STEM Experts Archives - Discovery Diaries

Piyal Samara-Ratna: Mechanical Engineer

Read our Q&A with Piyal Samara-Ratna. Piyal is a mechanical engineer who worked on the MIRI instrument as part of the UK’s Webb team.

Pamela Klaassen: Instrument Scientist

Read our Q&A with Pamela Klaassen. Pamela is an instrument scientist currently working at UK Astronomy Technology Centre supporting the MIRI instrument focusing on the Spectrometer and the Integral Field Unit.

Martyn Wells: Optical Engineer

Read our Q&A with Martyn Wells. Martyn is an optical engineer who oversaw the optical design of the MIRI instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope.

Gillian Wright: Director of the UK-ATC

Read our Q&A with Professor Gillian Wright. Gillian is the Director of the UK-ATC and is also the European PI for the James Webb Space Telescope MIRI Instrument.

Naomi Rowe-Gurney: PhD student

Read our Q&A with Naomi Rowe-Gurney. Naomi is a PhD student studying the atmosphere of Uranus and Neptune using a space telescope called Spitzer.

Alastair Bruce: Postdoctoral Research Astronomer

Read our Q&A with Alastair Bruce. He splits his work between two roles — a postdoctorate research astronomer and as part of the James Webb Space Telescope UK Public Engagement Campaign.

Dr. Jess Wade talks lasers, #girlsinSTEM and the importance of Maths

We speak with physicist Dr. Jess Wade about imposter syndrome, career pathways and why engaging girls in STEM matters!

Libby Jackson: Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Programme Manager

Read our Q&A with Libby Jackson, Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Programme Engineer at the UK Space Agency. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and what inspired her as a child.

Vinita Marwaha Madill: Space Operations Engineer

We speak with Vinita Marwaha Madill, contract Space Operations Engineer at the European Space Agency. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and how Helen Sharman inspired her to follow her dreams.

Tamsin Mather: Volcanologist

We speak with volcanologist, Tamsin Mather. Here she tells us about her career in the STEM sector and how her job isn’t just wearing a silver suit traipsing up a volcano…

Abbie Hutty on finding life on Mars and how engineers have all the fun!

We interviewed Abbie all about her work on the ExoMars rover and she tells us why engineers have all the fun!

5 Minutes With… Sean Goldsbrough

Introducing Sean Goldsbrough, Senior Orbital Analyst at the UK Space Agency.

Sue Horne: Head of Space Exploration, UKSA

Read our Q&A with Sue Horne, Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and how she kept bees as a child!

5 minutes with… Iya Whiteley

Introducing Dr. Iya Whiteley, Space Psychologist and Director of the Centre for Space Medicine, University College London.

Stephen Lewis: Professor of Atmospheric Physics

We speak with Stephen Lewis, Professor of Atmospheric Physics at The Open University. Here he tells us about his career in the STEM industry and what inspired him as a child.

Dr. Sally Ride: America’s First Female Astronaut

Meet Sally Ride, America’s first female astronaut and an inspiring role model for children and adults alike.

Peter McOwan: Professor of Computer Science

We speak with Peter McOwan, Professor of Computer Science at Queen Mary University London. Here he tells us about his fascination with robotics and how he’s not out to rule the world.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock: Space Scientist

Read our bio of Maggie Aderin-Pocock, an incredibly inspiring Space Scientist and who cameos in Chapter Five of the Mars Diary.

Cindy Forde: Space Communicator

We speak with Cindy Forde, a Space Communicator with a special interest in inspiring children to see their own STEM potential. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and what she was like as a child.

Helen Sharman: Britain’s first astronaut

Find out more about Britain’s first astronaut, Dr. Helen Sharman.

Abbie Hutty: Lead Spacecraft Structures Engineer

We speak with Abbie Hutty, Lead Spacecraft Engineer and the Delivery Manager for the ExoMars rover. Here she tells us about her career in the space and why she has no plans to travel to Mars any time soon.

Chapter Two: Helen Sharman on how astronauts communicate in space

We interviewed Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, and asked her to explain everything about communication in space.

5 minutes with… Lucy Hawking, Author

Lucy is the author of the Principia Mission Space Diary and the Mars Diary.

5 minutes with… Richard Crowther

Richard Crowther is the chief engineer at the UK Space Agency. We spend five minutes chatting with him about his career in the space industry.

5 Minutes with… Sheila Kanani

Astronomer Sheila Kanani is the Education, Outreach and Diversity Officer at the Royal Astronomical Society.

5-Minutes with… Mike Salter

Mike Salter is an engineer who works at Urthecast. Just two years after graduating from university, two Earth-imagine cameras which Mike had played a major role in developing were installed on the ISS. Not a bad start to a career in space engineering!

5-Minutes with… Berti Meisinger

Berti Meisinger (ESA Mission Director) is Astronaut Tim Peake’s Mission Director and his main point of contact on Earth. We asked Berti to tell us about her job and give some advice to young space enthusiasts.

5-Minutes with… Andrew Kuh

We speak with Andrew Kuh, Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Programme Manager at the UK Space Agency. Here he tells us about his career in the space industry and how he got to watch Tim Peake’s launch in Kazakstan.