As a result of the campaign by students and Officers triggered by the appointment of David Willetts as Chancellor of the University in 2019 the University agreed to introduce a Pro-Chancellor (Students).
Dr Suzie Imber has been the Pro-Chancellor of Students for the last four years, as part of this year's Spring Term Elections we will be running elections once again. The list of candidates and their statements will be released on Thursday 7th March from 3pm.
The Pro-Chancellor (Students) acts as an ambassador and advocate for students at all levels and modes of study, attend student-facing events at the University, work with students and Officers of the Students’ Union and attend degree congregations.
Meet Dr Suzie Imber, your current Pro-Chancellor!
Dr Suzie Imber is an Associate Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Leicester and winner of the BBC television programme ‘Astronauts, Do You Have What It Takes?’ where she had to complete over 40 tests including escaping a sinking capsule, taking her own blood and speaking Russian at 6g in a centrifuge! The goal of the show was to find Britain’s next astronaut, and Suzie will now be recommended to the European Space Agency.
Students have described her as “an amazing researcher, tutor and member of our academic staff”, and have described her as “kind and generous with her time”. They have also commended her for her outstanding achievements and support of young researchers. Suzie is an advocate for student mental health and well-being, and her door is always open for her students to come and get help, as well as access the infamous ‘chocolate drawer’!
Suzie is a champion for women in STEM everywhere and on top of her role as an Associate Professor, takes part in many public engagement events to inspire people into careers in space science. She has visited hundreds of schools over the last year talking with >35,000 children, as well as giving over 65 public lectures, regular appearances on the BBC news, and even getting to speak at the Latitude music festival! She regularly contributes to the European Space Agency ‘Space Rocks’ events, bringing rock music and space science together with legends such as Queen’s Brian May!
Suzie is also an elite rower, high altitude mountaineer, and explorer, having discovered hundreds of mountains in South America, which she sets out to climb, making first ascents of the most remote mountains on the planet. Her area of research is space weather, focussing on understanding the interaction of the Sun with the Earth and Mercury, and she is heavily involved with the European/Japanese BepiColombo mission, currently en route to Mercury. You can find out more about Suzie’s research, mountaineering and astronaut aspirations, here: www.suzieimber.co.uk.
If you have any questions or want to find out more please email su-elections@leicester.ac.uk