| Colin Pillinger | |
|---|---|
 At Jodrell Bank Observatory in 2009 |
|
| Born | 9 May 1943 Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | Planetary science |
| Institutions | The Open University University of Cambridge |
| Alma mater | University College of Swansea |
| Known for | Beagle 2 |
Colin Trevor Pillinger, CBE, (born in Kingswood, just outside Bristol on 9 May 1943) is a planetary scientist at the Open University in the UK. He was the principal investigator for the British Beagle 2 Mars lander project, and has done much work studying a group of Martian meteorites.[1]
In May 2005 Pillinger was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
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Early life [link]
Pillinger was born on 9 May 1943 in Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, just outside Bristol, England, where he was brought up with his sister who was six years older.[2] His father, Alfred, was a manual worker for the Gas Board and his mother, Florence (née Honour), was a housewife.[2][3] He attended Kingswood Grammar School, and later graduated with a BSc and a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University College of Swansea (now called Swansea University).[2]
Career and recognition [link]
Beagle 2 [link]
Pillinger's first job was for NASA, analysing the lunar samples brought back by Apollo 11;[3] but he is best known for being the principal investigator for the Beagle 2 Mars lander project, part of European Space Agency's (ESA) 2003 Mars Express mission. It was Pillinger's wife who thought of the "Beagle 2" name for the project.[3] The reason for the failure of the mission has not been determined, but an ESA inquiry concluded that "... there were programmatic and organisational reasons that led to a significantly higher risk of Beagle 2 failure, than otherwise might have been the case."[citation needed] However, Pillinger is adamant that the mission was not a failure.[3]
Asteroid [link]
Main belt asteroid 15614 Pillinger was named after Pillinger.
Speaking career [link]
Pillinger works as a conference and after-dinner speaker for the JLA agency.[4]
TV [link]
In year 2003 Colin appeared on famous TV program Top Gear at the episode #7 of the 3rd season on "Top Gear boffin burn-out!" challenge, competing with Brian Sewell & Profesor Heinz Wolff on who was capable of doing a wheel burn-out in a tuned 480BHP Nissan 300ZX. Colin won.
Personal life [link]
Pillinger's wife, Judith, is also a scientist and they met working in the same laboratory.[3] They have a son and a daughter.[2]
After experiencing difficulty with walking for two years, Pillinger was diagnosed with progressive multiple sclerosis in May 2005.[5] He owned a dairy farm, but his illness prevented him from doing physical work on the farm, such as digging the ground and mucking out the cows.[3] He owns a pet dog and appreciates the welcome and affection it gives.[3]
Awards [link]
Chronology of qualifications, career, and awards:[2]
- 1965 – B.Sc (Chemistry) from University College of Swansea
- 1968 – Ph.D (Chemistry) from University College of Swansea
- 1968 – Post-doctoral fellow, University of Bristol Department of Chemistry
- 1972 – Fellow, Cambridge University
- 1974 – Research Associate, Cambridge University
- 1976 – Senior Research Associate, Department of Earth Science, University of Cambridge
- 1981 – Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
- 1981 – member of the British Mass Spectrometry Society
- 1984 – Honorary D.Sc (Chemistry) from University of Bristol
- 1984 – Senior Research Fellow, Department of Earth Science, Open University
- 1986 – Fellow of the Meteoritical Society
- 1991 – made Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Open University
- 1993 – member of the IAU
- 1993 – Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
- 1993 – elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
- 1996 – Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College in the City of London (until 2000)
- 2003 – made a CBE
- 2003 – Top Gear boffin burn-out 1st place.
- 2011 – recipient of the Michael Faraday Prize[6]
Bibliography [link]
- My Life on Mars - The Beagle 2 Diaries (2010) ISBN 978-0-9506597-3-2[7]
- Space is a Funny Place
- Beagle - from Sailing Ship to Mars Spacecraft (2003) ISBN 978-0-571-22323-7
See also [link]
References [link]
- ^ Michael Hanlon (2004). The real Mars. Basic Books. pp. 166. ISBN 978-1-4050-3639-9.
- ^ a b c d e "Biography". Pillinger's personal website. https://colinpillinger.com/barnstormpr.co.uk/biography.htm. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Desert Island Discs with Colin Pillinger". Desert Island Discs. 2009-10-25. BBC. Radio 4. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ncwp6.
- ^ https://www.jla.co.uk/after-dinner-speakers/colin-pillinger
- ^ Ghosh, Pallab (2005-07-18). "Red Planet scientist battles MS". BBC News. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4671941.stm. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ^ "Royal Society - Michael Faraday Prize retrieved 4 February 2012". https://royalsociety.org/awards/michael-faraday-prize/#.
- ^ "Books". Colin Pillinger. https://colinpillinger.com/barnstormpr.co.uk/books.htm. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
External links [link]
- Official site.
- Beagle 2 - in conversation with Colin Pillinger from a talk at the Royal Society
