Profile

I’m Megan and I’m a Space Weather Scientist at the University of Exeter, working towards a PhD. Originally, I’m from South Wales but I currently live in Exeter with my partner; he’s an engineer so we often argue over scientific methods at the dinner table!

In my free time, I’m a member of the University of Exeter’s Symphony Orchestra, as a First Violin. I’m also a Tai-Chi fan.

I read, knit, and have recently taken up calligraphy to destress after work.

My pronouns are she/her.

Our Sun is made up of plasma, a highly ionised gas made up of electrons and positive ions that moved within magnetic fields. Our Sun is also very active, it is constantly giving out energy in the form of three things: 1) the solar wind, 2) solar flares, 3) coronal mass ejections (or CMEs). Space weather describes the changing conditions in near Earth space, caused by the interaction between these objects and Earth’s magnetic field; one example of this is the Northern Lights. Space Weather can also have serious consequences for our technology based society, potential impacts include: damage to satellites, power grid outages, disruption to GPS, increased radiation levels at high altitude, and much more. In fact, the UK Government has categorised space weather as one of the highest priority natural hazards. My work is observing coronal mass ejections as they move through interplanetary space, to study them and help us understand how they develop, propagate, and expand. Ultimately, this will allow scientists to better forecast if/when coronal mass ejections will impact Earth, helping to prepare for its impact.

One of the great things about a PhD is that it’s flexible, so I can choose how to organise my own time. It’s important to keep myself organised, so most days start with me looking at my to-do list and allocating myself tasks based on what is urgent or important, then by what I feel like doing; somedays I prefer to write, others I like to get stuck into maths.

Some of my common tasks include:

• Analysing images of the Sun’s atmosphere
• Analysing measurements of objects in space
• Reading about other people’s work
• Preparing powerpoint for talks
• Writing about my research
• Replying to emails.

All PhD students have a supervisor who is there to help guide their work and give constructive criticism for improvement. I meet mine weekly to discuss my project and plan new tasks and activities.

I usually have a group seminar once a week, where scientists from other universities come to talk about their research. My group also has a Journal Club, all the PhD students come together with tea and cake to talk about their work and help each other out!