Carole Mundell is Professor of
Extragalactic Astronomy
Extragalactic astronomy is the branch of astronomy concerned with objects outside the Milky Way galaxy. In other words, it is the study of all astronomical objects which are not covered by galactic astronomy.
The closest objects in extragalactic ...
at the
University of Bath
(Virgil, Georgics II)
, mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind
, established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...
. She is an observational astrophysicist who researches cosmic black holes and gamma ray bursts.
Education
Mundell graduated from the University of Glasgow with a BSc in Physics and Astronomy in 1992.
She moved to Manchester to complete a PhD in Astrophysics, working at the
Jodrell Bank Observatory
Jodrell Bank Observatory () in Cheshire, England, hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astron ...
, where she held a
PPARC
The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) was one of a number of research councils in the United Kingdom. It directed, coordinated and funded research in particle physics and astronomy for the people of the UK. Its head office wa ...
Research Fellowship until 1997.
Research
Mundell joined the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
in 1997.
She moved to
Liverpool John Moores University
, mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold
, established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University
, type = Public
, endowment =
, coor ...
in 1999 as a
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
University Research Fellow focussing on the dynamics of active galaxies.
In 2005 she was awarded a prestigious
RCUK
Research Councils UK, sometimes known as RCUK, was a non-departmental public body which coordinated science policy in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2018. It was an umbrella organisation that coordinated the seven separate research councils tha ...
Academic Fellowship to build and lead new Gamma Ray Burst team at LJMU, and was appointed Professor in 2007. In 2007 her team won the Times Higher Education Research Project of the Year Award for 'Measuring Gamma Ray Bursts'.
![Chandra_Gamma_Ray_Burst_01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Chandra_Gamma_Ray_Burst_01.jpg)
Mundell has played a leading role in the understand
Gamma Ray Bursts
In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are immensely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most energetic and luminous electromagnetic events since the Big Bang. Bursts can last from ten milli ...
, developing robotic telescopes that can capture the extremely fast jets. In 2011 she won a
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
Wolfson Merit Award for her research on "Black Hole-Driven Explosions and the Dynamic Universe".
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. The telescope was designed to react quickly to notifications from NASA's Swift Satellite. She has described the gamma-ray bursts as "the most extreme particle accelerators in the universe", which offer opportunities for testing "laws of physics". In 2014, her team won a Vice Chancellor's medal for Research Scholarship.
In 2015, Mundell joined the University of Bath, and was Head of the Department of Physics from 2016 to 2018. She established a new Astrophysics research group, concentrating on high-energy extragalactic astrophysics of black hole driven systems and their environments. She uses the NASA
Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (FGST, also FGRST), formerly called the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is a space observatory being used to perform gamma-ray astronomy observations from low Earth orbit. Its main instrument is ...
to detect short-lived gamma ray bursts. She regularly discusses her research with the public. In 2017 she arranged a scientific discussion meeting on "The promises of gravitational-wave astronomy" at the Royal Society.
Public engagement
Since 2015, she has been a member of the
Science and Technology Facilities Council
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is a United Kingdom government agency that carries out research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astro ...
(STFC) and chair of the
STFC
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is a United Kingdom government agency that carries out research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astro ...
Skills and Engagement Advisory Board. She is a member of the Research Councils UK Public Engagement with Research Advisory Panel.
Mundell is involved with several campaigns to improve representation of women in astronomy. In 2016, Mundell won the ''Woman of the Year'' Award at the FDM
Everywoman in Technology Awards. Mundell has called for better support for students facing
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
within higher education, and been involved with the UK's
1752 Group.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mundell, Carole
Living people
British astrophysicists
Women astrophysicists
Women astronomers
Academics of Liverpool John Moores University
Academics of the University of Bath
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Year of birth missing (living people)