Open Eye: Radio beams from the stars `will guide travellers around the cosmos'

Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell of the OU has joined the list of prominent scientists, including Sir David Attenborough, to receive the prestigious Edinburgh Medal, which she was awarded at the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

The University's Head of Physics, Jocelyn is best known for her breakthrough discovery of a new kind of star - pulsars - but is actively involved in making astronomy more accessible to the public, and trying to encourage more girls to study science.

Speaking at a reception at the Royal Society in Edinburgh following the award ceremony, Jocelyn envisaged a distant future where space travellers will navigate their way around the cosmos using radio beams from pulsars, just as ocean navigators once relied on the beams of lighthouses.

The Edinburgh Medal is awarded annually both for scientific achievement and a `wider contribution to society'. Jocelyn has already garnered other prestigious awards, including a CBE in this year's New Years Honours List.