SHE might be new to the job as dean of Trinity's school of engineering and systems sciences but Dr Jane Grimson had a good idea of what the job involved. Her father, Professor William Wright, held the same position from 1957 until his death in 1985. Educated at Alexandra College in Dublin, Grimson always had a strong interest in maths and science and she attributes her particular facility with maths to a very enlightened teacher who introduced her students to applied maths.
Like many academics who play down their specialist subject for fear of unduly influencing their children's choice of university course, Wright never suggested engineering to his daughter. However, he did write an article for The Scotsman highlighting the lack of girls entering the profession - which did not go unnoticed.
"My brother send me a copy of the article and it gave me food for thought," recalls Grimson. "From the sound of it I felt that engineering would suit me. The scope of the course was ideal for me and I decided to specialise in computer science which was just beginning to take off as an academic discipline.
"Indeed, my father was something of a visionary with respect to computers and their potential. During his time as dean he was very committed to the development of a strong computer science department which remains one of the biggest in the British Isles to this day."
Jane Grimson graduated in 1970 with a gold medal for outstanding academic performance and then moved to the University of Toronto to study for a Masters in computer science. Marriage, two children a PhD at Edinburgh University and a five-year career break followed.
Then in 1980 she rejoined the workforce with her appointment as a lecturer in computer science at her alma mater.
In 1990 she was elected a fellow of the College, an honour bestowed in recognition of excellence in research. Last July she was elected dean of the school of engineering and systems sciences. This is a three-year post with heavy administrative responsibilities for a faculty staff of 200 and a student body of 2,100.
"Becoming dean has changed what I do quite fundamentally although I am continuing to teach and to carry on with my research," says Grimson who has made medical applications of computer science her particular research area. "As dean you are very much the interface between the facility and the outside world. This involves working with others from within the university as well as liaising with industry and other organisations which have connections with the College.
"I also have responsibility for the undergraduate programme and for looking for opportunities for new academic development. The undergraduate programme is particularly important to us because this is the course which, hopefully, produces good quality engineers with the skills to cope in a rapidly changing
Why do so few girls opt to study's engineering? "There is no definitive answer," says Grimson. "Only about 17 per cent of our students are female, but there are a number of possible explanations - one is that they really don't get the opportunity to find out what engineering is about at school and because engineering does not have a high public profile it never occurs to them as an option even though they may have good maths and science subjects."
It may also have to do with subject choices, she says, citing "the lack of role models and the fact that for a long time science text books in particular were very gender specific (male)".
Initiatives to attract more have not worked on the long term. "This is a pity," says Grimson, "because both sexes have a valuable contribution to make to the science. Engineering may also have suffered because it is perceived as being a bit dry. In fact, it is potentially very creative."
