2018 New Year honours for outstanding contributions to science and health

Alumni and staff from the University of Sheffield have been recognised by Her Majesty The Queen in the New Year honours.

Chemistry alumna Helen Sharman

Sheffield alumna and honorary graduate Dr Helen Sharman OBE has been awarded the Order of St Michael and St George in recognition of her services to science and technology educational outreach.

Dr Sharman graduated from the University of Sheffield with a BSc in Chemistry in 1984 and became the first woman to visit the Mir space station. During her mission she was involved in various experiments about the effects of weightlessness on physical, chemical and biological systems.

Sheffield alumnus Kevin Clifford, a masters graduate in Health Economics and Management at the University of Sheffield has been awarded an OBE for services to nursing.

Kevin Clifford, a miner's son, was the only male in a class of 92 Sheffield nursing students when he started training for his career in the 1970s.

He retired last year from his role as the Chief Nurse for the city’s Clinical Commissioning Group – where he was responsible for working with all healthcare providers in the city to monitor the quality of services being received by patients.

Professor of Arctic Ecology in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, Professor Terence Vincent Callaghan has been awarded a CMG in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas list for services to advancing knowledge and international collaboration in arctic science.

Professor Callaghan began his work as an arctic plant ecologist in 1967. Over the last 50 years he has worked in every arctic country and been in the field each year, carrying out research.

His research focuses on relationships between the arctic environment and the ecology of arctic plants and animals including ecosystem processes.

Professor Hilary Anne Chapman CBE, Chief Nurse at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust and Honorary Doctor of Medicine at the University of Sheffield has been awarded a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Professor Chapman was made an honorary doctor of medicine by the University of Sheffield in 2015 in recognition of her major contributions to health policy, healthcare delivery and system reform, which led to the development of the Safer Nursing Care Toolkit.

This system is now used widely in hospitals throughout the UK and helps determine safe nurse staffing levels on acute wards depending on how sick or dependent patients are.

Professor Sir Keith Burnett, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield said:

"I am delighted that colleagues and alumni of The University of Sheffield have been honoured for their longstanding commitment to science and health. What all these awards share in common is deep belief in the value of education and a determination to put knowledge at the service of the public.

"The University of Sheffield is also particularly proud that these honours recognise the contribution of the full spectrum of Science and healthcare in practise and a growing recognition of the crucial professional contribution of both scientific technicians and nursing."