Bumper year for Physics’ Joanna Haigh

Climate physicist Professor Joanna Haigh is enjoying a glittering start to 2013. In recognition of her services to Physics she was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours and earlier this month she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).

She is also the first female Head of Physics at Imperial in a still predominantly male department; incredibly there are nine times more male academics than female. Despite a hectic schedule, she found time to chat about her career and route to the top.

Stephanie Walton: Have you always wanted to be a Physicist?

Professor Joanna Haigh: After my undergraduate degree I wanted to retrain as a medic but I could not afford it. Instead I studied for a MSc in Meteorology at Imperial and enjoyed it so much I became hooked. Imperial was different in the 70s; I got thrown out of the Union Bar since only men were allowed. Imperial is a lot more friendly these days.

SW: Was your doctorate plain sailing or were there moments of exasperation over malfunctioning experiments?

JH: Of course there were moments of exasperation. I had a computer model which kept crashing and it took me weeks to work out why.

SW: Was it hard researching whilst raising three small children?

JH: It took some organising, but the department was very supportive. My research profile suffered a bit of a dip though.

SW: What do you do as Head of Department?

JH: It is quite demanding. I deal with our research excellence framework, promotions, faculty management issues, health and safety, fellowships… It is fun though and I am very proud and honoured to have been chosen to do it.

SW: Tell me about your CBE. Do you know who nominated you?

JH: I have no idea. I was informed by letter and it came as a complete surprise. I went to Windsor Castle to collect the award. It was a lovely occasion and the Queen asked me very sensible questions. She was very impressive for a lady of her age.

SW: I lost count trying to enumerate papers you have published. Do you remember writing all of them and do any stand out in particular?

JH: I know some better than others. A couple have been pleasingly influential for example the paper I published in 1996 on solar radiation and its effect on the stratosphere. Some of the things we said were picked up on and have been developed into a whole new area of interest.

SW: You are a climate model expert. How do these models work?

JH: You’ve got me on myfavourite topic! They are amazing! Basically you write down four equations, solve them on a discrete grid and integrate forward in time. The model shows you jet streams and weather patterns, just like the real world!

SW: As a climate physicist, are you conscious of your carbon footprint? Do you fly?

JH: I do fly but only if Ican justify it and I try to combine trips. I drive a little electric car into College. I charge it every night at home. It’s quite cheap to run but replacing the battery is very expensive.

SW: What would you do if you had influence in government?

JH: I would raise carbon taxes and invest in alternative energy sources.

SW: Do you have any advice for scientists at the beginning of their careers?

JH: It is tough. You need to maintain an interest, work hard and not be afraid to ask for advice. Don’t cry in a corner if things don’t work.