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԰������’s Department of Physics and Astronomy is entering a new chapter in its storied history of space exploration.

, BSc'02, MSc'04, PhD'09, an internationally known space physicist, has been named the new department head.

“We are pleased to welcome Emma as the new department head,” says , PhD, dean of the . “A highly accomplished researcher and respected leader, she brings a strong commitment to innovation, collaboration and student success.”

Spanswick officially begins her five-year term on July 1.

She succeeds , PhD, whose time in leadership helped to solidify the university’s reputation as an  and showed a deep commitment to mentorship, academic excellence, and a strong, collaborative departmental culture.

Knudsen, who will retire next year, started at ԰������ as an adjunct professor in 1995 and went on to become a full professor studying space plasma physics, including physics of the aurora and space plasma instrumentation.

One of the biggest highlights of his academic career, he says, was leading the , a -funded suborbital space rocket that launched in February 2000. It carried ԰������-designed instruments to study plasma — the matter that makes up much of the visible universe and laid the groundwork for a string of followup space projects.

“It ended up being really good scientifically,” says Knudsen, who got to do the live countdown during the launch in Alaska.

The instruments helped scientists more precisely observe charged particles of plasma in the aurora, meaning researchers got a better understanding of energy transfer from the sun to the Earth.

Knudsen was also the for the Canadian Electric Field Instruments on the 's Swarm satellite mission that launched in 2013 and included a comprehensive range of instruments to advance the knowledge of Earth’s magnetic field.

He became the Physics and Astronomy department head in 2017.

“I really see the job as a facilitator,” Knudsen says. “So, the satisfaction has come from helping people implement their ideas.”

During his time as head, Knudsen says he’s most proud of the department’s work around equity and diversity. It helped to increase the number of female physics professors at ԰������.

Spanswick, who is a , is the first female department head in Physics and Astronomy at ԰������, and one of the first in physics departments across Canada.

“It’s fantastic,” Knudsen says of Spanswick taking on the role. “She’s a product of our environment. It’s an endorsement of this environment.

“Emma has been a strong leader throughout her career, even as a student and postdoc. She has an impressive ability both to formulate a creative vision and to see that it gets done.” 

Spanswick manages and has redefined how scientists monitor space weather through her work with partners such as and the European Space Agency, and as co-lead of .

Spanswick says Knudsen has left the department in a strong position.

“My focus moving forward is to build on this momentum — supporting our ambitious research, strengthening our teaching, and ensuring faculty, staff and students are heard,” she says.