UCL professor resigns over sexism allegations

Nobel laureate Tim Hunt, who claimed that women in science labs were interfering with men's work, has resigned from his position as professor emeritus at University College London (UCL).

The 72-year-old British biochemistry scientist apologized for claims Tuesday that women in the workplace lead to distracting workplace romances, and the fact that they have "wet eyes" only makes it worse. Women should work with women, Hunt said. Otherwise, he said, citing his own experience, "you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them, they cry"

The scientist's statements were made in South Korea at a world conference that brought together students and journalists writing about science, and caused a high-profile scandal in Britain and on social media.

Firing after scandal

Tim Hunt has since apologized in part for the comments that outraged the online community in a BBC interview, saying that he simply wanted to be honest, but still effectively stuck to his opinion.

In the aftermath, Tim Hunt apologized in part for the comments that outraged the online community, saying that he simply wanted to be honest, but still effectively stuck to his opinion.

"I really think so, it's not easy with girls. It's very damaging to science," said Tim Hunt. He himself, though, rather self-critically called himself a "chauvinist pig.

"UCL was the first university in England to give women–female students equal rights with men, and our university believes such a decision is consistent with our commitment to gender equality"" University College London said in a statement on the dismissal of the scholar.

Women and men should work in separate laboratories? That's hardly possible in modern life

Women and men should work in separate laboratories?

Tim Hunt won the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 2001 for his discovery of the protein molecules responsible for cell separation. In the same year he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

But as the scientist himself said, he rarely uses the honorary prefix "sir" acquired with the knighthood, and this title has had no effect on his life or his scientific work.

After his dismissal as professor emeritus of the "Life Sciences" department at UCL, Tim Hunt still holds his other positions at British scientific institutions.

Storm of Resentment

Hunt's words caused quite a stir on social media, and the Royal Society, Britain's leading scientific society, hastened to distance itself from the professor's comments, issuing a statement headlined "Science needs women".

Tim Hunt himself said his ironic comment was taken unnecessarily seriously by the audience.

In 2001, Tim Hunt received the Nobel Prize and a knighthood

The majority of the audience really didn't see the irony in Hunt, who was sometimes called an idiot or a misogynist on social media.

At the same time, the audience didn't really see the irony in Hunt's words, who was called an idiot or a misogynist on social media.

"You can be a professor and an idiot at the same time"one user is outraged on "Twitter". "Are women keeping men from doing science? Maybe only women should do science then," she is echoed by another.

"Does the professor think we're still living in Victorian times?" queries Connie St. Louis, who teaches a science journalism course at City University in London.

"And someone else is surprised that there are a lot of feminist women in academia," queries angrily, a female professor.

From the BBC.