Maggie Aderin-Pocock

About

Maggie is a key note speaker at the Unconference and has worked as a Space Scientist for the last 10 years. She is also a pioneering figure in communicating science to the public, specifically school children, and also runs her own company, Science Innovation Ltd, which engages children and adults all over the world with the wonders of space science.

She studied at Imperial College London, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock (Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, MBE) has worked on many projects, from private industry to government contracts to academic research. She began in the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency on missile warning systems.

Aderin-Pocock moved back to Imperial College London in 1999 with a Fellowship from the Science and Technology Facilities Council to work on a high-resolution spectrograph for the Gemini telescope in Chile.

She is the lead scientist for the optical instrumentation group for Astrium. She is working on and managing the observation instruments for the Aeolus satellite, which will measure wind speeds to help the investigation of climate change.

Aderin-Pocock is also helping to coordinate the development of the Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope.

Aderin-Pocock was the scientific consultant for the 2009 mini-series Paradox, and also appeared on Doctor Who Confidential. In February 2011 she presented ‘Do We Really Need the Moon?’ on BBC 2. She also presented In Orbit: How Satellites Rule Our World on BBC 2 on 26 March 2012.

She holds a Science in Society Fellowship awarded in 2006 by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from Staffordshire University for her contributions to the field of science education.

In 2006 she was one of six ‘Women of Outstanding Achievement’ winners with GetSET Women and in 2009 she was awarded a Member of the British Empire for her services to science and education.

Maggie has developed an excellent reputation on the after dinner circuit with her fascinating speeches explaining the importance of furthering science education into the public domain. A truly remarkable individual, she fascinates everyone she speaks to.