About this episode
Professor Michele Dougherty discusses her groundbreaking work in space physics and her role as the first female Astronomer Royal.
Professor Michele Dougherty is President of the Institute of Physics and Professor of Space Physics at Imperial College London. She was appointed Astronomer Royal last year – the first woman to hold the post in its 350-year history. She was brought up in Durban in South Africa and studied for a Bachelor of Science degree in applied maths at Natal University. After completing a Master’s and PhD she took up a fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany where she investigated solar wind and galactic wind outflows. In 1991 she joined Imperial College London where she helped devise a magnetic field model for the Ulysses mission. In 1997 she became principal investigator for the magnetometer instrument on board the Cassini probe which was sent to study Saturn and its system. She is currently lead investigator for the J-MAG magnetometer instrument on the European Space Agency's JUICE mission (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) which launched in 2023. It will reach Jupiter in 2031 and spend at least three years observing the planet and three of its largest moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Michele was appointed CBE in the 2018 New Years Honours List for services to UK…
People in this episode
Guest: Professor Michele Dougherty
Topics covered
- space physics
- women in science
- music
- astronomy
- research
- Jupiter exploration
Keywords
- Michele Dougherty
- space physics
- Astronomer Royal
- JUICE mission
- Cassini probe
- Ulysses mission
- music
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Institute of Physics, Imperial College London, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, European Space Agency
Books & works: Puccini: Turandot, Act III: Nessun dorma!, Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85: III. Adagio
Places: Durban, Germany, UK
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