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Emma J. Bunce (born 1975) is a British space physicist and Professor of Planetary Plasma Physics at the
University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...
. She holds a
Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award The Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award was an award made by the Royal Society from 2000 to 2020. It was administered by the Royal Society and jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the UK Office of Science and Technology, to provide ...
. Her research is on the magnetospheres of Saturn and
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
. She is
principal investigator In many countries, the term principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project, usually in the sciences, such as a laboratory study or a clinical trial. The phrase is also often us ...
(PI) of the MIXS instrument on ''
BepiColombo BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and ''Mio'' ...
'', was deputy lead on the ''
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is an interplanetary spacecraft in development by the European Space Agency (ESA) with Airbus Defence and Space as the main contractor. The mission will study three of Jupiter's Galilean moons: Ganymede, ...
'' proposal, and co-investigator on the '' Cassini–Huygens'' mission. Bunce is the current
President of the Royal Astronomical Society The President of the Royal Astronomical Society (prior to 1831 known as President of the Astronomical Society of London) chairs the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and its formal meetings. They also liaise with government organisati ...
; her term began on 26 June 2020 and will run for two years.


Early life and education

Bunce grew up in
Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...
. In 1989 she watched the '' Horizon''
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary on Neptune with images taken by
Voyager 2 ''Voyager 2'' is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. As a part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, '' Voyager 1'', o ...
and was inspired to become a space scientist. She was educated at
Davison High School Davison High School is a girls' Church of England secondary school serving pupils aged 11 to 16 in Worthing, West Sussex, England. In its last inspection the school was judged by OFSTED as Good. The school accommodates around 1080 girls across fi ...
(a C of E girls school) and
Worthing College Worthing College is a sixth form college. The College is situated in Broadwater, in the town of Worthing on the south coast of England. History Grammar school The school directly descends from the former Worthing High School for Boys on ''Bols ...
(a
sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
), where she graduated in 1994. She studied physics with space science at the
University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...
and earned her
Master of Physics A Master of Physics honours (or MPhys (Hons)) degree is a specific master's degree for courses in the field of physics. United Kingdom In England and Wales, the MPhys is an undergraduate award available after pursuing a four-year course of study a ...
(MPhys) degree in 1998. In 1998 Bunce began her doctoral training with Stan Cowley, investigating the
magnetosphere of Jupiter The magnetosphere of Jupiter is the cavity created in the solar wind by the planet's magnetic field. Extending up to seven million kilometers in the Sun's direction and almost to the orbit of Saturn in the opposite direction, Jupiter's magnetosp ...
. Her thesis, ''Large-scale current systems in the Jovian Magnetosphere'', looked at the radial current systems of the middle magnetosphere of Jupiter. She used data from
Pioneer 10 ''Pioneer 10'' (originally designated Pioneer F) is an American space probe, launched in 1972 and weighing , that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter. Thereafter, ''Pioneer 10'' became the first of five artificial objects to ach ...
,
Pioneer 11 ''Pioneer 11'' (also known as ''Pioneer G'') is a robotic space probe launched by NASA on April 5, 1973, to study the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter and Saturn, solar winds, and cosmic rays. It was the first probe to encounter ...
,
Voyager 1 ''Voyager 1'' is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Launched 16 days after its twin ''Voyager 2'', ''Voya ...
,
Voyager 2 ''Voyager 2'' is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. As a part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, '' Voyager 1'', o ...
and
Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...
. The interaction between Jupiter and the surrounding plasma environment is influenced by the magnetic field. On Jupiter, the plasma is mainly produced in the volcanic moon Io.


Research and career

After her graduate studies, Bunce worked as a
postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...
investigating the Kronian
magnetosphere of Saturn The magnetosphere of Saturn is the cavity created in the flow of the solar wind by the planet's internally generated magnetic field. Discovered in 1979 by the ''Pioneer 11'' spacecraft, Saturn's magnetosphere is the second largest of any planet ...
in preparation for Cassini–Huygens. In 2003 Bunce was awarded a
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council 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 w ...
fellowship to study the
magnetosphere of Saturn The magnetosphere of Saturn is the cavity created in the flow of the solar wind by the planet's internally generated magnetic field. Discovered in 1979 by the ''Pioneer 11'' spacecraft, Saturn's magnetosphere is the second largest of any planet ...
. She continued to study Jupiter's polar auroral emissions. She was appointed to the faculty at the
University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...
in 2005. Bunce was part of the Cassini–Huygens magnetometer team. She was the first to analyse the UV aurorae of Saturn using the
Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...
. The magnetosphere of Saturn rotates rapidly and plasma is produced ''via'' sputter of the icy moons. She monitored the magnetospheric currents of Saturn ''in situ'', identifying that there was a connection between the auroral oval and upward-directed field-aligned currents that flow near open and closed field lines. She observed the interaction of the solar wind with the
magnetosphere of Saturn The magnetosphere of Saturn is the cavity created in the flow of the solar wind by the planet's internally generated magnetic field. Discovered in 1979 by the ''Pioneer 11'' spacecraft, Saturn's magnetosphere is the second largest of any planet ...
. In 2009 she was elected to the
Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...
Council and delivered the society's Harold Jeffreys Lecture. She discussed her work Jupiter-like
aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
e found on saturn. She was promoted to reader in 2009 and professor in 2013. She organised a celebration of ten years of Cassini–Huygens in 2014. She is the Principal Investigator of the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (MIXS) instrument. MIXS was built in Leicester, launched in 2015 and will travel to Mercury. She delivered the 2016 National Space Academy keynote lecture. She is the principal investigator of the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer instrument on the European Space Agency
BepiColombo BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and ''Mio'' ...
mission (to Mercury) and deputy lead on the
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is an interplanetary spacecraft in development by the European Space Agency (ESA) with Airbus Defence and Space as the main contractor. The mission will study three of Jupiter's Galilean moons: Ganymede, ...
.
BepiColombo BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and ''Mio'' ...
will help to explain some of the mysteries of Mercury, including finding volatile sulphur and potassium. She contributed to the book ''Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences: A University Level Introduction'' in 2018. Bunce was elected
President of the Royal Astronomical Society The President of the Royal Astronomical Society (prior to 1831 known as President of the Astronomical Society of London) chairs the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and its formal meetings. They also liaise with government organisati ...
in 2019; she began her term on 26 June 2020 and will serve for two years.


Public engagement

Bunce has delivered several popular science lectures. She has written for ''
The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Robe ...
''. She spoke at the ''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...
'' Live event in 2018. She was a guest on the
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
programme ''
The Life Scientific ''The Life Scientific'' is a BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, dra ...
'' in June 2020.


Awards and honours

Her awards and honours include: * 2020-22 -
President of the Royal Astronomical Society The President of the Royal Astronomical Society (prior to 1831 known as President of the Astronomical Society of London) chairs the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and its formal meetings. They also liaise with government organisati ...
* 2018 - Chapman Medal * 2011 - Philip Leverhulme Prize for Astronomy and Astrophysics * 2009 - Harold Jeffreys Lecture * 2005 - European Geophysical Union Young Talents in Geoscience Award * 2003 - French Academy of Sciences Prix Baron Nicolet award for space physics * 2002 - awarded the
Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...
Blackwell Prize.


See also

*
List of women in leadership positions on astronomical instrumentation projects The following is a list of women who are the Principal Investigator In many countries, the term principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project, usually in the sciences, such ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunce, Emma Academics of the University of Leicester Alumni of the University of Leicester British space scientists British women physicists Space scientists Women space scientists Women astronomers Women astrophysicists Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society Planetary scientists Women planetary scientists People from Worthing Living people 1975 births