Sheila Kanani


Sheila Pearson commonly known as Sheila Kanani is a British astronomer and the Education, Outreach and Diversity Officer at the Royal Astronomical Society, who has presented programmes for the BBC.

Education

Sheila Kanani attended Wimbledon High School. 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 to search for exoplanets, at Jodrell Bank Observatory using pulsar astronomy. She attended a Space Camp in Houston, Texas. In 2012 she earned her PhD, which saw Kanani working with the Cassini spacecraft, analysing Saturn's magnetosphere from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory. Whilst there, she received a NASA Group Achievement Award.

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. She has hosted television programs for the BBC.
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', written with illustrator and graphic designer Sol Linero, was published by Nosy Crow in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award.