Speakers

Donna Lyndsay

Strategic Market Lead - Environment & Sustainability at Ordnance Survey

About speaker:

Donna Lyndsay is a seasoned strategist and spatial data specialist with over 35 years of experience in the geospatial, Earth Observation, and environmental sectors. Currently serving as the Strategic Market Lead for the Ordnance Survey and vice chair for theSpace4Climate group, Donna excels in driving innovation, market development, and thought leadership in sustainability and climate action.

Talk details:

From Land to Space, how do you navigate big data to create solutions necessary for our rapidly changing world?

How the skills of a national mapping agency are key to supporting the world in navigating the explosion of big data to solve some of our big global challenges.

Dr Mhari Dell and Dr Ruth Taylor

UK MET Office

Talk details:

From photons to forecasts: Earth observation for weather prediction

One crucial ingredient of an accurate weather forecast is knowing what the weather is now, referred to as our initial conditions. In parts of the world where we have no weather stations and cannot observe the weather using traditional instruments, satellite measurements become hugely valuable. In fact, in the past two decades, satellites have become our principal source of observations, helping to vastly improve our weather forecast. But what can satellite equipment actually detect? And how do we turn that into information about the weather? Together, we will explore these questions, introducing instruments across the range of observing systems developed since the first satellite images became available in the 1960s, and exploring the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves, through the microwave and infrared regions, to visible frequencies. Join us as we uncover the major challenges and successes of using satellites to predict our weather.

Prof Nathan Mayne

Professor of Astrophysics at Astrophysics Group, Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter

About Speaker:

Hello! I am a Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Climates at the University of Exeter in the UK, where I spend most of my time being the person who knows the least in the room about the problem at hand! Mostly by accident I have been at Exeter for all of my academic career thus far, from a beginning in solid state Physics, to observations of stellar populations, and on to monte-carlo radiative transfer of circum-Brown Dwarf discs and, eventually, planetary climates. My current research combines studies of Earth, solar system planets and exoplanets, across a range of complexities from idealised modelling of the Archean biosphere to sophisticated 3D, convection permitting, simulations. The goal is to maximise knowledge transfer to address really hard and exciting problems, such as how will the Earth's climate evolve? Why did life take hold on Earth and not Mars or Venus? Where might we most fruitfully look for life beyond the solar system? How do climates and life-climate systems work? And what the hell is going on? I have failed a lot, am regularly wrong, but have somehow managed to be involved in publications and obtain funding, and I remain intensely curious. 

Talk details

Aliens & the Weather!

Are we alone? Is life on Earth unique? What is going on???In this presentation I will share research aimed at answering these questions. From the studies of the conditions during the early stages of Earth's evolution, and the potential life which called our planet home, to our nearby neighbour planets such as Mars and Venus, and beyond to planets orbiting distant stars, or exoplanets. Focusing on distant planets I will discuss how we detect and characterise them using cutting-edge facilities CD  such as the James Webb Space Telescope, and how we also apply state-of-the-art numerical models designed to predict and understand Earth's climate to these distant worlds. This endeavour is helping us understand where to look for life beyond Earth and what we might look for, as well as helping us understand our own changing climate. Join me and let me know what you think.... Are we alone?

Jamie Williams

Senior Deep Space Mission Operations Engineer at Goonhilly Earth Station

About Speaker:

Jamie is the Senior Deep Space Mission Operations Engineer at Goonhilly Earth Station, in Cornwall. Jamie’s main role is operating Goonhilly’s 32m deep space antenna – GHY-6 – for organisations like the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He is a team lead for the GHY-6operations team and is responsible for mechanical design and computer-aided design tasks across the site. Jamie will be talking about Goonhilly’s historic and pioneering past and their exciting present-day work supporting missions like ESA’s Mars Express and Intuitive Machines’IM-1, which achieved the world’s first successful commercial lunar landing in 2024.

Talk details

Fritha Durham

 Spaceport Cornwall

About Speaker:

Fritha Durham works for Spaceport Cornwall as outreach and education coordinator. Working with primary children from reception to secondary, colleges and universities. Both in the United Kingdom and globally. This has meant a deep immersion into every aspect of developing a space science and career focused programme delivered to all schools within Cornwall as well as working with groups nationwide. The main focus is raising awareness and inspiring young people into all aspects of space careers using a variety of in person and virtual sessions.

Exeter Science Centre