Dr. Jayanne English recipient of the 2021 Qilak Award

The Faculty of Science is thrilled to announce that Dr. Jayanne English, Department of Physics and Astronomy, at the University of Manitoba has been selected by the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) for the 2021 Qilak Award.

The Qilak Award for Astronomy Outreach and Communication recognizes individual Canadian residents, or teams of residents, who have made an outstanding contribution either to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy in Canada or to informal astronomy education in Canada.

Dr. Jayanne English, an expert in astronomy image-making has a unique background that includes education and experience in art and design, as well as astronomy. She worked on the Hubble Heritage Project during her postdoctoral years.  Currently, Dr. Jayanne English teaches, “The Art of Scientific Visualization (SCI 4000/PHYS 7440)” at the University of Manitoba.

Established in 2011, these Awards are given, one by each of the sponsoring organizations, with a common purpose and evaluation criteria. The sponsoring organizations of the Awards are CASCA, FAAQ and the RASC.

The CASCA award announcement:

CASCA is pleased to announce Dr. Jayanne English as the recipient of the 2021 Qilak Award. Dr. English obtained her PhD from Australian National University, and is currently an Associate Professor of Astronomy at the University of Manitoba. Over many decades, Dr. English has leveraged her prior training as an artist (at the Ontario College of Art and Design University) to build a unique outreach program that bridges art and science. She has promoted the use of artistic techniques and design to influence how astronomical images are constructed by both professional astronomers and amateur enthusiasts. During her two-year tenure as the coordinator for the Hubble Heritage Project, she led the production of some of the most iconic Hubble Space Telescope images, many of which have had billions of views. Combining optical data with radio observations, Dr. English was recently awarded a 2nd Place National Radio Astronomy Observatory 2020 Visualization Award for her stunning composite HST-VLA image of the galaxy NGC 5775. In collaboration with composer Nicole Lizee, she produced “Colliding Galaxies: Colours and Tones”, a unique integration of astronomy and electronic music. By designing and teaching courses such as “The Art of Scientific Visualization”, Dr. English has also trained a next generation of astronomical visualization experts, guaranteeing that her work will have a multiplicative effect on the broader community.

CASCA is delighted to recognize Dr. Jayanne English’s efforts with this award.