It was a great experience explaining our science to Luke [Taylor MP]. He is very approachable, and being an engineer himself, he echoed the importance of our work and the unique challenges we faced when building the software and hardware for a space mission.”
Dr Gordon Yip
09 April 2026
King's physicist takes centre stage at STEM for Britain
Dr Gordon Yip joined early-career researchers from across the nation to present his work on the Ariel Data Challenge to MPs.
Last month, Dr Gordon Yip from the Department of Physics, alongside early-career researchers gathered from across the UK, presented his research to the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee earlier this month as part of the annual STEM for Britain competition.
A new addition to King’s as part of the Ariel space mission under Professor Giovanna Tinetti and the King’s Interdisciplinary Science initiative, Gordon presented his work probing planets beyond our solar system with the Ariel Data Challenge.
Running in tandem with Ariel, the European Space Agency’s Ariel Space Telescope that will be launched in 2029 to survey the atmospheres of over one thousand known planets outside our solar system, the Ariel Data Challenge invites scientists from around the world to build Machine Learning algorithms that can accurately analyse the faint data Ariel will collect.
Having to compensate for signals from exoplanets millions of times fainter than the light from the stars they orbit and disturbances to instrument readings out in space, the challenge is considered one of the hardest and most scientifically rigorous in the world. Such analysis is also vital in understanding planetary formation and identifying worlds that could harbour life.
As a representative of one of the UK’s leading international collaborations in space science, Dr Yip met with Luke Taylor MP, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Aviation, Travel and Aerospace, to discuss the science behind the project.
A major scientific poster competition and exhibition held in Parliament since 1997, STEM for Britain is open to researchers engaged in scientific, engineering, technological or medical research. The competition sheds light on the cutting-edge work done by those at the beginning of their career for parliamentarians in both houses in non-technical language.
In addition to the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, STEM for Britain is supported by a range of scientific, engineering and mathematics bodies across academia. The Institute of Physics and Council for the Mathematical Sciences among others lend their support alongside United Kingdom Research and Innovation, Dyson Ltd and other public and industry partners.
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Lecturer in Physics (AI)