The man who did his chemistry PhD in Welsh
Owain Beynon’s new words for computational chemistry terms are now in the Welsh dictionary
As the first person to complete a chemistry PhD entirely in Welsh, Owain Beynon had the joy of creating new scientific vocabulary when he came across gaps in terminology. His words have now been added to the official Welsh dictionary.
Beynon attended Welsh-speaking schools in Carmarthenshire, before doing a master’s degree in chemistry at Cardiff University. While arranging his PhD, he came across the organisation Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, which aims to ‘inspire and encourage everyone to use their Welsh skills, with the aim of creating a bilingual workforce’.
Together with his PhD supervisor, he successfully applied for PhD funding from Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s Ysgoloriaeth Ymchwil scheme, which supports PhD students in conducting research and writing a thesis through the medium of Welsh.
Beynon was keen to demonstrate that Welsh is a scientific language, despite many considering English the only option for higher education and research.