Profile

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Emily Rickman

My CV

  • Education:

    Oriel High School & Sixth Form, Crawley, West Sussex, UK; University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK; Australian National University, Canberra, Australia; University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

  • Qualifications:

    GCSEs: Maths (A*), Physics (A*), Chemistry (A*), Biology (A*), Engineering design (A*), Engineering manufacturing (A*), Religious Education (A*), English literature (A*), English language (A), German (B), Music (A), ICT (merit);
    A-levels: Maths (A), Philosophy & Ethics (A), Physics (B);
    Masters of Physics and Astrophysics with honours (1st class);
    PhD Astronomy and Astrophysics

  • Work History:

    Research assistant – Australian National University;
    Research assistant – University of Sheffield;
    PhD Researcher – University of Geneva;
    Research fellow – European Space Agency

  • Current Job:

    Astrophysicist

    • About Me:

      I am an astrophysicist working for the European Space Agency (ESA) hunting for planets outside of our Solar System using some of the largest telescopes in the world. I live in Baltimore, USA, with my dog Nova.

    • Read more

      I am an astrophysicist working for the European Space Agency (ESA) hunting for planets outside of our Solar System using some of the largest telescopes in the world. I live in Baltimore, USA, with my dog Nova. I enjoy hiking, yoga, and drinking lots of coffee! I also enjoy playing piano and singing. My pronouns are she/her.

    • Read more

      I’m an astrophysicist hunting for planets outside of our Solar System (known as exoplanets) at the European Space Agency. I am stationed at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, USA, who is responsible for the operations of the Hubble Space Telescope, and the soon-to-be launched James Webb Space Telescope.

      I also work on ground-based observations using some of the largest telescopes in the world. Here I am working in the control room of the ‘Very Large Telescope’ (VLT) which consists of four 8.2-metre telescopes that live in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

      Here I am stood outside of the telescope domes of the VLT – you can get an idea just how big they are!

      And inside of the dome here, you can see how massive these telescopes are that we use!

    • My Typical Day:

      I spend most of my time sat at my desk, attending meetings with other scientists to discuss important questions and problems, as well as use code to analyse data. Sometimes I go observing in remote locations for a couple of weeks. Those ‘days’ are really working all ‘night’ operating the telescope, deciding which stars to observe, whilst checking the weather and conditions.

    • Read more

      A lot of time is spent at my desk, coding to solve problems and analyse data.

      Then there are weeks in the year where I’ll go observing (mostly in Chile) and to get to enjoy beautiful views like this:

      And then there are days when I will give talks or seminars at conferences or to my colleagues to share all of our awesome science:

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      I would like to use the money to support the STEM ambassador programme in the UK, whose vision is to achieve a world-leading STEM education for all young people across the UK.

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        Enthusiastic, outdoorsy, determined

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        I wanted to be an astrophysicist :O

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        No - never! ;)

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Queen

        What's your favourite food?

        I love Mexican food!

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        I wish that I could travel to space, discover lots more planets, and visit every country on Earth

        Tell us a joke.

        The rotation of the Earth makes my day!

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