Gillian Susan Wright is a Scottish astronomer who was, until September 2024, the director of the

UK Astronomy Technology Centre The UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) is based at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council. The UK ATC designs, builds, develops, tests and manages major instrumentation ...

in Edinburgh, UK. She has also been involved in the development and construction of the

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...

as the European Principal Investigator for the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). In 2006 Wright was appointed MBE for services to science.

Education

Wright attended a comprehensive school in the town of Hamilton, where she studied for

Scottish Highers In the Scottish secondary education system, the Higher () is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) offered by the Scottish Qualifications ...

in Chemistry, English, French, Maths and Physics, then went on to study Natural Philosophy (Physics) at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. She then pursued postgraduate studies at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, firstly obtaining an master's degree in 1982. Wrights master's thesis, titled ''Design study for a large balloon-borne far infrared telescope'' investigates the practicalities of a balloon mounted infra-red telescope, including techniques for making lightweight mirrors, optical configurations and potential structural problems. Wright then submitted her PhD at the same institute, titled ''Infrared activity in interacting galaxies'', in 1986. This work investigated the cause of unusually intense Infra-red activity in the nuclei of interacting galaxies, concluding that the most likely cause was recent bursts of star formation.

Career

After her PhD, Wright was appointed a fellowship position at the

Royal Observatory, Edinburgh The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (ROE) is an Astronomy, astronomical institution located on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh. The site is owned by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The ROE comprises the UK Astronomy Technology Cen ...

. She was then staff scientist at the UK Infrared Telescope in Hawaii, and later became the Head of Instrumentation there from 1995 to 1997. In 1997 Wright returned to Edinburgh to join the newly formed UK Astronomy Technology Centre, where she currently holds the position of director. She is also a visiting professor at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

's Institute for Astronomy and a member of the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA) International Advisory Committee.

Space telescopes

Over her career Wright has been involved in a number of space telescope projects. She was a co-investigator for the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver instrument (SPIRE) on

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

Herschel Space Observatory The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Telesco ...

, which was active from 2009 to 2013. She is currently the European Principal for the

Mid-Infrared Instrument MIRI, or the Mid-Infrared Instrument, is an instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. MIRI is a camera and a spectrograph that observes mid infrared, mid to long infrared radiation from 5 to 28 microns. It also has coronagraphs, especially ...

(MIRI) on

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

, as well as being a member of the project's science working group. MIRI was completed in 2012, when it was shipped to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre for incorporation into the telescope, which was launched on 25 December 2021.

Honours

Wright was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in 2006 for services to science and

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to astronomy through international missions. She is also a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Gillian Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Imperial College London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 21st-century British astronomers Scottish astronomers 21st-century Scottish women scientists 21st-century Scottish scientists British women astronomers