Born: 1968 (London, United Kingdom)
Biography:
Margaret Ebunoluwa Aderin-Pocock MBE (née Aderin; born 9 March 1968) is a British space scientist and science educator. She is an honorary research associate of University College London’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, and has been the chancellor of the University of Leicester since February 2023. Since February 2014, she has co-presented the long-running astronomy television programme The Sky at Night with Chris Lintott. In 2020 she was awarded the Institute of Physics William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for her public engagement in physics. She is the first black woman to win a gold medal in the Physics News Award and she served as the president of the British Science Association from 2021 to 2022.
Early life and education:
Margaret Ebunoluwa Aderin was born in London on 9 March 1968 to Nigerian parents, Caroline Philips and Justus Adebayo Aderin, and was raised in Camden, London. Her middle name Ebunoluwa comes from the Yoruba words ebun meaning gift and Oluwa meaning God, which is also a variant form of the word Oluwabunmi or Olubunmi, meaning gift of God in Yoruba. She attended La Sainte Union Convent School in North London. She is dyslexic. As a child, when she told a teacher she wanted to be an astronaut, it was suggested she try nursing, because that’s scientific, too. She gained A-Levels in maths, physics, chemistry, and biology. She studied at Imperial College London, graduated with a BSc in physics in 1990, and completed her PhD in mechanical engineering under the supervision of Hugh Spikes in 1994. Her research investigated the development of an ultra-thin film measurement system using spectroscopy and interferometry to the 2.5 nm level. This involved improving the optical performance and the mechanical design of the system, as well as the development of control and image processing software. Other techniques at the time could only operate to the micron level with much poorer resolution. This development work resulted in the instrument being sold by an Imperial College University spin-off company, PCS Instruments.
Career and research:
Aderin-Pocock has worked on many projects in private industry, academia, and government. From 1996 to 1999 she worked at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, a branch of the UK Ministry of Defence. Initially, she was a systems scientist on aircraft missile warning systems; from 1997 to 1999, she was a project manager developing hand-held instruments to detect landmines. In 1999, Aderin-Pocock returned to Imperial College on a fellowship from the Science and Technology Facilities Council to work with the group developing a high-resolution spectrograph for the Gemini telescope in Chile. The high spectral resolution of the instrument allowed studies of stellar populations, interstellar medium, and some physical phenomena in stars with small
Awards:
– Institute of Physics William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for public engagement in physics