Dr. Hannah Wakeford

Biography

Hannah Wakeford is an Associate Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Bristol, with a focus on the study of exoplanets and their atmospheres. She utilizes space telescopes like Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope to analyze these alien worlds, particularly investigating aerosol properties in their atmospheres. Hannah completed her Master’s in Physics, specializing in Planetary and Space Physics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where she conducted onsite research at the University Center Svalbard, studying space plasma and the upper polar atmosphere. She obtained her PhD in Physics from the University of Exeter in 2015, with a thesis titled “Cloudy with a Chance of Water: Observational Analysis of Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres.” After her PhD, she worked as a NASA Postdoctoral Research Fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center from 2015 to 2017 before returning to the University of Exeter as a Research Fellow. In 2017, she began her role as a Giacconi Fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator for multiple research projects involving exoplanet characterization and is dedicated to advancing our understanding of these distant worlds.

Research Interests

Experience