Dr Catherine Walsh awarded prestigious Future Leader Fellowship

Dr Catherine Walsh has been awarded a Future Leader Fellowship for her work in identifying habitable environments in the Solar System.

She is one of two Leeds researchers who have been accepted into the prestigious scheme run by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). 

As an expert in astrochemistry, Dr Catherine Walsh’s research focuses on how life-friendly molecules are created within space. The fellowship will allow her to build a team to investigate the atmospheres of potentially habitable exoplanets through sophisticated chemistry simulations. This research will help develop future telescopes and instruments designed to find habitable worlds beyond the Solar System.

Dr Catherine Walsh, University of Leeds

Dr Walsh said: “I am delighted and indeed honoured to have been awarded a Future Leader Fellowship. One of the great questions of humanity is 'are we alone?' and discovering another planet that is capable of potentially supporting life is the first step to answering that question.

"The next decades of astrophysics research will be very much focused on this search for potentially habitable worlds around other stars. I am very excited to build my team, to develop our state-of-the-art simulations, and to contribute to this great quest."

To find out more, read the full story here.