Mike Pinnock

Mike Pinnock (born 6 March 1954) is a British scientist in the field of polar research and was one of the longest serving managers of the British Antarctic Survey until his retirement in 2018. He is currently a BAS Emeritus Fellow which invites select former employees to continue to develop their scientific and scholarly work through a continued relationship with the organisation. He is a treasurer and board member for Antarctic Science Journal. He has published 76 papers, mostly on the topic of solar wind coupling to the Earth's magnetosphere.

Career

Pinnock trained as an electronics engineer and began his career at a subsidiary of General Electric Company Telecommunications.

He joined BAS in 1976 and wintered at Halley Research Station in 1977, 1978 and 1981.

In 1986, Pinnock became the project manager for the construction of the Halley SuperDARN radar, part of an international network of scientific radars. The radar enhanced understanding of how the solar wind interacts with the Earth's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere.

In 2004 Pinnock was appointed Head of Physical Sciences Division and joined the BAS Board.

In 2015, he was awarded a second clasp to his Polar Medal.

In 2020, the Government of the British Antarctic Territory announced they would be naming a nunatak range after him.