{{short description|British television and radio presenter}} {{BLP sources|date=June 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Hermione Cockburn | image = Hermione Cockburn - EdSciFest 2014 (38).JPG | alt = | caption = Hermione Cockburn at the 2014 Edinburgh International Science Festival | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1973}} | birth_place = Sussex, England | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|Month DD, YYYY|Month DD, YYYY}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | death_cause = | other_names = | known_for = | occupation = Television and radio presenter | children = 2 }} '''Hermione Anne Phoebe Cockburn''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE|FRSE}} (born 1973, Sussex, England) is a British television and radio presenter specialising in scientific and educational programmes. She is currently Scientific Director at Our Dynamic Earth.
==Early life and education== Cockburn grew up in Cuckfield in Sussex.<ref>{{cite news|title=TV's Hermione Cockburn supports plastic bag free Cuckfield campaign|url=http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/news/county-news/latest-news/tv-s-hermione-cockburn-supports-plastic-bag-free-cuckfield-campaign-1-687447|work=West Sussex Gazette|date=13 July 2010|access-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826113126/http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/news/county-news/latest-news/tv-s-hermione-cockburn-supports-plastic-bag-free-cuckfield-campaign-1-687447|archive-date=26 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> She has a PhD in geomorphology from the University of Edinburgh, and has worked at various academic institutes including a two-year post-doctorate at the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}
==Career== She has carried out extensive fieldwork in Antarctica, Australia, and Namibia. In 1999, Cockburn helped establish the education service at Our Dynamic Earth, a science centre and visitor attraction in Edinburgh, Scotland.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}
In 2002, she won BBC Talent's Science on Screen competition and co-presented the ''Tomorrow's World'' Award Show on BBC One.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}} Then, in 2005, Cockburn co-presented ''What the Ancients Did for Us'' with Adam Hart-Davis for BBC Two, exploring the scientific legacy of ancient civilisations, before joining the team of ''Rough Science'' (also on BBC Two), replacing Kathy Sykes for the sixth series.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}
Expert contributions for the BBC Television series ''Coast'' have included explanations of Scottish geomorphology, geoarchaeology and engineering geology{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}. In 2008, she presented the BBC Television/Open University documentary series ''Fossil Detectives'' for which she also wrote the companion book. From 2005 to 2010, she was the regular presenter of ''Resource Review'' on the Teachers' TV channel.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}
She is an associate lecturer with the Open University, teaching environmental science in Scotland.<ref>{{cite web|title=Profile: Hermione Cockburn|url=http://www.open.edu/openlearn/profiles/hapc2|publisher=Open University|accessdate=28 June 2014}}</ref>
Cockburn was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to public engagement in science.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63218|supp=y|page=N10|date=31 December 2020}}</ref>
==Personal life== Cockburn is married and has two sons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/my-health-hermione-cockburn-science-broadcaster-1.906260|title=My Health: Hermione Cockburn, science broadcaster|work=The Herald|date=30 March 2009 |accessdate=2009-07-19}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=June 2014}}
==Works== * {{cite book | date = 4 September 2008 | title =The Fossil Detectives | last1 = Cockburn |first1=Hermione |last2=Palmer |first2=Douglas | publisher = BBC Books | isbn = 978-1-846-07577-3 }}
== Awards and honours == In 2019, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rse.org.uk/fellow/hermione-cockburn/|title=Dr Hermione Cockburn FRSE|date=2019-03-15|website=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-03-15}}</ref>
In July 2024, Cockburn received an honorary doctorate from The University of the West of Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uws.ac.uk/news/leading-female-scientist-celebrated-at-uws-graduation/ |title=Leading female scientist celebrated at UWS graduation |website=uws.ac.uk |access-date=2024-10-22}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/presenting/success_hermione.shtml BBC profile] *{{IMDb name|1836827}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, Hermione}} Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Category:Academics of the Open University Category:People educated at Roedean School, East Sussex Category:BBC people Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:British geomorphologists Hermione Category:English women geologists Category:British women science writers Category:21st-century British women scientists Category:People from Cuckfield Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh