The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and two other leading Cambridge academics were among those commended in Saturday’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Professor Alison Richard, who has worked as Vice-Chancellor for seven years and is the first woman to have held this position full-time, has been appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) for services to Higher Education.

As an undergraduate, Richard studied anthropology at Newnham College. She then went on to pursue an academic career, spending thirty years at Yale. During her time as Vice-Chancellor, Dame Richard has introduced needs-based bursaries, a key part of the ongoing challenge to widen access to Cambridge for students from poorer backgrounds.

She has emphasized the importance of Alumni in the future of the university, celebrating Cambridge’s 800th anniversary by raising £1 billion in donations from past students.

Professor Athene Donald, another highly influential woman in Cambridge academia, was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) for services to Physics. As Deputy Head of the Cavendish Laboratory and Director of the Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Initiative (WiSETI), Dame Donald has a specific interest in promoting women’s careers in science. In 2009 she was awarded the L’Oreal/UNESCO Women in Science Award for Europe in recognition of her work in the field of protein aggregation and cellular biophysics. In 2006, on being appointed head of the Athena forum, she commented, "I hope [this] acts as an encouragement to young women thinking of pursuing scientific careers without giving up family life."

Professor Colin Humphries from Selwyn College gained a knighthood for services to science. Sir Colin is founder and director of the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride. The Centre is developing energy-efficient lighting which, if widely adopted, could potentially save the amount of energy equivalent to seven power stations. Using similar technology, he is also developing a new way to purify water and to kill hospital superbugs.

The Honours list does not only reward intellectual endeavours. Three women in Cambridgeshire received an OBE: Catherine Crawford, executive of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Former News reporter Susan Davies, and domestic abuse campaigner Gaynor Mears.