Charlie Minns

I am a PhD student in the Planetary Science research group at MSSL, UCL. My research focuses on biosignature detection using spectrometers on board missions to planetary bodies in our solar system. In particular, I am researching organic spectral features and how these may be altered by operations on Mars, the Moon, and other planetary bodies of astrobiological interest.

Before starting my PhD, I worked as a full-stack web developer and earned my MSc in Planetary Science from UCL during this time. I graduated from Princeton in 2020 with a BA in Physics and earned certificates in Planets and Life and Applications of Computing.

I also coach (springboard and platform) diving and am slowly getting back into competing after a 4-year break from the sport. For my quarter-life crisis, I decided to get involved in ultra-running, entering a 100km race in 2024 (truth be told, there wasn’t much racing on my part, and I am just thankful to have made the cutoff time).