Episode 45: Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell: Pulsars, Astrophysics and Sexism in STEM

The incredible Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell joins me this week!! Jocelyn is an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who, as a postgraduate student, discovered the first radio pulsars, the discovery of which eventually earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1974. 

She chats to me about making that crucial discovery, the media attention surrounding it, her research group focused on binary stars and her role as first female president of the Institute of physics. We also chat about the sexism she had faced throughout her academic career and the imposter syndrome she felt before attending Cambridge to do her PhD.

She also chats about growing up in Armagh and the controversy surrounding the Nobel or 'No-Bell' Prize. Such a fascinating episode with great insights into how she navigated her path in a male-dominated field.

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This season is kindly sponsored by Bio-Sciences Ltd, now part of Thermo-Fisher Scientific.