Vesna Milosevic-Zdjelar is a Serbian-born Canadian astrophysicist, science educator and author. Her specialty is teaching astrophysics to students enrolled in non-science programs at the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

Early career

Prior to teaching in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Vesna Milosevic-Zdjelar was an astrophysicist at the

Belgrade Observatory Belgrade Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in the eastern part of Belgrade, Serbia, in the natural environment of Zvezdara Forest. History Origin (1887–1891) In 1879, Milan Nedeljković (1857–1950) received a scholar ...

in Serbia. She immigrated to Canada in 1998 to escape the Nato bombing of her native country. Although her astrophysics qualifications were recognized by Canadian institutions, she decided to obtain a degree in science education as well. She began as a guest lecturer in physics at the

before being hired full time. Her husband is Nenad Zdjelar, a professional musician who also graduated with a teaching degree in Canada.

Career

Milosevic-Zdjelar teaches astronomy, concepts in science, and physics to non-science students at the

. She lectures in the Physics department and joined the staff in 2000. Her area of expertise is Astrophysics and her research interests are galactic astronomy and astrophysical cosmology. She has published at least ten peer reviewed articles, one co-authored with Serbian astronomer Milan M. Ćirković. Her article on galactic haloes has appeared in the prestigious journal

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in astronomy and astrophysics. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting orig ...

. The

Canadian Astronomical Society The Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA; french: link=yes, La Société Canadienne d'Astronomie) is a Canadian society of professional astronomers, founded in 1971 and incorporated in 1983. The society is devoted to the promotion and advanceme ...

lists her as one of their experts, specializing in astrobiology. Milosevic-Zdjelar co-authored Canada's first textbook on introductory astronomy, as part of the Astro learning series. In 2017, she spoke at the University of Winnipeg's TedX conference about overcoming our physical limitations in understanding the universe. According to the

, Milosevic-Zdjelar has contributed significantly in areas of science education, when applied to non-science students, as well as building community awareness through outreach programs. She is a coordinator of the local chapter of

Let's Talk Science Let’s Talk Science (French: Parlons sciences') is a registered Canadian charitable organization focused on education and skills development for children and youth in Canada through science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) based programs. ...

, a national award-winning organization which helps children and teens learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). She has visited schools in some of Winnipeg's poorest neighborhoods, introducing kids to scientific concepts. She wants her students to think beyond the confines of science class : “When you see the Earth from the International Space Station or you see it from the moon, there are no political boundaries. There’s nothing there – just us on a little pale blue dot, as Carl Sagan called it. We have to work together to keep it going.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milosevic-Zdjelar, Vesna Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian astrophysicists Canadian people of Serbian descent Canadian science writers Canadian women non-fiction writers Serbian emigrants to Canada Academic staff of University of Winnipeg Women astrophysicists