Dating back to Ancient Greek times, music and space are often believed to be intertwined. Reading graduate Karen-Anne Devoil, nee Meekings, was inspired by these connections with an amazing music industry career – working for the likes of EMI, Universal and Sony Music – and later a career change into space science outreach.
Karen-Anne, who studied Earth Science with geology at the University of Reading in the late 1970s, shared: “I’m passionate about music, but also planetary science and astrobiology – which is the search for evidence of life beyond Earth. This is probably my favourite planetary science topic as this is a fundamental question for humanity.”
Karen-Anne spoke to CONNECTED about her fondest memories from her time at Reading, and shared an insight into her two incredible careers – one in the music industry and one in space science.
Happy days
Karen-Anne shared that she had “a wonderful experience” at Reading with many of her highlights unsurprisingly centred around music. She said: “I enjoyed geography and geology at school, so it seemed natural to continue with a similar subject at university, but I didn’t really know what I was going to do for a job afterwards.
“I had a wonderful experience at Reading and found it so different to being at school. I had so much more free time which made a huge difference and enabled me to learn so many life skills alongside my degree.
“My stand-out memories from my time at university were the social events – there were lots of great gigs in the main hall at that time. I remember seeing Slade, The Psychedelic Furs, Tom Robinson Band and Squeeze to name a few. There were also ‘discos’ several times a week in the SU lounge bar and socials at the halls of residences, particularly at Child’s and Windsor.
“I recall it was just 6p for half a pint of cider in 1977 – happy days!”
A platinum career
Shortly after graduating, Karen-Anne’s career in music marketing took off and she spent the next four decades carving out a name for herself in the industry.
She said: “I’ve always loved music and during my time at Reading this continued to grow. I was very shy when I first arrived at university but by the time I had completed my degree, I had the confidence to apply to lots of record companies. The spring after I graduated I secured a Graduate Marketing Trainee role at EMI Records, based at Manchester Square in London.
“I was really lucky to get this post and my career took off from there. I spent two years at EMI in the international and market research departments, then moved to Sony Records [previously called CBS Records] as Catalogue Product Manager, leaving to join Polygram Records [which later became Universal Music Operations] where I moved up the ranks to become Director of Marketing and Repertoire in the TV marketing division.
“After 17 years, and marketing many platinum selling albums from some of the biggest artists of the time including The Who, The Jam and Jimi Hendrix, I went on to become Managing Director of GTV – an independent music label – and from there to Creative, Media and Digital Executive at Union Square Music [USM] which then merged with Bertelsman Music Group [BMG], the fourth biggest music company in the world.”
While Karen-Anne thrived in the music world, her interest in astronomy never left her. She said: “I remember clearly how inspiring the Apollo missions were, along with later missions to explore the planets and moons of the solar system. I also love looking at the astonishing space imagery captured by space telescopes such as Hubble and the James Webb telescope.”
Karen-Anne undertook some short courses in astronomy, before studying for a two-year diploma certificate qualification during her time at BMG. After graduating from University College London (UCL) with a distinction, Karen-Anne went on to study Planetary Science and Astrobiology at Birkbeck, University of London.
As a student she regularly participated in astronomy outreach events, and upon graduation became Marketing and Outreach Officer at the Centre for Planetary Science at UCL/Birkbeck, a role she has now been in for over four years.
Alongside this role, Karen-Anne is Partnerships Officer for the UK Planetary Forum (UKPF) – the representative body for UK planetary science community – and helps to organise UKPF conferences including the annual early careers meeting, which this year takes place at UCL/Birkbeck.
Inspiring future scientists
Karen-Anne has fully immersed herself into her new career and was recently honoured with another string to her bow – being elected to the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). Karen-Anne joins Professor Mike Lockwood from the University of Reading’s Meteorology Department at the RAS, where Mike is the current president.
Karen-Anne said: “I was really surprised and honoured to be elected, particularly as council members are usually senior academics rather than professional office staff. I was even more surprised to learn at the RAS AGM that I was elected with the highest number of votes of any of the election candidates.
“The RAS’s mission is to encourage and promote astronomy, solar system science and geophysics. It brings together the community through meetings and events, and is a central voice ensuring that the study and understanding of the solar system and universe are maintained and developed for the public good. In these globally uncertain times, upholding these principles has become even more important.
“Through this elected role I hope to encourage stronger links with planetary science and astrobiology communities, and strengthen relationships with existing partners like The Geological Society by collaborating on joint initiatives.
“I would also love to improve early career support and focus on outreach and resources for inspiring the next generation of scientists, particularly for underrepresented groups.”
Outreach is something very close to Karen-Anne’s heart and she has for many years been an official Space Inspirations STEM Ambassador.
She said: “The purpose of this role is to engage with young people to demonstrate the connection between STEM subjects and potential careers in space science and exploration. This involves lots of public engagement, including presentations and activities with local schools, Scouting and Girlguiding groups, astronomy societies, and local community groups.
“It’s a very exciting time to be involved in planetary science – for example, we currently believe that Mars had habitable conditions in the past where life could have existed, and that moons in the outer solar system, such as Jupiter’s Europa and Saturn’s Enceladus may be harbouring microbial life.
“With such exciting developments taking place, I am passionate, now more than ever, about making space science accessible and inclusive to everyone.”
