Earlier this year, Professor Michele Dougherty was appointed Astronomer Royal, becoming the first woman to hold the position since its creation in 1675.
Join us in celebrating this landmark achievement with a talk from Professor Dougherty herself, followed by a light reception. Staff and students welcome.
To register your attendance, please email ph.ea@imperial.ac.uk and include any dietary or access requirements in your email.
Biography
Professor Michele Dougherty is Professor of Space Physics and former Head of the Department of Physics at Imperial College London. Michele led unmanned exploratory missions to Saturn and Jupiter and was the Principal investigator of the magnetometer instrument onboard the Cassini mission to Saturn. She is Principal Investigator of the magnetometer for the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) that launched in April 2023.
She is also Executive Chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), a position she took up in January 2025. STFC is one of the nine councils of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which supports research in astronomy, physics, computational science and space science, and operates world-class research facilities for the UK.
Michele is a Fellow of the Royal Society. In addition to being awarded the Royal Astronomical Society Geophysics Gold Medal in 2027, and a CBE in the 2018 New Year Honours list, she was awarded the Institute of Physics (IOP) Richard Glazebrook Gold Medal and Prize.