The BA Isambard Kingdom Brunel Award Lecture

Climate change: what space can teach us about planet Earth

Look at global warming from a whole new angle and learn how space scientists make science count in the battle against climate change. Looking down onto the Earth, special instruments are providing scientists and climatologists with data ranging from the CO2 uptake of plants to the movement of the wind. Find out also how looking out into space can help our understanding of our own planet.

Presented by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Science Innovation Limited

Biography:

• Optical Group Leader, Astrium Ltd
• STFC Fellow in Public Engagement UCL
• BSc Physics
• PhD Mechanical Engineering

Maggie Aderin-Pocock was born in the UK to Nigerian emigrants. She was raised and studied in London and the south east and obtained her degree in Physics and her PhD in Mechanical Engineering both from Imperial College London.

Maggie was recently awarded with a science in society fellowship from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). This has enabled her to have greater involvement with the public engagement with science work through University College London (UCL). This has enabled Maggie to spend more time promoting the science through television and radio programmes and dedicated outreach talks to schoolchildren and adults at science festivals and other events. She recently featured in a BBC2 series called 'The Cosmos - A Beginners Guild'where she had the opportunity to work with Adam Hart-Davis, one of her TV heroes. Her natural enthusiasm for science and engineering has won Maggie a number of accolades including Woman of Outstanding Achievement in 2006 for Science Communication.

To further share her love of science Maggie has also set up her own company Science Innovation Ltd (SIL), in Guildford, which she runs in her spare time. Through this Maggie conducts 'Tours of the Universe', a scheme she set up to engage school children and adults around the world in the wonders of space. To date, 7000 people across the world have made this journey to the stars. She also developed and presented a series of short TV programs for CBBC showing children fun experiments that they can do at home with stuff from their kitchens. She is just completing a documentary film highlighting the amazing space science that is done here in the UK.