Dr Hannah Lerman

I am a Lecturer (Teaching-focussed) and Senior Research Associate at the University of Leicester, working as a detector and instrument scientist for a number of space missions (focussing on human exploration and planetary exploration, in collaboration with NASA, ESA, UKSA, and ispace), as well as undertaking the role of the instrument project manager. 

I have also acted as Director of EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) for the School of Physics and Astronomy since 2023, during which the School was awarded the Silver Athena Swan award and accredited for the IOP Inclusion Award.

Most recent:

Demaret L, Hutchinson IB, Lerman HN, McHugh M, Eppe G, Malherbe C. EXPRESS: Knife-Edge Technique Using Raman Spectrometers to Determine the Effective Laser Spot Size on Powders: Implications for Planetary Exploration. Applied Spectroscopy. 2025;0(ja). doi:10.1177/00037028251404964

Liu, Y., Sun, H., Xu, D. et al. Soft X-ray prompt emission from the high-redshift gamma-ray burst EP240315a. Nat Astron9, 564–576 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02449-8

J. G. T. Armstrong, M. McHugh, J. Parnell, H. N. Lerman, A. Moral, and I. B. Hutchinson, “ Progress in Resource Evaluation Using a Handheld Raman Instrument Developed for Astronaut Missions,” Journal of Raman Spectroscopy56, no. 11 (2025): 1418–1433, https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.70060

C. Malherbe, I. Hutchinson, H. Lerman, M. McHugh, and G. Eppe, “ Characterising the Composition of Olivine and Iron Oxides in a Sample of the Sericho Meteorite by Raman Spectroscopy Using Principal Component Analysis,” Journal of Raman Spectroscopy56, no. 11 (2025): 1345–1352, https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.70019

M. McHugh, J. R. T. Armstrong, J. Parnell, H. N. Lerman, C. Malherbe, and I. B. Hutchinson, “ Terrestrial Lithium Exploration Adapted From Raman Diagnosis of Phyllosilicates for Mars,” Journal of Raman Spectroscopy56, no. 11 (2025): 1378–1385, https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.70010

A. Moral, C. Pérez, L. Seoane, et al., “ Novel Performances of a Combined Raman-LIBS Instrument for Future Lunar Astronaut Exploration Program: The PHOENIX for PANGAEA Project,” Journal of Raman Spectroscopy56, no. 11 (2025): 1368–1377, https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.6840

L. Demaret, H. N. Lerman, M. McHugh, I. B. Hutchinson, N. Fagel, G. Eppe, C. Malherbe, J Raman Spectrosc2023, 54(8), 823. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.6568

My focus is on research inspired teaching and work-based learning, in order to enable students to gain direct experience in current space instrument development and space project management activities, and to improve their employability by providing opportunities to directly interact with a wide range of industry experts.

Specific modules include:

• Space Instrumentation for Space and Planetary Science (Postgraduate Space Exploration Systems course)
• Group Industry Project (3rd year Physics undergraduate course)
• Thermal and Statistical Mechanics (2nd year Physics undergraduate course)
• Academic Portfolio Project/Personal Tutor (STEM Foundation Year course)

I also provide supervision for:

• PhD students, currently:
  •  One as 1st supervisor; two as 2nd supervisor; one as third supervisor.
• Specialist Research Project (4th year Physics undergraduate/integrated Masters course)
• Research Project (3rd year Physics undergraduate course)

I am a FHEA.

• Women in STEM webinar, November 2022:

I was asked to participate in a Women in STEM webinar for St. Helens School Northwood, in which we answered questions from students and spoke about our everyday activities in our STEM job roles. Over 100 female students took part in the event, and have reached out to the UK RLS team since to find out more information about roles in Planetary Science and missions. Feedback from the Director of Futures (who organised the event) is provided in Appendix B.

• Interview by BBC East Midlands Today, October 2022:

The interview was conducted as part of the UK Raman Laser Spectrometer team. The piece (broadcast live from the NSC) focussed on the role that the University of Leicester team play in developing instrumentation for space missions. It also covered topics such as how the School of Physics and Astronomy provides an opportunity for students to engage with the live space research as part of their degree, and help them make decisions about their careers.

