Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a renowned space science educator and innovative mechanical engineer. Aderin-Pocock sees her dyslexia not as an obstacle, but as a gift; something that’s helped her think outside the box and break many boundaries in the world of physics.
Aderin-Pocock was born on March 9th, 1968, in London, England. She attended La Sainte Union Convent School. When she told a teacher she wanted to be an astronaut, the teacher said to her that she should instead pursue nursing, because that was “also scientific.” That didn’t stop Aderin-Pocock from chasing her dreams, though.
She went to Imperial College London, where she graduated with a degree in physics, and completed her PhD in mechanical engineering. From 1996 to 1999, she worked at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, where she developed aircraft missile warning systems and handheld landmine detection instruments! After that, she would return to her passion for space, joining a team developing a spectrograph for the Gemini telescope in Chile. She went on to work on the Aeolus satellite and has appeared on several TV shows as a science consultant, including Paradox and Doctor Who Confidential. She also presented The Sky at Night with Chris Lintott.
Despite her later success, Aderin-Pocock struggled a lot in her childhood, moving between thirteen schools and fighting an uphill battle to prove herself in the face of her (at the time undiagnosed) dyslexia. Later on, though, she began to accept that thinking differently didn’t mean thinking worse. She even stated that “My dyslexic thinking means I don’t just think outside the box… I think outside the planet!”
Maggie Aderin-Pocock went on to receive numerous awards, including the Champions Club UK “Certificate of Excellence,” the WFTV “New Talent” award, and the Yale University Centre for Dyslexia “Out of The Box Thinking” Award. Her perseverance against all odds serves as a powerful reminder to follow your dreams because someday, you might just make them come true.
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