Source: The Guardian
After graduating with a BSc in physics, and later a PhD in mechanical engineering, from Imperial College London, she worked for the Ministry of Defence on projects ranging from missile warning systems to landmine detectors, before returning to her first love: building instruments to explore the wonders of space.
The telescope is just mind boggling,
she says of the Gemini instruments, her voice abuzz with her trademark fervour.
I like to call it a cathedral to science because sometimes I go out to Guildford Cathedral and [it has] this big vaulted ceiling. It is large and echoey, and the telescope is just the same.
Read the full interview on The Guardian.
Source: BBC
As a dyslexic child, Maggie found reading and writing in school difficult. Nonetheless, it was a book that changed her life. On its cover was an astronaut. As soon as Maggie saw that picture of a man floating without gravity in his amazing suit, she craved more information about space. Driven by a desire to understand how the universe worked, she studied science and went on to make new discoveries about space on her own. Maggie worked hard to overcome stereotypes by staying true to her goal. Despite not fitting the common image of a ‘serious, white male scientist’, she made it. Her message to others is simple:
Believe in yourself, and you can achieve so much.