#211 Award-winning Astronomer Shanil Virani

“Star light, star bright, The first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight.” Our Universe is expansive and one place that is depicted on 🎥 I’m over the moon to announce that Shanil Varni as my guest for 3/25/21 at 7pm live on “The E-Spot With Camille!” Shanil is an award-winning astronomer, educator, former Director of the John C. Wells Planetarium, podcast host of “Our Island Universe” and author of “Daughters of The Stars!” “How do you become something you don't see? We say science is for everyone but sometimes our words, our caricatures, and our actions suggest something else. The only prerequisite to thinking like a scientist is remaining curious about the natural world and continuing to ask the question WHY! “ We will chat about the importance of showing women and girls opportunities in STEAM careers on Film and TV. We will breakdown a few sci-fi films... what they got right and wrong, and so much more. Film after film film (and TV) shows our girls and women that women. Shanil is part of a group holding fundamental science misconceptions about the natural world. Shanil is a father, and has seen first hand the “white space” You can’t be, what you can’t see. More about “Daughters of the Stars:” “What do we lose when we lose the night? “Daughter of the Stars” explores the beauty of the night sky and how these views, once so common in most of America just two generations ago, has all but vanished. Light pollution — the overuse and misuse of artificial light at night — has erased stars from our night sky. Does it matter? In this photo book, explore stunning images of the Milky Way, deep sky objects, and other celestial objects that have mesmerized our ancestors for millennia. We also explore how we can mitigate light pollution and bring back the night. more about Shanil: Shanil is an award-winning astronomer, a passionate science educator, creator/host of Our Island Universe, & co-author of Daughter of the Stars, a photo-book about light pollution and the loss of night. Shanil earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Honours Physics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy at the University of Waterloo. He did his graduate work at Yale University where he studied supermassive black holes lurking at the centers of galaxies in the nearby and distant Universe. He was awarded the 2009 Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Award medal by the American Astronomical Society for exemplary research as a graduate student. Prior to Yale, Shanil spent 5+ years at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics as part of the Science Team of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA's flagship, space-based, X-ray mission. While at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, he received 10 NASA Achievement Awards or awards of distinction from The Smithsonian Institution for his contributions to the operations of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In 2013, he was appointed a Solar System Ambassador by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Solar System Ambassadors communicate the excitement of JPL's space exploration missions and information about recent discoveries to people in their local communities. In Fall of 2017, Shanil was nominated for James Madison University's Distinguished Teacher Award. He has authored or co-authored over 100 publications in scientific journals that have been cited more than 3,000 times. Learn More about Shanil: https://www.shanilv.com/