for information on publications of Prof. Driscoll, her group and collaborators.