Meganne Christian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Meganne Christian
FRAeS
|
|
|---|---|
Meganne Christian at Concordia Station, Antarctica
|
|
| Born | December 1987 Pembury |
| Alma mater |
|
| Occupation | |
| Awards |
|
| Academic career | |
| Fields | Graphene, hydrogen storage, atmospheric physics, nanomaterials, Antarctic, space exploration |
| Institutions |
|
| Thesis | Core-shell borohydrides for reversible hydrogen storage |
Meganne Christian (born 1987) is an amazing scientist and astronaut. She is part of the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group. She also works as a Reserve Astronaut and Exploration Commercialisation Lead at the UK Space Agency.
Before becoming an astronaut, Meganne was a materials scientist in Italy. She also worked as an atmospheric physicist at Concordia Station in Antarctica.
Exploring New Materials and Antarctica
Meganne Christian worked at the Italian National Research Agency (CNR) in Bologna. There, she studied and created special materials called graphene-based nanocomposites. Think of graphene as a super-thin, super-strong material. She focused on 3D graphene structures, like graphene foams. This work was part of a big European project called the Graphene Flagship.
In 2018, she even did research in zero-gravity! This was to learn how to manage heat in satellites using special devices called loop heat pipes.
Later, Meganne became an atmospheric physicist and meteorologist at the Franco-Italian research base in Antarctica. This base is called Concordia Station. She spent a whole winter there in 2019 and returned for the summer season in 2020–21.
Meganne's Journey to Space
Meganne Christian was born in Kent, England. When she was five, her family moved to Wollongong, Australia. She went to The Illawarra Grammar School. In 2002, her school team won an international competition for solving future problems.
She then studied at the University of New South Wales. In 2009, she earned a degree in industrial chemistry. She also received a special university medal. In 2014, she completed her doctorate degree. Her research was about storing hydrogen using special materials.
After her studies, she moved to Bologna, Italy, and worked at a research institute. In 2021, the Australian ambassador to Italy highlighted Meganne for International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This showed how important her work was.
In June 2023, Meganne was chosen as a Reserve Astronaut for the UK Space Agency. She also helps lead projects for space exploration. In 2023, her hometown of Wollongong gave her an award called "Wollongong to the world." In March 2024, she became a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, which is a big honor in aviation and space.
Meganne has four citizenships: British, New Zealand, Australian, and Italian. She got her Italian citizenship in 2022.
Outside of her science work, Meganne has many hobbies. She is a talented barbershop singer. Her choir, 'Brindabella chorus', has won the "harmony classic" division twice, in 2017 and 2023. She also enjoys via ferrata (a type of climbing), knitting, sewing, and whitewater rafting. She even has a blackbelt in Hapkido, a martial art!
See also
In Spanish: Meganne Christian para niños
