Carole MUNDELL

European Space Agency (ESA) • Director of Science

Professor Carole Mundell is Director of Science at the European Space Agency and Head of the European Space Astronomy Centre, Madrid. There she leads an international team of scientists and engineers delivering the €3.4bn ESA Space Science Programme to develop ground-breaking technologies for frontier discoveries in planetary science, solar physics, astrophysics and cosmology that address fundamental questions about the nature of the universe and our place in it.

An award-winning astrophysicist, innovator and science diplomat with over 30 years experience in academia and government, Mundell served as the first woman Chief Scientific Adviser in the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was appointed the UK government’s first Chief International Science Envoy and was the first woman President of the UK Science Council, bringing together 350,000 scientists. In these roles, she led the UK’s global network of Science and Innovation Attachés, served on the UK government Science Advisory Group in Emergencies (SAGE) - providing mission-critical science advice to ambassadors and ministers during the Covid-19 pandemic - and championed recognition and accreditation of the technical work force and the importance of integrity in science to maintain public trust.

Recognition and awards for her work include: the inaugural Hiroko Sherwin Chair in Extragalactic Astronomy at the University of Bath, the Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award, Honorary Fellowships of the Institute of Physics and the British Science Association, the 2023 Fred Hoyle Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics for the groundbreaking discovery of the critical role of magnetic fields in black-hole driven explosions, and FDM Everywoman in Technology Woman of the Year Award 2016.

She has extensive experience in science policy, strategy and funding at national, European and International levels and is a vocal advocate for diversity in STEM.

Events

International Astronautical Congress 2024

14-18 October 2024

Milan, Italy

Participation: