On Monday 11 July, Dr Eleni Bohacek visited St Gregory’s to talk about her work as a research fellow at the European Space Agency (ESA).

In her talk, aimed at encouraging girls into STEM, a group of students from Year 9 and 10 listened to Dr Bohacek explain how her work looks at the geology of Mars in order to understand the planet's history of climate change, liquid water and potentially life.

Showing pictures taken on the surface of the planet, she illustrated how research shows there would have been liquid water on the surface of Mars in the past, but that it is now completely inhospitable to human life. Dr Bohacek went on to explain that by studying Mars, lessons can be learnt that will help us to understand climate change on earth today.

The insightful and fascinating talk was well received by the interested students and Dr Bohacek encouraged the girls to keep following their interest in Science and STEM. She went on to explain that numerous opportunities are within their grasp and are all achievable with hard work, perseverance and resilience.

Dr Bohacek studied Earth Sciences at University College London (UCL) and completed her masters and PhD at the UCL-Cambridge Centre for Doctoral Training in Integrated Photonic and Electronic Systems. Her PhD thesis was about the stereo camera systems of the ExoMars 'Rosalind Franklin' Rover.