Dr Margaret Stedman

Dr Margaret Stedman joined NPL in 1961 after gaining her doctorate degree. She worked in the field of X-ray optics which involved the characterisation of surfaces at the atomic scale. At that time NPL scientific research was almost exclusively a male activity, so Margaret was an exception, and was held in high regard as a research scientist. She became the first woman to be promoted ‘through the ranks’ to Principal Scientific Officer. Later she gained further advancement with an Individual Merit promotion, which is now referred to as a Fellow.

Margaret was at the birth of nanotechnology in the UK. During the 1970s it was found that the properties of materials on the nano-scale played a critical role in how they perform and are used. Margaret’s group developed and characterised instruments that could produce and profile complex surfaces to atomic-scale accuracy, as required in the developing scientific disciplines of X-ray microscopes and X-ray telescopes. Her work led to the theory, manufacture and characterisation of X-ray optical components, and by the 1980s the group had acquired a worldwide reputation. A commendation from the American space agency NASA stated that the NPL X-ray mirrors produced for a satellite telescope were far and away better than anything produced elsewhere. The ‘Stedman Diagram’ became a widely used theoretical tool to define the measurement of atomic-scale surface structures. Margaret continued at NPL, still publishing scientific papers in prestigious journals, into her 70s. She was an active member and an elected Fellow of the Institute of Physics. 

Her scientific contributions have stood the test of time, leaving a legacy on which those who follow can build.