SHE has travelled from Fife to the stars, building her career from her Scottish roots to joining the team of scientific advisers chosen by President Barack Obama.
Eminent astronomer Professor Anneila Sargent has even had the accolade of having an asteroid named after her.
She is now returning to Edinburgh University, where she started her science career studying physics, to deliver a keynote address to mark International Women's Day.
The message these days, she says, is less radical than in the 1960s and 1970s and there are more chances to be had, but everyone should be tenacious and resolute if they want to climb the ladder.
Speaking ahead of the address today, she recalled a time when government saw study as a male provision.
"At one stage when a woman (studying) got married the government would not give grant because the husband would fund her," she said.
Ms Sargent said that with a broader spectrum of education now available women should keep their options open to science and not give up.
Her comments come after one study found girls still lack confidence in pursuing high-paid careers in science and technology, even when their school results are as good or better than boys.
The think-tank Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said academic success for young women did not translate into economic advantage in their career, on average earning 15 per cent less than men.
She said: "I think everyone especially young women should be open to opportunity.
"It might not be the opportunity that you have chosen.
"And persevere gently."
The former President of the American Astronomical Society has built up a strong scientific reputation internationally, most notably in the field of star formation.
She has also written extensively on the possibility of other life forms existing beyond our solar system and said earlier that she leaned "to the view that it is more likely to be yes".
After studying at Edinburgh University, Ms Sargent completed a PhD at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), becoming Professor of Astronomy there in 1998.
She was presented with the NASA Public Service Medal in 1998 and now sits on the US National Science Board, the team advising Congress and US President Obama.
During the lecture she will draw from her own experiences to discuss the challenges women may face when entering a career in science, offering suggestions on how greater opportunities might open up in the future.
The Burntisland-raised professor was presented with the University of Edinburgh's Alumnus of the Year Award in 2002 and received an honorary doctorate from the University in 2008.
Previous speakers at the university's International Women's Day lectures include Olympic gold medallist Katherine Grainger and the best-selling novelist Dr Phillipa Gregory.
During her visit Professor Sargent is also due to speak to school children offering advice and encouraging them to consider a future career in science and technology.
International Women's Day started in 1911 to recognise the economic, social and political achievements of women and thousands of events are now held around the world.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article