Jocelyn Bell Burnell

British astrophysicist (born 1943)

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Born 1943 · age 83United Kingdom

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Age
83
Born 1943
Awards
35
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

She found the first pulsars as a graduate student in 1967. The Nobel went to her male supervisors in 1974. She kept working.

Biography

About

Born 15 July 1943 in Northern Ireland, Bell Burnell made the discovery while conducting doctoral research: radio pulsars, previously unknown stellar objects. The 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics followed — but the committee awarded it to others on the project, not her. She went on to lead the Royal Astronomical Society from 2002 to 2004, the Institute of Physics from 2008 to 2010, and served as Chancellor of the University of Dundee from 2018 to 2023. In 2018 she won the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and donated the entire $3 million to fund female, minority, and refugee student…

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In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Jocelyn Bell Burnell

said2010

Scientists should never claim that something is absolutely true. You should never claim perfect, or total, or 100% because you never ever get there.

— Beautiful Minds (2010)

Jocelyn Bell Burnell

said2010

Science doesn't always go forwards. It's a bit like doing a Rubik's cube. You sometimes have to make more of a mess with a Rubik's cube before you can get it to go right.

— Beautiful Minds (2010)

Jocelyn Bell Burnell

said2010