We are so excited to share with you all that our little team is evolving and growing! We recently hired two new part-time staff members to help us with rolling out the programming we’ve got planned for this year ahead.
Most of our projects for 2023-24 will be focused around the Total Solar Eclipse that we will be experiencing in eastern Canada next spring (more information on that here). These two amazing women will be helping us create engaging and information content, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to benefit from their talents.
We thought it might be best to let them introduce themselves! So without further ado, here’s a word from Alicia and Daniella!
ALICIA sAVELLI
Hi! I'm Alicia and I've just joined Discover the Universe. I'm currently finishing up my first year in the astronomy & astrophysics PhD program at the University of Toronto and I'm really excited to be starting in this position. I initially studied at Brock University to be a high school math and physics teacher, and even spent a year teaching at a secondary school in the UK. I loved sharing my passion for science with my students, but teaching them made me realize how badly I wanted to keep learning myself. I returned to Brock to take some additional physics courses and get some research experience, and now I'm here! My research so far has been in relativity (specifically warp drives) and galaxies/THE Galaxy. My new position here at Discover the Universe has me creating educational resources for teachers across Canada. I am very excited to be combining my passions for astronomy and teaching in this way! Unfortunately, astronomy can be a daunting topic for teachers due to lack of resources and information available. I am eager to help bridge this gap!
Daniella Morrone
As a recent graduate from the astronomy bachelor's program at the University of Toronto, the last five years of my life were mostly spent learning and investigating astronomy concepts. I learned about planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe at large; I worked on several research projects exploring these concepts and volunteered in several programs bringing the concepts to the public. During this time, I worked to define what it meant to “be an astronomer” and where I fit into that definition. Early on in my degree, I thought there was only one way to satisfy this definition: get the degrees, do the research, be in academia. Through courses and outreach opportunities, this thought was swiftly debunked, and as time progressed, my understanding of what being an astronomer meant changed; I met colleagues in science communication who are astronomers, students in introductory astronomy courses who are astronomers, friends and family members that come stargazing with me who are astronomers. I soon learned that anyone with an interest in astronomy can be an astronomer. As I start my position at Discover the Universe, I look forward to providing the public with sufficient resources such that each and every one of you can define what being an astronomer means to you.