Meganne Louise Wyatt (; born 1987) is an

Anglo-Australian English Australians, also known as Anglo-Australians, are Australians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2021 census, 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (wheth ...

- Italian member of the

2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group The 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group is the latest class of the European Astronaut Corps. The selection recruited five "career" astronauts, 11 "reserve" and one "astronaut with a physical disability". It is the fourth European Space Agen ...

, materials scientist at the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

(CNR) in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, Italy, and atmospheric physicist at

Concordia Station Concordia Research Station, which opened in 2005, is a French–Italian research facility that was built above sea level at a location called Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau, Antarctica. It is located inland from the French research station a ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

Research

At the Italian National Research Agency ( CNR) in Bologna, she worked on the production and microscopical characterisation of

graphene Graphene () is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure.

-based Nanocomposite, nanocomposites, in particular 3D graphene structures such as graphene foams, as part of the EU's

Graphene Flagship The Graphene Flagship is a European Union scientific research initiative. With a budget of €1 billion, it is one of the large scale initiatives organized by the Future and Emerging Technologies program, along with the Human Brain Project and th ...

. This included

zero-gravity Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight. It is also termed zero gravity, zero G-force, or zero-G. Weight is a measurement of the force on an object at rest in a relatively strong gravitational fi ...

research in 2018, studying the application of loop heat pipes for the heat management of

satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...

. She held the role of atmospheric physicist and meteorologist at the Franco-Italian

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

research base at

during the 2019 "DC15" Winter-over campaign and the 2020-21 Summer season.

Biography

Born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

parents, at five she moved with her family to

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

, Australia. She attended

The Illawarra Grammar School , motto_translation = From Strength to Strength , location = 10–12 Western Avenue, Mangerton, Wollongong, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map ...

and was part of the school's 2002 international championship team of

Future Problem Solving Program International Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI), originally known as Future Problem Solving Program (FPSP), and often abbreviated to FPS, is a non-profit educational program that organizes academic competitions in which students apply critic ...

. Studying at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, in 2009 Christian received a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

and the

university medal A University Medal is one of several types of award conferred by universities upon outstanding students or members of staff. The usage and status of university medals differ between countries and between universities. As award on graduation Many ...

in industrial chemistry. Continuing at UNSW, she received the 2011

Heinz Harant Heinz Richard Harant (1919 – July 12, 1992) was an Australian student activist at the University of New South Wales, Australia, where he was one of the University's earliest alumni and most dedicated supporters. After graduating with a degree in ...

award and her

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 2014 for research into

hydrogen storage Hydrogen storage can be accomplished by several existing methods of holding hydrogen for later use. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand ...

with borohydrides. After which she moved in

and works at the Institute of Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM) at the National Research Council of Italy. The ambassador of Australia to Italy featured Christian as part of

International Day of Women and Girls in Science The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an annual observance adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to promote the full and equal access and participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ...

2021. She was married on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

2014 at St James' Church, Sydney to Liam Wyatt. She received Italian citizenship in 2022.

References

External links

Astronaut profile
at European Space Agency (ESA)
Staff profile
at Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Meganne English emigrants to Australia University of New South Wales alumni Women Antarctic scientists 1987 births Living people Astronaut candidates British astronauts European Space Agency personnel 21st-century New Zealand women scientists 21st-century Australian women scientists 21st-century Italian women scientists 21st-century British women scientists