Oriel student receives prestigious fellowship honour

Named after the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic, the Amelia Earhart Fellowship is awarded annually to up to 30 women pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences.

Belhadfa has been recognised for her research into the asteroid called ‘Bennu’ and the clues it might hold to how life started on Earth.

“Studying Bennu, we realised that there’s water on it, there are phosphates, which are linked to DNA, and amino acids that are linked to the formation of life,” explained Belhadfa.

“This small asteroid has everything we need to understand where life comes from on Earth and potentially elsewhere in the solar system.”

Being an Amelia Earhart Fellow means Belhadfa will be funded for an extra six months to continue her DPhil studies.

“My work specifically looks at the samples that were returned from Bennu in the lab using spectroscopy, which basically means that I look at the mineral compositions of what was returned to us.

“I also link it back to the instruments that were collecting data on OSIRIS-REx at Bennu, so things like cameras and other spectrometers.

“And so being able to combine these two things is a really unique perspective and I think that that is one of the reasons why I was selected for the Amelia Earhart Fellowship.”

Thousands apply annually to the fellowship scheme. With few fellowships like it for women in the industry, the weight of the recognition is not lost on the Canadian.

“I think that there’s a huge importance to having a fellowship like this to support women in space sciences and aerospace,” Belhadfa reflected.

“Working in industry I was often the only woman on my team, the only woman in a group of maybe 20 people.

“And at one point it was a joke in one of my jobs that there were more people named Peter on our team than there were women.

“To be able to empower women both financially but also through a community really allows us to build a sense of belonging in a field where there aren’t that many of us.”

Prior to her time at Oxford, Emma worked at the Canadian Space Agency as a Systems Engineer and at Macdonald Detwiller and Associates as a Mission Specialist.

“I think that when I was starting out it required a lot of me sort of putting on horse blinders and just focusing on myself,” Belhadfa said.

“It was really difficult without any mentorship or role models.

“I hope to provide that for younger girls who are interested in joining space sciences.”

Alongside her DPhil studies, the Art History graduate teaches undergraduate students in her role at Oriel as a Graduate Teaching and Research Scholar, a position she has held since January 2025.

“Oriel has been an excellent support throughout this process,” Belhadfa smiled.

“The College has provided me with a lot of financial autonomy through the Graduate Teaching and Research Scholarship, which allows me to build my skills teaching and has provided me with housing benefits and research benefits that have allowed me to do the work that I have accomplished in order to get this fellowship.

“It’s a great honour to be able to represent Oriel and Oxford with this award.”