Suzie achieved international recognition when she won the BBC2 TV series ‘Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes?’ in which 12 candidates underwent astronaut training with Commander Chris Hadfield. The challenges including taking their own blood, speaking Russian while in a centrifuge at 5g, and carrying out emergency procedures on the NASA undersea astronaut training facility, Aquarius. Suzie received a letter of recommendation from Chris Hadfield supporting her application to the European Space Agency astronaut training programme.
Her “daytime job” is as Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Leicester, where she specialises in studying the impact of the solar wind on the planets in our solar system, particularly the Earth and Mercury. Currently, she works in Operations Planning for the BepiColombo spacecraft, due to arrive at Mercury in 2025.
She was made a full Professor in 2023.
In 2019, Suzie was selected for Homeward Bound, a global leadership programme to train 100 women to become the next generation of leaders in the fight against climate change. Culminating in a 3-week voyage to Antarctica (re-scheduled for 2023, after being postponed due to covid), the programme includes leadership style and mentality, effective communication, building teams, personal and organisational strategy, mental health and wellbeing.
With extensive experience of speaking at live stage events, including music and science festivals, Suzie was invited to perform at “Space Shambles” at the Royal Albert Hall, London, appearing with Professor Brian Cox, Robin Ince, astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield, and Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart. She has spoken at many science festivals, including BlueDot, Gravity Fields, Cheltenham, Farnborough Air Show, New Scientist Live, Latitude, AstroFest, SpaceRocks and the Virgin Galactic Space Festival (US).
Speaking topics
Suzie has spoken at many conferences and seminars in the UK, Europe, the US and Russia, most often as a keynote speaker. She has chaired conference sessions and served on event organising committees.
One of her most-requested speeches describes a journey combining elite sport, space science, identifying and climbing unclimbed mountains, and training to be an astronaut. It’s entertaining, inspirational and offers the audience the opportunity to reflect on their own sources of motivation and enthusiasm.
Enthusiastic and engaging, with a detailed scientific CV and extensive experience, Suzie tailors each speech and recent subjects have included;
- The future of the space industry and exploration
- The history, and future, of human spaceflight
- Climate change and what we can do about it
- Earth observation, and how we can use satellite data for humanitarian and societal benefit
- Writing computer code to identify mountains, and launching expeditions to achieve first ascents (risk, challenge, resilience, teamwork)
She also speaks on becoming an international athlete, mountaineer, space scientist, appearing on the BBC Astronauts series, climate leadership and the upcoming voyage to Antarctica.
Suzie works with a wide range of organisations, schools and festivals focusing primarily on education, STEM accessibility, and opportunity for young people from all backgrounds. She regularly hosts school events, podcasts, and awards ceremonies.
In Conversation with Tim Peake
Suzie was invited to host ‘In Conversation With Tim Peake’, for the launch of his 2020 autobiography. This 45-minute event was held in the Science Museum in London, live-streamed to a large audience world-wide, followed by a live Q&A and was short-listed for a media award.
TV and Radio experience
Completely at ease delivering material to camera, being interviewed, and interviewing others live on radio or TV, Suzie’s TV and media work includes:
- Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes? BBC2 television competition series involving five weeks of filming, presented by Commander Chris Hadfield, Dr Kevin Fong, and Dr Iya Whitely
- The Sky at Night: Storms on Mercury (BBC4)
- Secret Cities (Bigger Bang Productions)
- BBC News and Sky news live television interviews about important international space matters
- Live radio interviews for regional, national and international radio stations
- Many podcast appearances, as host, panellist, principal guest and interviewee
Academic profile
- PhD in Space Plasma Physics: University of Leicester: 2005-2008
- MPhys, First Class Honours: Imperial College London 2001-2005
- Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (teaching qualification): University of Leicester 2015-2016
- Professor of Planetary Science: June 2023
Other things to know about Suzie Imber
- England U21 lacrosse player, elite rower (sculling and sweep rowing), and high-altitude mountaineer.
- As a high-altitude mountaineer, she climbed technical peaks in the Andes, Alaska, and the Himalayas. She wrote computer code to generate the first objective list of mountains in South America, and thus discovered hundreds of un-named mountains. She enjoys scaling these remote, unclimbed mountains, exploring new regions of our planet and she even discovered Incan ruins on the summits.
- She speaks three languages: English, with conversational French and Portuguese.
- She advises organisations on their outreach and community engagement programmes, including Leicester City Football Club. She founded the Williams-Virgin Galactic scholarship programme in 2020 to support young people studying space physics, encouraging them to develop their own outreach programmes.
- She is currently in the selection phase for Edale Mountain Rescue, wishing to use her mountaineering skills to assist casualties in inaccessible regions of the UK.
- Caring passionately about environmental issues, and in particular the preservation of rare and endangered species, Suzie rescued an English apple orchard.
- She spent several years volunteering at a local Rescue Centre, caring for abandoned dogs.
- Suzie’s hobbies include: running, rock climbing, road cycling, playing the piano, learning the orchestral pedal harp, baking, and Wushu Kung Fu (non-contact martial art). During covid lockdown, she learned carpentry, practised yoga, and cultivated a huge vegetable plot.