• British Science Festival, September 2022:

Contributed to the British Science Festival (BSF) 2022 (held in Leicester), as part of the UK RLS team. The team setup a stand in the streets of Leicester in order to engage the public with the work that the University does to do with ExoMars. Specifically, following the success of the busk created for the National Space Centre Mars Mission event in February 2020 and the follow-up online busk activity generated for the Royal Society Summer Exhibition, the team used the busk to explain to children, young families, and adults about the tools we use to analyse crime scenes on Earth are the same that we use to search for signs of life on Mars. This was reported on the BSF social media sites.

• Interview by BBC Scotland, May 2022:

The interview was conducted as part of the UK Raman Laser Spectrometer team. The piece (broadcast on BBC Scotland The Nines) focussed on the field trips the RLS team attend/lead in preparation for the ExoMars mission. The piece looked at why and how certain areas of Scotland were good representative (analogous) locations to Mars, and what we can learn from these locations (e.g., spotting signs of life in rocks). The interview also referred to the UK RLS Gypsy Lane field trip (held in September 2021), and how students have the opportunity to get involved in mission research by attending these field trips. The event was written up on the BBC website (the article is available here).

• Robots in Space Webinar, October 2021:

I contributed (as part of the local team) providing a webinar to the whole Year 5 cohort at the Kingsbury Green Primary School. The theme of the talk was how we explore the Solar System, and we presented topics, aimed at 10-year-olds, such as planetary exploration, how we build rovers, and using lasers to look for signs of life. Feedback from the school is provided in Appendix B.

• Royal Society Summary Exhibition, July 2021:

As part of the UK RLS team, I helped develop (and produce) of a wide range of outreach activities for the Royal Society ExoMars exhibit (including a virtual RLS exhibit that illustrates the use of spectroscopy for planetary exploration and terrestrial applications). Other activities included the production of Podcasts, web page material on ExoMars based topics, and roles in the ExoMars “lightning lecture” Q&A session. The workshop, which was targeted towards families with young (ages ~5-11) children, was attended by ~140 members of the public (the event was sold out).

The RLS podcast that I led the development of included: an outline of how spectroscopy can be used to interrogate material to reveal information about molecular structure; an overview of the different subsystems within a Raman spectrometer; an explanation where the Raman instrument is located within the rover and how it will be utilised during surface operations; and an overview of how specific types of sample will be interrogated samples (with example rocks used to highlight the various materials we expect to find on Mars), linking the analysis that the RLS will perform with the three key science goals of the mission. Feedback received from the organisers following the event is provided in Appendix B.

• STEM feature article in school magazine, June 2021:

The feature article was written for an all-female secondary school (St Helens Northwood), and included in their STEM-themed magazine. The aim of the article was to inspire female students to consider a wide range of possible STEM careers, and to detail how they can pursue such a career (e.g., outlining typical university courses). The article discussed how we aim to search for signs of past and present life in the Solar System (specifically with regard to the upcoming ExoMars mission), and how young women could pursue such a STEM career. The article also outlined the steps involved in developing the instrumentation for such a mission and the typical operations that we will undertake following the landing of the rover. Some students have since reached out for further information about a career in the space industry; and the school have made plans with the team to provide a demonstration of the Raman Laser Spectrometer to a mixture of age groups at the school.

• National Space Centre Mars Week, February 2020:

As part of the UK RLS team, I made a significant contribution to the recent National Space Centre Mars Mission event (attended by 23,500 visitors). This included providing several presentations on the value of Mars exploration and the ExoMars mission (several hundred visitors attended the talks). We also produced a busk for the NSC as part of a term long student outreach activity. The activity (visited by >8000 people) was used to illustrate the use of Raman spectroscopy in terrestrial applications and to explain how such an instrument would be utilised on the ExoMars rover (a replica of the landing site region was included to help illustrate how the rover will be operated). This busk has been used on multiple occasions since, such as for Open Days.

• Robots in Space Talk, March 2017:

I contributed (as part of the local instrumentation team) providing a talk to Year 10 students at the Loughborough Grammar School. The theme of the talk was how we explore the Solar System, and we presented slides, aimed at 10-year-olds, covering topics such as Mars and Europa exploration, how we build rovers, and how we use lasers to look for signs of life.