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LECTURE HIGHLIGHTS 50 YEARS AS A SPACE SCIENTIST
Posted on 30/04/08
P. Klein
An eminent British scientist, whose work has been celebrated among 100 Discoveries that Changed the World is to give a public lecture at the University of Leicester about his work, spanning half a century, as a space scientist.
Professor Ken Pounds CBE, FRS, Emeritus Professor of Space Physics at the University of Leicester is a UK pioneer of space science and a founder of the space programme at the University of Leicester - now among the biggest academic space research centres in Europe.
Having rejected early invitations to join NASA and the new European Space Research Organization, he embarked on a career-long ambition to help establish the international standing of space science in the UK and Europe.
On May 7, Professor Pounds will deliver the Leicester Alumni Association & Haldane Society Annual Public Lecture. As the University celebrates its 50th anniversary year, he will talk about 50 years as a space scientist studying the hot and violent universe. The lecture at 6pm in the Rattray Lecture Theatre 1 is open to the public and free.
Professor Pounds is best known for his research in X-ray Astronomy which led to the discovery that massive Black Holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies throughout the Universe. The Universitys space science programme has now expanded to include the exploration of the Planets and monitoring of the Earths climate
Professor Pounds said: Looking back over 50 years, I appreciate my good fortune in being directed to the new Rocket Research Group at University College London to study for my PhD. That was in October 1956, still a year before the launch of Sputnik 1, and an initiative that pays tribute to the foresight of leading scientists at the time. The link with Leicester was formed when I needed to find a vacuum spectrometer to test my X-ray detectors; the choice was Liverpool or Leicester.
"After graduating I was offered a lectureship at Leicester, in 1960; 2 years later the first Cosmic X-ray source was discovered, giving our new Space Science group the opportunity to get into an exciting new area of research from the beginning. With the crucial support of many outstanding colleagues (and friends) I believe we were able to take that opportunity, contributing to human knowledge of the cosmos, while helping establish the UK and Europe as major players in Space Science.
Over the past 6 years it has been a particular pleasure to see some of the excitement of space research being shared by over a million people especially the many children visiting the National Space Centre.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Burgess said: Over an extended career Professor Ken Pounds has made important scientific discoveries that have advanced our understanding of the universe, has provided vision and leadership contributing to the strength of UK science, and has been an enthusiastic and effective champion of initiatives to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
He is among the most eminent academics at the University of Leicester whose work is world-class.
- Professor Pounds was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1981 and President of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1990. He was the first Chief Executive of PPARC (1994-98), the research council responsible for astronomy, particle physics and space science in the UK. Recently Professor Pounds has been an active advocate for the UK reversing its opposition to human spaceflight.
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