Megan J. Povey is an English food physicist who is a professor at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. She is a Fellow of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...

and founding member of the Physics in Food Manufacturing group.

Early life and education

Povey earned her bachelor's degree in physics at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

. As a student in the 1960s, Povey became involved with political activism, campaigning against nuclear power and being part of

Unite Against Fascism Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is a British anti-fascist group. Its joint secretaries are Weyman Bennett and Sabby Dhalu, formerly of the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). Its chair is Steve Hart of Unite the Union and its assistant secre ...

. Her doctorate involved work of military potential, and she was offered several

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

positions in defence contractors. Povey was not interested in these careers; being anti-war and pro civil rights, and pursued an academic career at the

Research and career

Povey joined the School of Food Science at the

as a postdoctoral researcher in the 1970s. There she started studying the physics of food, developing new methods to use

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound with frequency, frequencies greater than 20 Hertz, kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible hearing range, limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply ...

and

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

in both food characterisation and manufacture. Her work has helped highlight the importance of sound in the way that people enjoy food. She has studied the crystallisation and growth of fat. Her research combines computational and mathematical modelling to develop both food and equipment. Povey has also studied the physical processes that underpin digestion, in an attempt to develop foods that can be digested by older people. Povey has served as president of the

University and College Union The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union in further and higher education representing over 120,000 academics and support staff. UCU is a vertical union representing casualised researchers and teaching staff, "permanent" ...

(UCU). She is a member of Scientists for Global Responsibility.

Selected publications

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Personal life

Povey is a transgender woman. In 2017, she came out to her family and colleagues and transitioned to Megan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Povey, Megan Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Institute of Physics Academics of the University of Leeds Alumni of Lancaster University Transgender academics Transgender scientists English transgender women 20th-century British physicists 21st-century British physicists 21st-century English women scientists English women physicists 20th-century English scientists 21st-century English scientists 20th-century English women 21st-century English women 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people