Monica Grady facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Monica Grady
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| Born | 15 July 1958 Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
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| Nationality | British |
| Education | St Aidan's College, Durham University (1979) Darwin College, Cambridge (1982) |
| Occupation | Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open University |
| Years active | Since 1979 |
| Known for | Work on meteorites |
| Television | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (2003) |
Monica Mary Grady is a British space scientist. She is famous for studying meteorites, which are rocks from space. She is a professor at the Open University and also leads Liverpool Hope University as its Chancellor.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Monica Grady grew up in a big family. She was the oldest of eight children! Her parents were both teachers. She went to Notre Dame Collegiate School for Girls in Leeds when she was younger.
Becoming a Space Scientist
University Studies
Monica Grady went to the University of Durham and finished her studies there in 1979. After that, she continued her education at Darwin College, Cambridge. She earned her PhD in 1982. Her special research was about carbon found in stony meteorites. While studying there, she also met her husband.
Working with Meteorites
Dr. Grady used to work at the Natural History Museum in London. There, she was in charge of the United Kingdom's collection of meteorites. She became very well-known around the world for her work with these space rocks. She wrote many scientific papers about the elements carbon and nitrogen in meteorites. She also studied meteorites that came from Mars.
Awards and Recognition
Monica Grady has received many honors for her important work.
- She became a Fellow of the Meteoritical Society in 2000.
- In 2012, she became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
- She was also made a Fellow of the Geochemical Society in 2015.
- She has been a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society since 1990.
- From 2012 to 2013, she was the President of the Meteoritical Society.
- In 2016, she received the Coke Medal from the Geological Society of London. This award was for her great work in sharing science with others.
Sharing Science with Everyone
In 2003, Dr. Grady gave the famous Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. These lectures are a special series of science talks for young people. Her topic was "A Voyage in Space and Time," which explored space and how things change over time.
An asteroid, a small rocky body in space, was named after her! It is called 4731 Monicagrady. This is a huge honor for a scientist.
In 2012, she was given the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This was for her important contributions to space sciences.
The Rosetta Mission
In 2014, Dr. Grady talked to BBC News about the Rosetta spacecraft. This spacecraft was on a mission to study a comet. She explained that scientists hoped to learn where life on Earth came from by studying the comet. A video of her excited reaction when the Philae lander successfully landed on the comet became very popular online.
Current Role
In July 2019, Dr. Grady received an honorary doctorate from Liverpool Hope University. This was to recognize her work in communicating science and faith. In January 2020, she became the third Chancellor of the university.
She is also part of a project called Euro-Cares. This project is working to create a special place in Europe to store important samples. These samples would come from space missions to places like asteroids, Mars, the Moon, and comets.
Personal Life
Monica Grady is a practicing Catholic. Her younger sister, Dr. Ruth Grady, is also a scientist who studies microbiology. Monica's husband, Professor Ian Wright, is also a planetary scientist. He worked on the Philae lander, which was part of the Rosetta spacecraft mission. Monica and Ian have one son named Jack.
