A new chemistry prize introduced by NUI Maynooth celebrates the achievements of an Irish scientist, Dame Kathleen Lonsdale.

Originally from Newbridge, Co Kildare, Kathleen Yardley was the 10th child of a postmaster. From this unlikely beginning, she became a famous crystallographer, the first woman professor at University College London and head of the department of crystallography (1946-1968). She was made a dame for her contributions to the understanding of the structures of molecules.

Her greatest achievement, perhaps, was the demonstration, using x-ray crystallography, that the carbon atoms in benzene form a planar hexagonal ring. Lonsdale became a Quaker in the 1930s. A committed pacifist, she spent a period in jail during the second World War, rather than get involved in the "war effort".

Her obituary in The Irish Times in 1971 noted that it was "quite clear where the pursuit of scientific knowledge stood in relation to her adherence to Quaker principles." The new prize is awarded to the best student in the final examination of the single honours BSc in chemistry in NUI Maynooth.

The inaugural prize was presented to Elaine Lawless, who is currently pursuing a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry under the supervision of Dr Frances Heaney. The proportion of women scientists in the chemistry department at NUI Maynooth is high. More than 50 per cent of the senior year's undergraduate population is female, as is 50 per cent of the postgraduate population and the department staff.