What is your job?

I am currently a research fellow at the University of Manchester. I do a mix of research and teaching at the moment. My main focus is on understanding the origin of Earth’s volatiles and the important role that volatiles play in making planetary surfaces habitable. So I do research on meteorites as potential building blocks of planets and also ancient terrestrial rocks to understand Earth’s early environments. I love field work and lab work.

How did you end up studying meteorites?

I had just finished my PhD on volatile budgets in young volcanic glass from Iceland and Tenerife when a two-year post-doc position in planetary science opened up. The job used a lot of the same techniques and systems that I used during my PhD and so I transferred those skills across to working on enstatite chondrites! And it just snowballed from there…

What do you enjoy about your job?

I love working in a lab and collecting data. I also love thinking about new ways to analyse samples and new ways to look at and process data.

What is your favourite meteorite?

That’s very tough – I would choose the Pallasites as a group but I’m not prepared to pick just one!

What are your hobbies?

My hobbies include quilting, knitting, and baking cakes.