Dr Patricia Thomson (Hextall, 1949) BSc, MSc, PhD When Patricia Hextall (1949) graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney with first class honours and the University Medal in Organic Chemistry, she was described by her professor as ‘the most brilliant woman in organic chemistry for a generation’. Patricia Hextall (1949) enrolled at ÌÇÐÄVlog in 1948 in order to completed her Leaving Certificate. In her final year she was Dux of the School and winner of a the Liversidge Scholarship for Chemistry1 and the Fairfax Prize2. After completing her undergraduate BSc where Professor Arthur John Birch3 described her as the ‘most brilliant woman in organic chemistry for a generation’, she was granted a Fellowship at the University of Sydney to investigate the chemical constituents of the grasstree gum and to complete her MSc. Patricia was awarded a further scholarship to undertake a PhD in organic chemistry at Cambridge University, UK. She then went on to work at Manchester University with her physicist husband. After the birth of her children, she changed paths and was involved in writing some of the early computer programs in the late 1950s and 1960s. Patricia then set up and ran the computer department in the Faculty of Economics at Manchester University in the 1960s. After her retirement, Patricia moved back to Australia to spend time with her children and grandchildren. 1. The Liversidge Scholarship for Chemistry is a University of Sydney undergraduate scholarship which supports top achievers in science in the NSW Higher School Certificate in pursuing an undergraduate degree at the Faculty of Science. The Scholarship was founded in 1928 by a bequest £2,000 from Emeritus Professor Liversidge, who occupied the Chair of Chemistry from 1874 to 1907. The bequest was to form a scholarship fund for proficiency in chemistry, and supports the highest achieving candidates in HSC chemistry. 2. The Fairfax Prize was established in 1872 when John Faifax endowed a sum of £599 the purpose of founding two annual prizes to be awarded to the top achieving female candidates at the senior and junior public examinations. 3. Professor Arthur John Birch AC CMG FRS FAA was one of the great organic chemists of the twentieth century. He held chairs at the Universities of Sydney and Manchester and at the Australian National University in Canberra, and was President of the Australian Academy of Science from 1982 to 1986. He was described as a warm man with a wry sense of humour and, as a teacher, having great enthusiasm and constant encouragement.