Dr Steven Hale PhD CSci

Steven j. Hale

School of Physics and Astronomy
BiSON Instrumentation Engineer

Contact details

Address
School of Physics and Astronomy
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Steven Hale is the project manager and lead engineer of the international Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON), a global network of automated robotic solar telescopes funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council. His research interests are instrumentation and electronics, and high-resolution optical spectroscopy techniques.

Qualifications

  • PhD, Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham (2019)
  • Chartered Scientist (2015 - )
  • Member of the Institute of Science and Technology (2015 - )
  • Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (2015 - )
  • MPhil, Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham (2003)
  • Member of the Institute of Physics (2001 - )
  • MSci (Hons), Physics with Astrophysics, University of Birmingham (2001)

Biography

Steven Hale qualified with an MSci (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics from the University of Birmingham in 2001. He went on to join the High-Resolution Optical Spectroscopy (HiROS) research group at Birmingham where he studied for an MPhil in solar physics analysing data from the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON).

Steven continued to work as part of the HiROS group where his research interests moved towards BiSON instrumentation and electronics. He became the lead operations and development manager of BiSON in 2012, and was awarded a PhD in 2019 for his work on BiSON:NG, the next generation of the BiSON observational network.

In 2015 Steven achieved professional registration as Chartered Scientist (CSci) with the Science Council, via the Institute of Science and Technology, and now assesses applications for the CSci, RSci, and RSciTech registers.

Research

  • High-resolution optical spectroscopy techniques.
  • Precision analogue instrumentation.
  • Precision low-noise data acquisition and control systems.
  • Micro-controllers and embedded firmware.
  • Robotic automation.
  • Helioseismology - Solar Physics, Solar Variability.
  • Asteroseismology - Stellar Physics, Stellar Variability.

Other activities

  • Science Council Professional Register application assessor for CSci, RSci, and RSciTech.
  • Institute of Science & Technology Professional Register application assessor for CSci, RSci, and RSciTech.
  • Winner of the 2016/17 #TechniciansMakeitHappen prize launched by The Gatsby Foundation.
  • Papin Prize for Research 2017 finalist - highly commended.

Publications

Publication details are available from the Birmingham Research Portal and Google Scholar.

Social media: Mastodon and Twitter.