Professor Donald studied for both her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Physics at the University of Cambridge. After 4 years as a postdoctoral researcher in the USA, she returned to Cambridge, where she became a professor in 1998. In 1999, she was elected to the Royal Society, where she has chaired its Education Committee and served on its Council. In 2014, she became Master of Churchill College, retiring in 2024. She now chairs the Science Advisory Council for the Department for Education, and continues to work with the Royal Society on policy for science, including skills.
