Space industry pioneer to reveal the future
Tuesday 15 January 2013
Television presenter Maggie Philbin will introduce the University of Surrey’s pioneering space expert Sir Martin Sweeting when he delivers a prestigious lecture on the future of the burgeoning industry.
The Lecture 'Changing the Economics of Space' is one of an annual series founded in honour of the University’s distinguished Professor of Physics, Professor Alf Adams whose work on strained quantum well lasers was recently named as one of the Top Ten greatest UK scientific breakthroughs of all time as they are used every day technology like DVD players, medical technology, supermarket check-outs and they underpin the new ultrafast broadband.
Maggie Philbin, whose career in television and radio spans thirty years, has a continuing interest in science, medical and technology topics.
Last year, Maggie Philbin worked with the University of Surrey to successfully run the ‘Teentech’ at the University’s Surrey Sports Park, a lively one-day event which brings teenagers, scientists and technology companies together.
She is a well known public advocate of research in these areas and will introduce Sir Martin before his lecture.
Sir Martin pioneered rapid-response, low-cost and highly capable small satellites for Earth observation, communications and space science. In 1985 he formed the spin-off University company
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) with a vision to make space more accessible to all. Today, SSTL has grown to employ 550 staff and has built and launched 39 space missions and is currently producing the 22 satellites for Galileo – Europe’s version of GPS.
As Director of the University’s Surrey Space Centre, Sir Martin leads a team of 90 faculty and doctoral researchers working hard to keep Britain at the forefront of satellite communication.
Sir Martin is recognised as a leading authority on satellite technology by NASA, European Space Agency and throughout the world. He was knighted in the 2002 New Year Honours for services to the small satellite industry and in 2012 was presented with Caltech’s prestigious International von Kármán Wings Award for his contributions to aerospace.
The Alf Adams Lecture series showcases the University of Surrey’s ground-breaking research which is bringing direct benefits to many spheres of life.
The lecture will take place at Royal Academy of Engineering, just off The Mall in central London on Monday February 4 2013, from 18:00 to 20:00.
The event is open to all. Admission costs £7.50 with concessions at £5. Ticket price includes one glass of wine or soft drink per ticket, available from 6pm. (Lecture begins at 7pm). Tickets are available from the University Box Office: T: 01483 686876, E: boxoffice@surrey.ac.uk Buy tickets
