Carole Mundell

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Carole Mundell
FInstP
Nationality British
Alma mater University of Glasgow
Known for Gamma Ray Bursts, Extragalactic Astronomy
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Thesis Distribution and Kinematics of Neutral and Ionised Gas in Seyfert Galaxies  (1995)
Website Research Profile

Carole Mundell is an observational astrophysicist who researches cosmic black holes and gamma ray bursts. Since 2023 she has been the Director of Science at the European Space Agency. [1]

Contents

Education

Mundell graduated from the University of Glasgow with a BSc in Physics and Astronomy in 1992. [2] She moved to Manchester to complete a PhD in Astrophysics, working at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, where she held a PPARC Research Fellowship until 1997. [2]

Research

Mundell joined the University of Maryland in 1997. [2] [3] She moved to Liverpool John Moores University in 1999 as a Royal Society University Research Fellow focussing on the dynamics of active galaxies. [4] [5] In 2005 she was awarded a prestigious RCUK Academic Fellowship to build and lead new Gamma Ray Burst team at LJMU, and was appointed Professor in 2007. [6] [7] In 2007 her team won the Times Higher Education Research Project of the Year Award for 'Measuring Gamma Ray Bursts'. [8]

Chandra Gamma Ray Burst 01 Chandra Gamma Ray Burst 01.jpg
Chandra Gamma Ray Burst 01

Mundell has played a leading role in the understand Gamma Ray Bursts, developing robotic telescopes that can capture the extremely fast jets. [9] In 2011 she won a Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award for her research on "Black Hole-Driven Explosions and the Dynamic Universe". [4] In 2012 whilst at Liverpool, Mundell co-designed and built RINGO2, a telescope to measure the polarisation of optical light produced after a gamma ray burst. [10] The telescope was designed to react quickly to notifications from NASA's Swift Satellite. [11] She has described the gamma-ray bursts as "the most extreme particle accelerators in the universe", which offer opportunities for testing "laws of physics". [12] In 2014, her team won a Vice Chancellor's medal for Research Scholarship. [13]

In 2015, Mundell joined the University of Bath, and was Head of the Department of Physics from 2016 to 2018. [14] She established a new Astrophysics research group, concentrating on high-energy extragalactic astrophysics of black hole driven systems and their environments. [15] [16] She uses the NASA Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to detect short-lived gamma ray bursts. [17] She regularly discusses her research with the public. [18] [19] In 2017 she arranged a scientific discussion meeting on "The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy" at the Royal Society. [20]

Public engagement

Since 2015, she has been a member of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and chair of the STFC Skills and Engagement Advisory Board. [21] [22] [23] She is a member of the Research Councils UK Public Engagement with Research Advisory Panel. [24]

Mundell is involved with several campaigns to improve representation of women in astronomy. [25] In 2016, Mundell won the Woman of the Year Award at the FDM Everywoman in Technology Awards. [26] [27] [28] Mundell has called for better support for students facing sexual harassment within higher education, and been involved with the UK's 1752 Group. [29] [30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Carole Mundell, Director of Science". European Space Agency. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Advances in astronomy : from the big bang to the solar system . Thompson, J. M. T., Royal Society (Great Britain). London: Imperial College Press. 2005. pp.  95. ISBN   1860945775. OCLC   232159979.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ↑ "MAD 27th April 2013: Carole Mundell". www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Carole Mundell". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Astrophysics Research Institute – Liverpool John Moores University". www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "rae 2008 : submissions : ra5a". www.rae.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Black hole driven explosions and the dynamic universe". www.bath.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Research project of the year – Measuring gamma ray bursts". Times Higher Education (THE). 26 November 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Jee, Charlotte. "What We Can Learn From Dying Stars". Techworld. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "The Liverpool Telescope : Telescope + Instruments : Instruments : RINGO2". telescope.livjm.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "PUBLICATIONS". www.ras.org.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  12. ↑ "How extreme magnetic fields shape the universe's cataclysms". Christian Science Monitor. 5 December 2013. ISSN   0882-7729 . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "Speakers | The University of Manchester | Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics". www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  14. ↑ Dunn, Laura (22 September 2016). "Women In Business Q&A: Professor Carole Mundell, Professor of Extragalactic Astronomy, University of Bath". Huffington Post. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  15. ↑ web-support@bath.ac.uk (31 October 2016). "Professor Carole Mundell new Head of Physics Department | University of Bath". www.bath.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  16. ↑ "Carole Mundell". The Conversation. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  17. ↑ "Massive star bursts caught by telescope". BBC News. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  18. ↑ The Thought Train Ep. 2 – Prof. Carole Mundell , retrieved 21 January 2018
  19. ↑ "Interstellar". Pint of Science. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  20. ↑ "The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  21. ↑ web-support@bath.ac.uk. "Academic lands role at research council". www.bath.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  22. ↑ "Professor Carole Mundell – Science and Technology Facilities Council". www.stfc.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  23. ↑ "New STFC Council Members appointed – Science and Technology Facilities Council". www.stfc.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  24. ↑ "Next generation scientific (and clear) leadership". blogs.bbsrc.ac.uk. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  25. ↑ "'Phenomenal Women': Carole Mundell, Head of Physics Bath University". Eventbrite. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  26. ↑ "2016 FDM everywoman in Technology Awards". Everywoman. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  27. ↑ "Bath astrophysicist named Woman of the Year". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  28. ↑ "We need to inspire the next generation – The Bath Magazine". The Bath Magazine. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  29. ↑ Weale, Sally (7 March 2017). "Whistleblower calls on universities to do more to safeguard students". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  30. ↑ "Carole Mundell | In the Dark". telescoper.wordpress.com. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
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