Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock is an award winning space scientist, broadcaster and author, whose passion is presenting science to general audiences. She studied at Imperial College, London, obtaining a Physics degree and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. She has worked in both industrial and academic environments, on missions including the James Webb Space Telescope and various satellites designed to monitor climate change. Maggie is the CEO of Science Innovation Ltd., which she founded in 2004. Here, she conducts public engagement activities, sharing her love of space and encouraging underrepresented communities to enter STEM. She is a Bafta-nominated television presenter, and won a Women in Film & Television New Talent Award. She co-hosts the world’s longest-running science programme BBC The Sky at Night. Maggie is the Chancellor of the University of Leicester, has honorary doctorates from over 10 UK universities, won an Institute of Physics gold medal, the Yale ‘Out of the Box’ thinker award, and was Woman of the Year for innovation in 2018. She is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Institute of Physics, and an ambassador for Made by Dyslexia and the International Rescue Committee. Maggie was recognised with a damehood in the 2024 New Year’s Honours list, and was honoured with a Barbie doll in her likeness in recognition of her achievements in making space and science accessible to young girls, literally encouraging them to ‘reach for the stars’.
