Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell CH is an astrophysicist celebrated for a scientific discovery she made in the late 1960s. The focus of her PhD was to study quasars – very bright astronomical objects at the centre of some galaxies. Serendipitously she discovered a series of extremely regular radio pulses, only seconds apart, emanating from a new class of stars. These proved to be rapidly spinning neutron stars, later called pulsars by the press, opening up a new area of physics and astronomy.

Together with her subsequent astronomical career, Professor Dame Jocelyn’s achievements led to her being voted most inspirational living female scientist by New Scientist readers. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, was the first woman to be elected President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, received her Damehood in 2007 for services to astronomy, and in 2025 was appointed Companion of Honour for services to astronomy and physics and to diversity. She served as Chancellor of the University of Dundee until 2024.