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Sheila Kanani

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Sheila Kanani
MBE
Kanani at Bright Club London in 2011
Alma materUniversity of Manchester University College London
OrganizationRoyal Astronomical Society
Known forAstronomy Science Communication

Sheila Pearson MBE (née Kanani) is a British astronomer and the Education, Outreach and Diversity Officer at the Royal Astronomical Society.

Education

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Kanani attended Wimbledon High School in South London.[1] She studied Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, which she graduated from in 2006.[1] Kanani completed several summer placements, working in Australia using the Parkes telescope to search for exoplanets, at Jodrell Bank Observatory using pulsar astronomy.[2] She attended a Space Camp in Houston, Texas.[3] In 2012 she earned her PhD, which saw Kanani working with the Cassini spacecraft, analysing Saturn's magnetosphere from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory.[4][5][6][7] Whilst there, she received a NASA Group Achievement Award.[8][9]

Career

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Kanani spent five years as an astronomer.[10] She briefly became a school physics teacher at Ashton Community Science College in Preston, Lancashire, under head of science Gary Anderton, before taking up her post at the Royal Astronomical Society in 2014.[11] That year, she won the Inspiring Women in Technology award.[12] She has always been interested in public engagement with astronomy.[13][14] She has become a regular face in the national discussion of science.[15][16][17][18][19][20]

Kanani is dedicated to improving the representation of girls and women in physics.[21][22][23][24] In 2017, she wrote an astronomy guide with Elle Magazine.[25] She is identifying new ways to take astronomy and physics to underrepresented communities.[26][27] Her children's book, 'How To Be An Astronaut and Other Space Jobs', illustrated by illustrator and graphic designer Sol Linero, was published by Nosy Crow in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award.[28]

Kanani wrote ‘Can you GET Jellyfish in SPACE?’, illustrated by Liz Kay, published by Puffin Books for World Book Day 2024.[1]

Kanani was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to astronomy and diversity in physics.[29]

Personal life

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Kanani lives in Lytham St Annes.[30]

She is married and has two children.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Profile - Space Zone". Space Zone. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  2. ^ "PhD Opportunities". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Interview: Sheila Kanani | SpaceCareers.uk". SpaceCareers.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  4. ^ "A Day in the Life of Dr Sheila Kanani". One Giant Read. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  5. ^ "The Newsletter - Volume 10, Issue 2" (PDF). MULLARD SPACE SCIENCE LABORATORY. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2018.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ SJ, Kanani (28 August 2012). Saturn's magnetosphere: influences, interactions and dynamics. discovery.ucl.ac.uk (Doctoral). Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  7. ^ Kanani, S. J.; Arridge, C. S.; Jones, G. H.; Fazakerley, A. N.; McAndrews, H. J.; Sergis, N.; Krimigis, S. M.; Dougherty, M. K.; Coates, A. J. (1 June 2010). "A new form of Saturn's magnetopause using a dynamic pressure balance model, based on in situ, multi-instrument Cassini measurements" (PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 115 (A6): A06207. Bibcode:2010JGRA..115.6207K. doi:10.1029/2009JA014262. hdl:2027.42/95429. ISSN 0148-0227.
  8. ^ "The Newsletter - Volume 7, Issue 2" (PDF). Mullard Space Science Laboratory. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  9. ^ Pryor, Wayne R.; Rymer, Abigail M.; Mitchell, Donald G.; Hill, Thomas W.; Young, David T.; Saur, Joachim; Jones, Geraint H.; Jacobsen, Sven; Cowley, Stan W. H. (April 2011). "The auroral footprint of Enceladus on Saturn". Nature. 472 (7343): 331–333. Bibcode:2011Natur.472..331P. doi:10.1038/nature09928. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 21512570. S2CID 205224415.
  10. ^ "5 Minutes with… Sheila Kanani, Astronomer, Royal Astronomical Society - Principia Space Diary". Principia Space Diary. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  11. ^ Bowler, Dr Sue. "A day in the life of ... Sheila Kanani". Astronomy & Geophysics. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  12. ^ THOMPSON, PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIRSTY. "Preston teacher Sheila Kanani wins Inspiring Women Technology Award". Lancashire Life. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  13. ^ Newton, Source (23 November 2012). "Exploring Saturn and the scale of the solar system - video". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  14. ^ Interstellar, Icarus (31 January 2018). "Icarus Interstellar, Interstellar flight, | Icarus Interstellar". Icarus Interstellar. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Catch a falling star | The Salvation Army". www.salvationarmy.org.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Perseid meteor shower: See the meteors in the sky and online". Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  17. ^ "Science Talk - Celebrating women in science, drug discovery and computing - The Institute of Cancer Research, London". www.icr.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  18. ^ "Ada Lovelace Day 2016 - UCL Engineering". www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Cassini on its final dive towards Saturn". euronews. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  20. ^ euronews (in English) (12 September 2017), Enceladus explained by Sheila Kanani, from the Royal Astronomical Society, retrieved 31 January 2018
  21. ^ "Accenture Girls' Take-up of Stem Subjects Is Held Back by Stereotypes". www.accenture.com. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  22. ^ "STEM subjects still subject to gender stereotype". Education Technology. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Sheila Kanani". www.destinationspace.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  24. ^ "5 Minutes with… Sheila Kanani, Astronomer, Royal Astronomical Society - Principia Space Diary". Principia Space Diary. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  25. ^ "The Cheat's Guide To Stargazing - Impress All Your Friends This Summer". ELLE UK. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  26. ^ "Q&A: Sheila KananiQ&A: Sheila Kanani". Astronomy & Geophysics. 56 (1): 1.39. 1 February 2015. doi:10.1093/astrogeo/atv031. ISSN 1366-8781.
  27. ^ "A Day in the Life of Dr Sheila Kanani". One Giant Read. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  28. ^ "Blue Peter Book Awards 2020". BookTrust. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  29. ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N23.
  30. ^ Bennett, Julia (16 August 2022). "Royal Astronomical Society's planetary physicist Dr Sheila Kanani features in Women in Uniform project to break down gender barriers". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
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