Yvonne Elsworth facts for kids

Yvonne Elsworth is a famous Irish-born physicist. She is a Professor of Helioseismology and a special Professor of Physics at the University of Birmingham. Helioseismology is the study of how the Sun vibrates, much like how earthquakes help us understand Earth's inside.

Professor Elsworth used to lead the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON). This is a very old network that has been collecting data about the Sun for a long time. This data helps scientists understand the Sun's inner workings.

Becoming a Scientist

Early Studies

Yvonne Elsworth started her journey in science at the Victoria University of Manchester. In 1970, she earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science, in Physics. She worked very hard and graduated with honors.

Advanced Research

Later, in 1976, she continued her studies at the same university. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the School of Physics. For her PhD, she studied how to design a special tool called a "spectrometer." This tool helps scientists look at light from faint sources, like light from Earth's upper atmosphere.

Exploring the Sun and Stars

Focus on the Sun

In 1984, Professor Elsworth joined the University of Birmingham. Here, she started focusing on helioseismology. This field uses sound waves inside the Sun to learn about its structure and how it changes. She also studied solar physics, which is all about the Sun itself, and solar variability, which looks at how the Sun's activity changes over time.

Leading BiSON

She became a key part of the Birmingham Solar Oscillation Network (BiSON). This network uses special telescopes around the world to listen to the Sun's "heartbeat." The data collected by BiSON helps scientists understand what's happening deep inside the Sun. Her research has been supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

Beyond Our Sun

More recently, Professor Elsworth has also started studying asteroseismology. This is like helioseismology, but for other stars! By studying how other stars vibrate, scientists can learn about their inner structure and how they change over their lives. This helps us understand our own Sun even better.

Recognized for Her Work

Royal Society Fellow

In 2015, Yvonne Elsworth was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the United Kingdom. She received this award for her amazing work in helioseismology.

Her work helped scientists understand the Sun's inner core, where nuclear reactions create energy. Her research showed that some puzzles about tiny particles called solar neutrinos were related to how these particles behave, not how the Sun works. She also discovered that the very center of the Sun spins at the same speed as its outer layers, which was a big discovery!

Professor Elsworth also led her team to study how the Sun's outer layers change with the solar cycle. This helped scientists understand the Sun's "dynamo," which creates its magnetic field. Her current work on other stars is also helping us learn a lot about how stars change over time.

Other Important Awards

Professor Elsworth has received other important awards too. In 2011, she was given the Payne-Gaposchkin Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics (IoP). In 2020, she received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in Geophysics, which is another very prestigious award for her contributions to understanding Earth and space.

She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP) and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS). These titles show that she is a respected expert in physics and astronomy.