Suzie Imber

"My types are Quality Controller, Explorer, Investigator and Innovator. My job has two components; one is orientated around problem solving, programming and science. The other part is passing knowledge on to young people, both through teaching and public engagement. As a scientist, I hope that I’m honest and fair, but I’m surprised that the Quality Controller description came out top for me! Explorers are competitive, inquisitive and like to solve puzzles and this fits me right down to the ground! I am logical, cooperative and a team player, which fits exactly with the Investigator type! I think the only bit that doesn’t fit is that I don’t have a good memory! Being an innovator fits well with my job as I need to think laterally and works with a team of researchers to solve a problem. "

"I am an Associate Professor of Planetary Science, which means I combines scientific research on the environments of Mercury and the Earth with teaching undergraduate physics at the University and leading an outreach and public engagement programme. I love the flexibility of academia; I get to choose my own research path as long as I’m productive and my work is valuable to the research community. I am part of a research team that is heavily involved in a mission called BepiColombo. In 2018 I went to Korea and French Guyana to watch the BepiColombo spacecraft launch. I am a co-investigator on one of the instruments that they build at the University of Leicester and I’ve been working on this project for years. I really enjoy being part of this team and I’m looking forward to when they receive the first data back from their instrument at Mercury! I love to travel and get to go to conferences all over the world to present my latest research studies. "

"When I was at school, I wasn't naturally talented at science. I was really sporty but not very confident and afraid of failure. I got better at physics and became more confident as a person when I went to University. Now I’m most interested in working on my personal weaknesses and that definitely means failing at the beginning! My parents always encouraged me to love science and they inspired me to be confident enough to believe I could be a scientist if I wanted to be. I had an incredible mentor, Prof. Jim Slavin, who supported me throughout my early career and is still my closest scientific collaborator. I am a really self-motivated person and if I decide to do something, I want to be the best I can be, and I’m prepared to work hard to get there. I would love to be a full professor of space physics. "

"I go running, mountaineering, rock climbing, rowing and cycling. As well as travelling for work, I also travel the world climbing and taking scientific data and want to keep on exploring new mountain ranges. I have always wanted to be the best scientist and the best athlete I can be. I thrive on routine, so training morning and evening alongside my job has always been part of my life. I also do capoeira and learn languages. I would love to be an astronaut, after winning the BBC series 'Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes', and would also love to contribute towards scientific documentaries."

"On a typical day I arrive early - usually 7-7:30am - after a morning run. If I’m teaching then I usually go through my lecture material, clear my emails and deal with student requests first thing. I meet up with my PhD students and postdoctoral researchers regularly to see the exciting science they're working on, and make progress with my own research programme. I also head a huge public engagement programme, so most weeks I’m visiting schools, scouts/guides or astronomical societies nationwide."

"A-levels Physics, Maths, Chemistry, Further Maths (A grades) 4 year MPhys at Imperial College London (1st) PhD at the University of Leicester Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, Maryland, USA Research Fellow – Lecturer – Associate Professor at the University of Leicester"