Space, security and telecoms are critical areas for academic research and our work reflects the mission-led approach of the School of Convergence Science: from self-deploying disaster responses to a sustainable satellite membrane to surround our planet.
Honoured by an astronaut
This year’s coveted Schweickart Prize was awarded to a team led by an Imperial PhD student. The Prize was established to enhance global protection efforts against asteroid impacts and Jordan Stone, a Research Postgraduate in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering, devised the winning proposal. The prize was presented by esteemed astronaut and scientist Rusty Schweickart.
Studying the sun
Professor Tim Horbury and Helen O’Brien are part of the team that designed and built the magnetometer instrument for the Solar Orbiter, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission sent to study the Sun. February marked five years since it launched, and the halfway point of the mission.
Imperial is leading the delivery of the magnetometer instrument (MAG), for the Vigil mission, an ESA flagship space weather mission. The MAG is a fluxgate sensor derived from our long history of instrumentation on science missions such as JUICE and Solar Orbiter. With the help of Imperial’s MAG instrument, the ESA’s Vigil will monitor the Sun to provide a constant feed of near realtime data on potentially hazardous solar activity, before it comes into view from Earth.
Public safety partnership
Imperial and HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency) of Singapore signed a partnership agreement for public safety and security research in July 2025. Anchored through Imperial Global Singapore, the collaboration will focus on advancing foundational and translational research, talent exchange and innovation in key areas such as digital technologies, engineering and the sciences.