Sara Ellison facts for kids

Sara Ellison is a professor who studies Astronomy at the University of Victoria. She explores how galaxies grow and change, especially when they merge. She also looks at the chemistry of galaxies and active galactic nuclei, which are super bright centers of some galaxies.

Sara Ellison's Journey in Astronomy

Early Inspiration and Education

Sara Ellison became interested in astronomy because of one of her teachers. This teacher was also an astronomer. Sara was the only student in her physics class at a small, all-girls school. She finished her schoolwork quickly. This gave her extra time to talk about astronomy with her teacher.

In 1993, Sara started studying Physics and Space Science. She went to the University of Kent in England. She earned her master's degree in Physics there in 1997. After that, she continued her studies at the University of Cambridge. She received her PhD in Astronomy in 2000.

Career and Research

After finishing her PhD, Sara worked in Chile for three years. She was an ESO fellow. In 2003, she joined the University of Victoria in Canada. She started as an Assistant Professor. That same year, she became a Canada Research Chair. This is a special award for new researchers from the Canadian government.

She became an Associate Professor in 2008. Then, in 2014, she became a full Professor at the University of Victoria.

What Sara Ellison Studies

Quasars and Galaxy Evolution

Sara Ellison's main research looks at two things. She studies absorption lines in quasar spectra. Quasars are very bright objects far away in space. She also studies how the environment affects how galaxies change over time.

Her work on quasars helps her understand the chemistry of gas in space. This gas is found along the path of light from quasars. She studies things like Damped Lyman-alpha systems and the Lyman-alpha forest.

Galaxy Interactions

Much of Sara's recent work focuses on galaxies that are close together. She uses information from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. By studying these close galaxy pairs, she investigates how galaxies interacting with each other affects their growth.

Beyond Astronomy

Science Outreach and Hobbies

Besides her astronomy work, Sara Ellison has been involved in science outreach since 1992. This means she helps share science with the public. She appeared on a radio show called Quirks & Quarks. On the show, she answered questions about where lunar landings happened.

In 2015, she talked to the Vancouver Sun newspaper. She shared how she first became interested in astronomy. When she is not working, Sara enjoys painting. She uses acrylic paints on stretched canvas. She is also a talented amateur athlete. She has run marathons, including the Boston Marathon. She has also won awards in running and triathlons for her age group.

Awards and Honors

Sara Ellison has received many awards for her work:

• 2020-2022: President of the Canadian Astronomical Society.
• 2018-2020: Vice President of the Canadian Astronomical Society.
• 2015: Became a member of the Royal Society of Canada's College for New Scholars.
• 2014: Won the Royal Society of Canada Rutherford Memorial medal in physics.
• 2009: Received the Faculty of Science excellence in research award.
• 2007: Awarded an NSERC Discovery Accelerator grant.
• 2004: Was the Ovenden lecturer for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
• 2004: Won the American Astronomical Society Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy.
• 2001: Was a runner-up for the Royal Astronomical Society PhD thesis prize.