Nobel scientist resigns over sexist remarks

The scientist and Nobel laureate who sparked criticism after saying women in laboratories “fall in love with you and when you criticize them, they cry” has resigned from his position at a UK university.

In a brief statement on its website, University College London (UCL) said that Sir Tim Hunt had resigned from his position as Honorary Professor with the university’s Faculty of Life Sciences “following comments he made about women in science.”

“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,” the statement added.

The scientist was swiftly condemned for his comments, with #TimHunt trending on Twitter. Although he later apologized in an interview with the BBC for any offense his comments had caused, Hunt said that he stood by them.

Hunt was part of the team that won the Nobel Prize in physiology in 2001 for the discovery of key regulators of the cell cycle.