Jayanne English studied physics and astronomy from the age of 29. She had discovered that an undergraduate degree was not sufficient for her to become a research astronomer so she went on to do a PhD.
“For the 10 years of education I did something I loved, and for five of graduate school I was paid to do it in an exotic location in Australia,” she said.
English was almost 40 when she obtained her doctorate and, at 46, she was hired as an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada.
On her sabbatical between 2008 and 2009, she was awarded visiting scholarships at the Australia Telescope National Facility (CSIRO), the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University, the College of Fine Arts, the University of New South Wales, and in the physics department at Nottingham-Trent University in England.
What sparked your interest in science?
When I switched to junior high school, I checked out all the astronomy books our library had. I was kept enthusiastic by the Apollo moon programme, Star Trek and science fiction novels, as well as Scientific American.
Was there a particular event or person who persuaded you to pursue a career in your specific field?
I like almost every topic in astronomy and talked to many astronomers about what would be best to study. In the end, I understood that selecting the right supervisor was more important than selecting a topic. Fortunately, Professor Ken Freeman [at the Australian National University] accepted me as a graduate student and he suggested a few projects from which I picked one that suited me perfectly.
What is your field of science all about?
I study the material between the stars, the gas in galaxies, including our own Milky Way. Stars form out of this gas, but I observe the gas in order to study motion in a galaxy. We can see how galaxies are rotating and how they interact with each other. Using these studies, I contribute to our knowledge about dark matter and the evolution of galaxies, how they form and change with time.
I have developed software that models the gas layer in galaxies that are viewed edge-on. This software will be very useful for the upcoming observations made with new radio telescopes such as Australia’s ASKAP and South Africa’s MeerKAT.
How can young people get involved in your area of specialisation?
They can join amateur astronomy groups such as the Royal Astronomical Society. Locally they can join the South African Astronomical Observatory based at the Cape of Good Hope, formally called Royal Observatory.
In Canada, we also have an education website with activities such as a junior astronomer programme: www.cascaeducation.ca/files/index.html.
Art and astronomy seem far apart, how can you explain the link?
Artists and scientists have practices that are quite similar. The scientist takes observations, makes a guess at a theory and tests it with more observations. An artist, say a painter, makes a guess that a brush stroke is going to have a certain effect on a composition and tests that guess by making that stroke and seeing the effect. Also, astronomy is a visual science — we study images intensely. To make these images sufficiently striking to pique the public’s interest, you can use techniques from art such as composition and colour theory.
You can learn more about this by going to my website.
You can read articles at the Jayanne’s Portfolio link or learn how to colourise data via YouTube videos at Jayanne English’s visualisation “Jayanne’s Portfolio” link or learn how to colourise data via YouTube video at Jayanne English’s Visualisation Website.
How significant would you say colour is to the teaching of science?
This really depends on the science. It’s rather like asking how important water is to the teaching of science.
What do you do when you are not working?
I make artworks such as the new media piece Seeing Is Believing: Experiment 1: Photography. I do public outreach, make images, give talks to the public, do radio interviews, and I cook and travel.
What is your message to science teachers and learners?
Being a scientist is an exciting and rewarding vocation. It is collaborative and social, you make friends all over the world. It provides many great opportunities to travel. You have an enormous amount of freedom in organising your time and eventually in designing your own research projects. Astronomy allows you to be exceedingly creative.