Emma Chapman
British physicist and Royal Society Research Fellow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emma Olivia Chapman (née Woodfield)[1] is a British physicist and Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow at University of Nottingham .[3] Her research investigates the epoch of reionization. She won the 2018 Royal Society Athena Prize.[4][5] In November 2020 Chapman published her first book, First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time.
University of Nottingham (PhD)
Royal Society Athena Prize (2018)
Emma Chapman | |
|---|---|
Emma Chapman in 2018 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Durham University (MPhys) University of Nottingham (PhD) |
| Known for | The 1752 Group |
| Awards | The Shell and Institute of Physics Award for the Very Early Career Woman Physicist (2014) Royal Society Athena Prize (2018) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | University of Nottingham University of Nottingham |
| Thesis | Seeing the Light: Foreground Removal in the Dark and Dim Ages (2014) |
| Website | https://dr-emma-chapman.com/ |
Early life and education
Chapman achieved first class honours for a Master of Physics (MPhys) degree in Physics at Durham University in 2010.[6][7] She completed her PhD, Seeing the Light: Foreground Removal in the Dark and Dim Ages,[8] at University College London.[6] She won the University College London Chris Skinner Department of Physics and Astronomy Thesis Prize.[1] Chapman became concerned about PhD culture and how it impacts women.[9]
Research and career
Following her PhD, Chapman remained at University College London as a Square Kilometre Array funded postdoctoral researcher.[10] Chapman was awarded a Royal Astronomical Society Research Fellowship in 2013.[6] She won the Institute of Physics Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year Award in 2014.[11] In 2018, Chapman was awarded a Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship by the Royal Society.[12]
Her research investigates the Epoch of Reionisation, the time in the universe when the stars began to radiate light.[13] Chapman works with the Low-Frequency Array telescope (LOFAR).[13][14][15]
In 2017 Chapman was highly commended in the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards.[16] She was an invited speaker at the Cheltenham Science Festival.[17] She spoke about the first era of stars at the 2018 New Scientist Live.[18][19]
Chapman brought a successful lawsuit against University College London for sexual harassment through the law firm of Ann Olivarius. She settled the case for £70,000 and then campaigned against the use of gag-orders or "non-disclosure settlements."[20] As a result of her campaign, University College of London has abandoned non-disclosure settlements.[21]
The 1752 group
She has spoken about bias in science at the Royal Institution, Wellcome Collection and on the BBC.[22][23][24][25] Chapman is a member of The 1752 Group, a lobbying group to end staff-student sexual harassment in academia.[26][27] She was a keynote speaker on the topic at the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) International Conference for Women in Physics.[28] She partnered with the National Union of Students (NUS) to conduct a survey of staff-student sexual harassment.[29] They found that there was widespread misconduct in higher education and that institutions did not adequately support the victims.[30]
Publications
Chapman is author of one book:
- First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time. Bloomsbury Sigma. 2020. ISBN 978-1472962928. OCLC 1139379900.
She has also written a column for The Spectatorabout the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.[31]
Awards and honours
In 2018, Chapman was awarded the Royal Society Athena Prize for her work to end staff-student sexual harassment and bullying in academia.[32]
