{"id":1476,"date":"2022-08-05T15:27:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T15:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/physicsastronomy\/?p=1476"},"modified":"2025-02-26T13:37:26","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T13:37:26","slug":"dr-naomi-rowe-gurney-on-taking-a-leicester-phd-to-nasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/physicsastronomy\/2022\/08\/05\/dr-naomi-rowe-gurney-on-taking-a-leicester-phd-to-nasa\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Naomi Rowe-Gurney on taking a Leicester PhD to NASA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A five-year break in China, a worldwide pandemic, and delays to the most complex space telescope ever built: none of these were enough to stop Naomi Rowe-Gurney breaking new ground to complete her PhD at Leicester and land a dream job with NASA.<\/em><\/strong>

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Dr Rowe-Gurney, who studied the atmospheres of what she describes as the Solar System\u2019s \u2018strange\u2019 ice giants, Neptune and Uranus, crossed the stage in July as one of almost 7,000 Leicester students to collect their award.


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Dr Rowe-Gurney’s NASA role sees her supporting studies of targets across our Solar System using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


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But for Naomi \u2013 who completed her research thesis in 2021 and had to wait nine months to don her robes \u2013 the moment was made all the more special for four women sat in the audience at De Montfort Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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\u201cI managed to get four tickets for my mum, my auntie, my cousin and my gran to sit in the audience and watch,\u201d she says. \u201cThat was really amazing for me because they are all strong Black women who were the inspiration for getting me through my PhD and even for doing it in the first place. I\u2019ve got everything to thank them for.\u201d


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Naomi celebrates collecting her PhD with (L-R) auntie Deborah, cousin Lyssa, granny Lorna, and mum Diana.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n



Raised in Newbury, Berskhire \u2013 on Watership Down, made famous by the fantasy novel \u2013 Naomi is also a pioneer as the first Black woman to receive a PhD from Leicester\u2019s School of Physics and Astronomy.

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Naomi first came to Leicester in 2008 to study Physics with Astrophysics MPhys<\/a>, and after graduating put her skills to work as a science teacher in China.

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\u201cI didn\u2019t think that I was going to be pursuing a PhD because I only got a 2:1. I thought I hadn\u2019t done well enough. But after I started to look into it, I thought \u2018I can do this\u2019.\u201d

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While Naomi was away, Leicester\u2019s planetary sciences team was bolstered by the arrival of Dr (now Professor) Leigh Fletcher, whose research examines the distant outer planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

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After five years of teaching, Naomi had a research itch that she needed to scratch.

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She continues: \u201cI knew I wanted to do something with atmospheric science, but I also loved astronomy, and it just so happened that Leigh had joined as one of the best planetary atmosphere experts in the country. We talked, and I thought \u2018let\u2019s do this!\u2019.\u201d

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With support from the European Research Council-funded GIANTCLIMES programme, Naomi initially proposed to use the pioneering James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study the infrared signatures of the icy planets.

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But she was dealt blow after blow when the project was pushed back countless times. With the telescope firmly stuck on the ground, Naomi thought she had no way of answering her research question \u2013 until a small satellite trailing the Earth came to the rescue.

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\u201cMy PhD was meant to be using JWST data but \u2013 thank god \u2013 we found some Spitzer data that I could look at,\u201d she explains.

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The Spitzer Space Telescope, launched by NASA in 2003, used a small, less-than-a-metre mirror to collect infrared light from targets in the night sky. While less capable than the JWST, Naomi had a starting point for her research.

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\u201cThe whole PhD was looking at Spitzer data, and trying to see which questions we couldn\u2019t answer: to prepare for JWST to come along.

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\u201cBecause Spitzer was so small, you could only see a point of light and a single spectrum. We can use that to see what an object is made of and what temperature it is, but with JWST, we\u2019re going to see entire photos where every pixel contains a spectrum for us to look at.

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\u201cIt\u2019s going to be mind-blowing.\u201d

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And while mission delays had made life difficult during her PhD, the timing of JWST\u2019s launch into space worked perfectly for the next giant leap in Naomi\u2019s research career.

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Naomi \u2013 now Dr Rowe-Gurney \u2013 will be a step closer to observations as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center close to Washington DC. Her role serves as a crucial connection between the telescope\u2019s raw data and an international community of space scientists.

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Moving to the States shortly after completing her PhD, Naomi was immediately on board with her new team, made up of experts supporting research both across our Solar System and beyond, into the furthest reaches of the observable universe.

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JWST was finally launched on Christmas Day 2021<\/a> from Kourou in French Guiana.

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\u201cCOVID-19 protocols meant that we all had to watch the launch from home. I was wearing my pyjamas and my Santa hat, with my dog and my wife,\u201d she laughs.

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\u201cBut that didn\u2019t make it any less amazing. My whole team were all talking to each other by text and sending each other photos as everything happened.\u201d

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And with the huge telescope now operational around 1.5 million kilometres from home, experts like Naomi can now get to work analysing the data being beamed back to Earth.

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She continues: \u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing! I have data on my laptop right now which is classified, which means I can\u2019t share it at all. You have to be very careful not to leak anything: it\u2019s like not giving any spoilers away to your friend\u2019s favourite TV show.

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\u201cIn my role I\u2019m helping people who have been allocated time no the telescope for programmes in this first year of operation. That means I\u2019m constantly working with Leigh and people like Henrik Melin<\/a> and Mike Roman<\/a> as part of the whole Leicester group, so I\u2019m never going to be cut off from Leicester.

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\u201cThis opportunity [to work for NASA] came at a perfect time, and so I have a lot to thank Leicester for.\u201d

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