Dr. Hannah Wakeford

Biography

Associate Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Bristol, UK, leading a group investigating the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets using space-based telescopes. She completed her MPhys in Physics and Planetary Space Physics at the University of Wales: Aberystwyth, and obtained her PhD in Physics from the University of Exeter in 2015, with her research focusing on observational analysis of giant exoplanet atmospheres. After holding a NASA Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center from 2015 to 2017, she returned to the University of Exeter as a Senior Research Fellow for a short period before starting as a Giacconi Fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, USA, in 2017. Hannah is passionate about science communication and has appeared on various TV and radio shows, currently hosting the Exocast: Exoplanet Podcast. She has co-authored a popular science book with Drs. Brian and Chris Lintott, titled 'Bang!! The Complete History of the Universe'. Her research interests include characterizing atmospheres of transiting exoplanets and brown dwarfs using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and JWST, developing theoretical models for exotic aerosols in exoplanet atmospheres, and extensive projects involving machine learning techniques for improving image quality and data interpretation.

Research Interests

Experience