Sheila Pearson (née Kanani) is a British

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and the Education, Outreach and Diversity Officer at the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

Education

Sheila Kanani attended

Wimbledon High School Wimbledon High School is an independent girls' day school in Wimbledon, South West London. It is a Girls' Day School Trust school and is a member of the Girls' Schools Association. History Wimbledon High School was founded by the Girls' Publ ...

. She studied Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, which she graduated from in 2006. Kanani completed several summer placements, working in Australia using the

Parkes telescope Parkes Observatory is a radio astronomy observatory, located north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It hosts Murriyang, the 64 m CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope also known as "The Dish", along with two smaller radio telescopes. T ...

to search for

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

s, at

Jodrell Bank Observatory Jodrell Bank Observatory () in Cheshire, England, hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astron ...

using

pulsar A pulsar (from ''pulsating radio source'') is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles. This radiation can be observed only when a beam of emission is pointing toward Ea ...

astronomy. She attended a Space Camp in Houston, Texas. In 2012 she earned her PhD, which saw Kanani working with the

Cassini spacecraft Cassini may refer to: People * Cassini (surname) * Oleg Cassini (1913-2006), American fashion designer :Cassini family: * Giovanni Domenico Cassini (1625–1712), Italian mathematician, astronomer, engineer, and astrologer * Jacques Cassini (1 ...

, analysing

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior dynam ...

from the

Mullard Space Science Laboratory The UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) is the United Kingdom's largest university space research group. MSSL is part of the Department of Space and Climate Physics at University College London (UCL), one of the first universities in the ...

. Whilst there, she received a

NASA Group Achievement Award The NASA Group Achievement Award (GAA) is an award given by NASA to groups of government or non-government personnel in recognition of group accomplishments contributing to NASA's mission. The criteria for earning the Group Achievement Award are ...

Career

Kanani spent five years as an astronomer. 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. That year, she won the Inspiring Women in Technology award. She has always been interested in public engagement with astronomy. She has become a regular face in the national discussion of science. Kanani is dedicated to improving the representation of girls and women in physics. In 2017, she wrote an astronomy guide with ''Elle'' Magazine. She is identifying new ways to take astronomy and physics to underrepresented communities. 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 Nosy Crow is an independent children's publisher, based in London. The company was founded in 2010 by Kate Wilson, formerly MD of Macmillan Children’s Books and Group MD of Scholastic UK Ltd, Adrian Soar, formerly Book Publishing CEO of Mac ...

in 2019 and was shortlisted for the

Blue Peter Book Award The Blue Peter Book Awards were a set of literary awards for children's books conferred by the BBC television programme '' Blue Peter''. They were inaugurated in 2000 for books published in 1999. The Awards have been managed by reading charity, ...

. Kanani was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to astronomy and diversity in physics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanani, Sheila Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century British astronomers British women physicists Alumni of the University of Manchester Planetary scientists Women planetary scientists Members of the Order of the British Empire