Dr Hirst is an assistant professor in semiconductor materials and nanofabrication, at the University of Cambridge, jointly between the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy and the Department of Physics. She obtained her PhD at Imperial College London, before becoming a National Academy of Sciences Research Associate, Karles Fellow and Staff Scientist within the Optoelectronics and Radiation Effects Branch of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC. She established the Space PV group at the University of Cambridge in 2018 and her current research focuses on photovoltaics for space power applications, light management in ultra-thin photovoltaics and novel fabrication methods for optoelectronic materials, which underlying many of today's technology products.