Prof Nick Achilleos

Biography

I received my PhD from the ANU (Australian National University), for studies, theoretical and observational, of magnetic fields in compact stars. After a brief time doing further work in this area at the University of Montreal, I moved to UCL to take up a postdoc position in planetary science. I developed a global model of Jupiter to support the infrared observations of the planet being done by the planetary atmospheres group. After six years at UCL, I moved into industry, working as a software developer for Logica, mostly within the Space division working on onboard software and satellite control. I then moved to Imperial College in 2002, to take up a position as Science Planner and Operations Engineer for the team managing the magnetometer instrument onboard the Cassini spacecraft. I also contributed to the first scientific studies emerging from Cassini's arrival at Saturn in 2004, particularly studies of the planet's magnetospheric boundaries.

In 2007, I moved back to UCL to take up a lectureship with the Physics department, and contribute to the work of the Atmospheric Physics Laboratory / Centre for Planetary Science. I continue to collaborate with Cassini/Saturn scientists and also have returned to work on global models of the giant planets.