Dame Margaret Aderin-Pocock

Dame Margaret Aderin-Pocock DBE (born 9 March 1968)

Dame Margaret Aderin-Pocock DBE is a British space scientist and science educator. She is an honorary research associate of University College London‘s Department of Physics and Astronomy.  Since February 2014, she has co-presented the long-running astronomy television programme The Sky at Night with Chris Lintott. She is the first black woman to win a gold medal in the Physics News Award and she served as the president of the British Science Association from 2021 to 2022.  

Margaret Ebunoluwa Aderin was born in London to Nigerian parents. She is dyslexic and as a child, when she told a teacher she wanted to be an astronaut, it was suggested she try nursing, “because that’s scientific, too”. She gained A-Levels in maths, physics, chemistry, and biology.  

She studied at Imperial College London, graduated with a BSc in physics in 1990, and completed her PhD in mechanical engineering  in 1994.  Her research investigated the development of an ultra-thin film measurement system using spectroscopy and interferometry to the 2.5 nm level.  She has worked with the Ministry of Defence looking at missile warning systems, and how to detect landmines and is involved in the Aeolus Satellite that measures winds and investigates climate change measurements. 

Aderin-Pocock is committed to inspiring new generations of astronauts, engineers, and scientists. She has spoken to thousands of children, many from inner-city schools, explaining how and why she became a scientist, challenging perceptions about careers, class, colour and gender.