Dr Jennifer Stone, an alumna of St Ninian’s High School, was guest of honour at the school’s recent awards evening.

Originally from Onchan, Dr Stone was a student at St Ninian’s in 2000 when she was awarded the first ever ManSat scholarship to attend the United Space School in Houston, Texas. After several years as a research scientist at Nagoya University in Japan, she was appointed Regulatory Affairs Manager with the ManSat Group in October 2015.

In addition to giving a speech and presenting the prizes at the awards evening, Dr Stone visited the school earlier in the day to discuss science careers with sixth-form students.

‘It was a real privilege to be invited back to the school and to celebrate all the achievements of the students and staff,’ Dr Stone said. ‘I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a student at St Ninian’s, so it was lovely to be able to go back and pass on some of my experience to the students as they develop their own careers.’

Dr Stone is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a Member of the Institute of Physics. She was awarded her Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2011, and is a graduate of the 2007 International Space University Space Studies Program. She also holds Masters degrees in Astronomy and Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an M.Phys. (1st Class Honours) in Astrophysics from the University of St Andrews.