Dr Sam Nallaperuma-Herzberg is a Senior Research Associate at Cambridge University’s Department of Computer Science and Technology, and a Fellow in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Science and Society at the Accelerate Programme for Scientific Discovery.
For International Women’s Day (8 March), the Cambridge Festival (19 March – 4 April) is celebrating some of the remarkable contributions of women across diverse fields. From philosophy and music to AI and cosmology, the festival will highlight the pioneering work of women who have shaped our understanding of the world in profound ways.
Hiranya Peiris holds the Professorship of Astronomy (1909) at Cambridge, the first woman to do so in the 115-year history of this prestigious chair. As a cosmologist, she delves into cosmic mysteries at the edge of our understanding, reaching back to the very first moments of the Universe after the Big Bang, often treading the path of high risk and high reward.
Charlotte Andrew is a PhD student in the Insect Biomechanics Group in the Department of Zoology. Her research explores the mechanical implications of weather conditions on insect trapping in carnivorous plants.
Clive Boddy is a research methodologist and also a pioneer in the field of corporate psychopathy where he has been researching the effects of toxic, psychopathic managers on business, organisations and society since 2005.
Professor Sarah Hart is a British mathematician specialising in group theory and author. She is Professor Emerita of Mathematics and Fellow of Birkbeck College (University of London) and has recently been announced as the Mathematical Association President during 2026-27.
Dr James Sunderland is a Research Fellow at the Woolf Institute working on the 'How to continue talking' project. His work aims to explore how interfaith communities can continue meaningful and respectful dialogue and to explore connections and encounters during times of extreme distress, such as after the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza.
Estherina Trachtenberg is a Blavatnik Postdoctoral Fellow in the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge and is currently working in the lab of Prof. Duncan Astle. She studies social connectedness and its impact on health, cognition, and the underlying brain networks.
On Valentine’s Day, find out more about love from Professor Viren Swami, one of the world’s leading experts in the psychology of romantic attraction.
Dr Mireia Crispin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at the University of Cambridge and leads a research group focusing on the development of multi-omic data integration models to understand how tumours evolve and respond to treatment.
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