Nobel Scientist Who Made Sexist Comments Resigns

Dr. Tim Hunt has stepped down as honorary professor at University College London
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 11, 2015 10:17 AM CDT
Updated Jun 11, 2015 10:33 AM CDT
Nobel Scientist Who Made Sexist Comments Resigns
An Oct. 8, 2001, photo from files of Dr. Tim Hunt, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, in a laboratory in London.   (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

Tim Hunt may not be crying like a woman in a science lab over the hubbub he's caused, but he's now resigned from his University College London role because of it. The BBC reports that the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and Royal Society fellow—under fire this week for ranting about the "trouble with girls" in labs at a conference—has left his post as an honorary professor with University College London's life sciences department.

"UCL can confirm that Sir Tim Hunt FRS has resigned from his position," a statement from the university reads, per the BBC. "UCL was the first university in England to admit women students on equal terms to men, and the university believes that this outcome is compatible with our commitment to gender equality." As Hunt steps down, women scientists on Twitter are stepping up their #DistractinglySexy campaign in response to his comments, notes the Guardian, posting pictures of themselves in their "sexy" outfits in the lab and in the field. (It isn't easy being a woman in Silicon Valley, either.)

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