Philippa K. Browning is a Professor of Astrophysics in the

Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics The Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JBCA) at the University of Manchester is among the largest astrophysics groups in the UK. It includes the Jodrell Bank Observatory, the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, and the Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre. ...

at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. She specialises in the mathematical modelling of fusion and solar plasmas.

Early life and education

Browning was educated at

Millfield Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding ...

and studied the

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a di ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, graduating in 1979. She completed

Part III of the Mathematical Tripos Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Part (surname) *Parts (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media *Part (music), a single strand or melody or harmony of music within a larger ensemble or a polyphonic musical composition *Part (bibliograph ...

in 1980. She was inspired by

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

to work in astrophysics. For her graduate studies Browning joined the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

working with Eric Priest. She submitted her thesis on ''Inhomogeneous Magnetic Fields in the Solar Atmosphere'' in 1984.

Research and career

After completing her PhD Browning worked as a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

with Eric Priest. She studied

coronal loop In solar physics, a coronal loop is a well-defined arch-like structure in the Sun's Stellar atmosphere, atmosphere made up of relatively dense Plasma (physics), plasma confined and isolated from the surrounding medium by magnetic flux tubes. Co ...

s, finding they were a balance of

magnetic tension force In physics, magnetic tension is a restoring force with units of force density that acts to straighten bent magnetic field lines. In SI units, the force density \mathbf_T exerted perpendicular to a magnetic field \mathbf can be expressed as :\ma ...

s, buoyancy and

pressure gradient In hydrodynamics and hydrostatics, the pressure gradient (typically of air but more generally of any fluid) is a physical quantity that describes in which direction and at what rate the pressure increases the most rapidly around a particular locat ...

s. Her work covered the fundamentals of

flux tube A flux tube is a generally tube-like (cylindrical) region of space containing a magnetic field, B, such that the cylindrical sides of the tube are everywhere parallel to the magnetic field lines. It is a graphical visual aid for visualizing a magn ...

s. Browning was appointed a lecturer at

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for Research univer ...

(UMIST) in 1985. She joined the

in 2004, where she works on the interactions between plasmas and magnetic fields. She is particularly interested in solar flares. In 2009, Browning was promoted to professor at the

. She served as editor of the ''

Journal of Geophysical Research The ''Journal of Geophysical Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. It is the flagship journal of the American Geophysical Union. It contains original research on the physical, chemical, and biological processes that contribute to the u ...

'' from 2010 to 2013. She contributed to the book ''Multi-scale Dynamical Processes in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas''. She continues to study coronal heating. In 2013 Browning was made chair 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 ...

Plasma Physics Committee and the Solar Physics Council. Through the Solar Physics Council, Browning is a mentor for young solar physicists. In 2014 Browning arranged two-day meeting to discuss

coronal heating In astronomy, a corona (: coronas or coronae) is the outermost layer of a star's atmosphere. It is a hot but relatively dim region of plasma populated by intermittent coronal structures such as prominences, coronal loops, and helmet streamers. ...

at the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Browning is working on the

Solar Orbiter The Solar Orbiter (SolO) is a Sun-observing probe developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contribution. Solar Orbiter, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heli ...

and

Parker Solar Probe The Parker Solar Probe (PSP; previously Solar Probe, Solar Probe Plus or Solar Probe+) is a NASA space probe launched in 2018 to make observations of the Stellar corona, Sun's outer corona. It used repeated Gravity assist, gravity assists from ...

. Browning has appeared at the

Bluedot Festival Bluedot was a music, science and culture event held annually in July from 2016 to 2023 at Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, England, combining music, live science experiments, expert talks and immersive artworks. The event is endorsed by t ...

. She discussed her work on

solar flare A solar flare is a relatively intense, localized emission of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and ot ...

s and their interaction with the earth. She has taken part in the Manchester Science Festival. Browning serves on the

Women in Physics advisory panel.

Awards and honours

Browning was awarded the

Chapman Medal The Chapman Medal is an award of the Royal Astronomical Society, given for "investigations of outstanding merit in the science of the Sun, space and planetary environments or solar-terrestrial physics". It is named after Sydney Chapman (1888� ...

by the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

in 2016. The medal recognised her "pioneering work on energy release by magnetic relaxation in stressed coronal magnetic fields". In 2017 she was awarded a

Science and Technology Facilities Council The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is a United Kingdom government agency that carries out research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astr ...

(STFC) research grant to explore particle acceleration in twisted magnetic fields. She was elected a

Fellow of the Institute of Physics Fellowship of the Institute of Physics (FInstP) is "the highest level of membership attainable" by physicists who are members of the Institute of Physics (IoP), "for those with a degree in physics or related subject (or equivalent knowledge gaine ...

(FInstP).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browning Philippa British astrophysicists 20th-century British astronomers British women astrophysicists Fellows of the Institute of Physics People educated at Millfield Alumni of the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Academics of the University of Manchester 21st-century British astronomers Alumni of the University of St Andrews