Alice Bunn

Bunn is from Beckenham.[1] She attended Shrewsbury High School, Shropshire.[2] She completed GCE Advanced Levels at Shrewsbury Sixth Form College in Maths, Physics and Chemistry[2] and studied metallurgy at the University of Leeds, graduating in 1995.[3] She spent a year in Tampere at the University of Finland.[2] She obtained her PhD in 1998 from the University of Cambridge, where she worked in Metallurgy under the supervision of Lindsay Greer.[4]

After completing her PhD Bunn joined the Science Museum, London as a Researcher and Developer of exhibitions.[5] She joined the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) as coordinator of Earth Observation Science in 2000.[5] She was made Head of Earth Observation Future Missions in 2002.[5] She joined Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as Location Programme manager.

Bunn joined the UK Space Agency in 2011.[6] She led the International Charter for Space and Major Disasters from 2011 to 2012.[7] The charter forces the international community to provide satellite imagery immediately after a disaster.[7] She brokered the international agreement that ensured countries share satellite imagery after the MH370 disappearance.[8] She explored how satellite imagery can be used to save lives.[9] She formed a collaboration with the Italian Space Agency to share COSMO-SkyMed data.[10] In 2014 Bunn was appointed Director of Policy of the UK Space Agency.[5][11] She delivered the Reinventing Space Conference keynote lecture in 2014.[12] She led the security, regulation, communications and international engagement.[13] She advised on civil space activities to the Minister for Universities, Science and Cities.[14] In 2014 she was featured in Marie Claire as one of their Top Women.[8][15] She was elected to the Space Foundation Board of Directors in November 2015.[16] She led the space aspects of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security program, which encouraged Europe to monitor and protect the environment.[7] She hoped that Tim Peake's mission to the International Space Station would encourage people to invest in space travel.[17] She was appointed Vice Chair of the European Space Agency in 2017.[18] She collaborates closely with France, and signed a joint statement to increase cooperation with CNES in January 2018.[19][20] The collaboration will continue in spite of Brexit.[11][21] She oversaw the collaborative agreement between Surrey Satellite Technology, Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station and the European Space Agency for commercial lunar missions.[22][23]

Throughout her career Bunn has been in programs to encourage students to engage with space missions.[24] She collaborated with the WISE Campaign to create a set of classroom resources based on the space sector to encourage primary school children to study physics.[25][26] She developed a space badge for Girlguiding.[27][28] She has spoken at the World Economic Forum.[29] She spoke at the National Space Symposium in 2018.[30] She spoke at the 2017 Global Space Congress[31] and TEDx London in 2018.[32]