Emma Chapman

InstitutionsImperial College London
University College LondonThesisSeeing the Light: Foreground Removal in the Dark and Dim Ages (2014) Websitehttps://dr-emma-chapman.com/

Emma Olivia Chapman (née Woodfield)^[2] is a British physicist and Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow at Imperial College London.^[1] Her research investigates the epoch of reionization. She won the 2018 Royal Society Athena Prize.^[4][5] In November 2020 Chapman published her first book, First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time.

Early life and education

Chapman achieved first class honours for a Master of Physics (MPhys) degree in Physics at Durham University in 2010.^[6][7] She completed her PhD, Seeing the Light: Foreground Removal in the Dark and Dim Ages,^[8] at University College London.^[6] She won the University College London Chris Skinner Department of Physics and Astronomy Thesis Prize.^[2] Chapman became concerned about PhD culture and how it impacts women.^[9]

Research and career

Following her PhD, Chapman remained at University College London as a Square Kilometre Array funded postdoctoral researcher.^[10] Chapman was awarded a Royal Astronomical Society Research Fellowship in 2013.^[6] She won the Institute of Physics Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year Award in 2014.^[11] In 2018, Chapman was awarded a Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship by the Royal Society.^[12]

Her research investigates the Epoch of Reionisation, the time in the universe when the stars began to radiate light.^[13] Chapman works with the Low-Frequency Array telescope (LOFAR).^[13][14][15]

In 2017 Chapman was highly commended in the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards.^[16] She was an invited speaker at the Cheltenham Science Festival.^[17] She spoke about the first era of stars at the 2018 New Scientist Live.^[18][19]

Chapman brought a successful lawsuit against University College London for sexual harassment through the law firm of Ann Olivarius. She settled the case for £70,000 and then campaigned against the use of gag-orders or "non-disclosure settlements."^[20] As a result of her campaign, University College of London has abandoned non-disclosure settlements.^[21]

The 1752 group

She has spoken about bias in science at the Royal Institution, Wellcome Collection and on the BBC.^{[22][23][24][25]} Chapman is a member of The 1752 Group, a lobbying group to end staff-student sexual harassment in academia.^[26][27] She was a keynote speaker on the topic at the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) International Conference for Women in Physics.^[28] She partnered with the National Union of Students (NUS) to conduct a survey of staff-student sexual harassment.^[29] They found that there was widespread misconduct in higher education and that institutions did not adequately support the victims.^[30]

Publications

Chapman is author of one book:

• First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time. Bloomsbury Sigma. 2020. ISBN 978-1472962928. OCLC 1139379900.

Awards and honours

In 2018, Chapman was awarded the Royal Society Athena Prize for her work to end staff-student sexual harassment and bullying in academia.^[31]

Personal life

Chapman had her first child during the last year of her PhD.^[32] She has two children.^[33]

References

External links

• Official website