Katherine Elizabeth Jones (born 1972) is a British
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity' ...
scientist, with a special interest in
bats. She is Professor of Ecology and Biodiversity, and Director of the Biodiversity Modelling Research Group, at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = � ...
.
She is a past chair of the
Bat Conservation Trust.
Education
Jones graduated with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in Zoology from the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
in 1993 and with a Ph.D. from the
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institu ...
in 1998.
Research
Jones is interested in understanding how biodiversity is maintained and conserved globally. She won a 2008
Philip Leverhulme Award in Zoology (given to "outstanding young scholars … whose future contributions are held to be of correspondingly high promise") and holds a number of scientific advisory board positions for national and international conservation charities.
Jones has researched bats in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...
where she developed new ways of monitoring bat populations through sound.
Jones has been involved in a number of citizen science projects including
Bat Detective and a phone related bat monitoring project.
According to
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in beta in November 2004, the Google Scholar index includes p ...
and
Scopus
Scopus is Elsevier's abstract and citation database launched in 2004. Scopus covers nearly 36,377 titles (22,794 active titles and 13,583 inactive titles) from approximately 11,678 publishers, of which 34,346 are peer-reviewed journals in top-l ...
her most cited papers have been published in ''
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
'' and ''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...
''.
Honours and awards
Jones was awarded the Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2011. In 2022 she was awarded the
Marsh Award for Conservation Biology
The Marsh Award for Conservation Biology, established 1991, is an award run in partnership between the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Marsh Charitable Trust that recognises an individual for his or her "contributions of fundamental s ...
by the
Zoological Society of London and the
Marsh Ecology Award
The Marsh Ecology Award is a prize awarded annually from 1996 onwards to recognise outstanding recent discovery or development which has had a significant impact on the development of the science of ecology or its application. The Award is an hono ...
from the
British Ecological Society
The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...
.
Personal life
Jones is also known for her love of
cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...
s, which she discussed with
Jim Al-Khalili
Jameel Sadik "Jim" Al-Khalili ( ar, جميل صادق الخليلي; born 20 September 1962) is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in scien ...
on the BBC radio programme ''
The Life Scientific''.
In a ''
Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
'' feature on "Why more women should consider a career in science", Jones said:
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Kate
1972 births
Living people
British mammalogists
British ecologists
Women ecologists
Alumni of the University of Leeds
Alumni of the University of Surrey
Academics of University College London