Meteorites and magnetostrophic mathematics reveal unsung scientific heroes of the past

Physics World Weekly Podcast

In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast the physicist Susanne Horn talks about the career of Donna Elbert, an American applied mathematician who worked on Nobel-prize-winning physics but did not get the credit she deserved. Based at Coventry University, Horn also talks about her recent research, which builds on Elbert’s pioneering work in magnetostrophic convection. You can read more in: “The Elbert range of magnetostrophic convection. I. Linear theory”.

Also in the podcast is the planetary geochemist Áine O’Brien of the University of Glasgow. She chats with Physics World’s Margaret Harris about her shocking discovery of a biological toxin in a Martian meteorite – and how that led her to investigate the history of Black students at Purdue University in the US.

O’Brien also talks about her recent research on the Winchcombe meteorite, which is described in: “The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system”.