Dr Hannah Wakeford

Biography

I am an Associate Professor in Astrophysics in the School of Physics at the University of Bristol, UK where I lead a group investigating the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets using space-based telescopes.

I completed an MPhys in Physics with Planetary and Space Physics from the University of Wales: Aberystwyth, with my masters obtained during on site research at the University Center in Svalbard (UNIS) in the high arctic studying space plasma and the upper polar atmosphere. I obtained my PhD in Physics from the University of Exeter, UK in 2015, titled: ``Cloudy with a chance of Water: Observational analysis of giant exoplanet atmospheres'' under the supervision of Dr David Sing.

Following my PhD, I held a NASA Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center from 2015-2017. I then returned to the University of Exeter as a Senior Research Fellow for 4 months, prior to starting as the 2017 Giacconi Fellow at STScI in Baltimore, USA.

I am passionate about science communication and have appeared on a number of TV and radio shows. I currently hosts Exocast: The Exoplanet Podcast with co-hosts Andrew Rushby and Hugh Osborn. I previously produced and hosted the award winning show The Science Hour on XpressionFM. I have also published a popular science book co-written with Drs Brian May and Chris Lintott “Bang!! The Complete History of the Universe” which is the 15 year update to the best selling Bang! with whole new chapters covering 9 billion years of new text and images.

Research interests

My work focuses on characterising the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets and brown dwarfs through observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and JWST. I have also developed theoretical models for exotic aerosols in exoplanet atmosphere and use them to interpret observations and make prediction for future studies. I am currently the lead of a UKRI Frontiers Research Grant (formerly European Research Council Starting Grant) to examine the 3D properties of exoplanet atmospheres through observations with Hubble and JWST. In this work my team (at Bristol, and collaborators internationally) will extensively measure the transmitting and emitting atmosphere of a set of exoplanets to understand the links between their properties and measured chemistry and dynamics.

My group, ExoTic (Exoplanet Timeseries Characterization), are working on a wide range of topics from using machine learning to improve JWST image quality, to eclipse and transmission mapping, and observational analysis and interpretation. The following is a list of project areas that myself and my team work in:

• Hubble WFC3-UVIS G280 data reduction, interpretation and population studies looking at the UV-optical spectrum at low resolution to measure aerosol scattering and molecular and atomic absorption profiles.
• Transmission and emission spectroscopy of transiting exoplanets and brown dwarfs using space-based instrumentation.
• Instrument analysis and interpretation tools including: ExoTiC-ISM and HUSTLE-tools for Hubble observations, ExoTiC-LD for limb-darkening, ExoTiC-JEDI and ExoTiC-MIRI for JWST data reduction, and ExoTiC-CLEAN for the use of machine learning in removing contaminant stars from slitless spectroscopic measurements with JWST NIRISS/SOSS observations.
• Atmospheric retrieval studies with the POSEIDON framework.
• Eclipse mapping for both JWST and Ariel
• Transmission mapping using the Harmonica framework
• Aerosols treating them as fractal agregate particles
• High temperature fabrication of nano partilce silicates in the lab for measurements of their structure, particle density, and optical properties.

Current Researchers and PhD Students

Former researchers and PhD students at Bristol

Dr David Grant (Senior Research Associate, Jan 2021 - Sep 2024)

Now a research manager at a start-up in the energy sector.

Dr Lili Alderson (PhD, Sep 2020 - March 2024)

Now an independent Klarman Fellow at Cornell University, USA.