Laura Warwick

Role: Fourth Year PhD student, Department of Physics, Imperial College London

Subject area: Atmospheric Physics

Nationality: British

I am coming to the end of my PhD in Atmospheric Physics. I am also part of the Grantham Institute at Imperial which means I spend part of my time talking to the public and policy makers about how scientific research can be applied to the problems of climate change.

Education

GCSE (or equivalent): Maths, English Language, English Literature, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, French, Music. I also took the Free-Standing Maths Qualification at secondary school

A-level (or equivalent): Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry

Degrees:
• MSci Physics, Imperial College London
• PhD (ongoing) Atmospheric Physics, Imperial College London

Details about Laura

SiA My research icon

My research

The aim of my research is to perform experiments to assess the performance of a future European Space Agency satellite called FORUM. The experiments and new instrument that I am helping to develop will be used to test that the FORUM satellite is making accurate measurements once it is launched.

SiA my inspiration icon

My inspiration

I have always been interested in science, but I decided to study Physics because I had a great Physics teacher at 6th Form who was both inspirational and funny. After my degree I decided to specialise in atmospheric physics because I wanted to use my skills to play a small part in solving the global problem of climate change.

SiA My STEM Hero icon

Who is your STEM hero?

Margaret Hamilton is a pioneering software engineer who led the development of the on-board flight software for the Apollo moon missions. She is also one of the people who invented the term software engineering. As well as being a brilliant engineer, she also represents the range of different people who all need to work together to ensure a space mission is a success.

hands working at computer with mobile phone

Most significant discovery/invention?

Semi-conductors. The satellite instrument I am testing relies on recent advances in semiconductor technology, but semiconductors are also vital for so much of our modern world—I know I would be lost without my laptop!

international space station with Earth in background

Career options after study

  • Developing satellite missions for private companies, start-ups
  • Working for national space agencies
  • Software development
  • Data analysis
In the foreground, a woman is holding a songbook and singing. In the background you can see other singers in a concert.

My hobbies

In my spare time I enjoy singing and exploring London on my bike.