The University Women in Science, Engineering & Technology (WiSET) group would like to invite staff and students to this year's Campbell Lecture with Dr Michelle Thomsen.
The Campbell Lecture is an event designed to celebrate and highlight the high quality of women scientists both internationally and at Southampton at all stages of their careers. It is named in honour of Ishbel Campbell (1906-1997) who was one of the founding academics of the University of Southampton, a reader in Chemistry as well as a committed teacher and inspiration for women in science.
Abstract: From a childhood steeped in the early days of the space race, to a career that has spanned the golden age of robotic planetary exploration, I have been privileged to participate in some very exciting “firsts” of space missions, such as the first spacecraft to encounter Jupiter and Saturn, the first close encounters with a comet, the first detailed observations of Earth’s interaction with the expanding solar atmosphere, and the first orbiter around Saturn. Along this journey I found challenges, as well as helping hands that made it all possible. I will describe some of the highlights of my space voyage, along with lessons I have learned along the way, both professional and personal.