Alumna Dr. Ilana MacDonald ‘08: “Knowing where we fit in the universe”
 

Alumna Dr. Ilana MacDonald ‘08: “Knowing where we fit in the universe”

Ilana’s journey into the STEM world started around the age of 9 when her father bought a giant telescope measuring 16 inches in diameter and 6 feet long. Living in the Eastern Townships and having a clear and dark view of the night sky, looking through the telescope is what truly sparked her interest in the world of astrophysics. While she attended Alexander-Galt Regional High School, there was a program for students whose grades were above average, where they could select a field trip of their choosing. Ilana chose to meet with professors from Bishop’s University, where she got to talk about science with Faculty members of the Physics Department who left quite an impression on her. But it was really while riding the bus with a friend, that a discussion, about the concept of black holes, curved gravity, relativity and how time slows down in space, significantly fueled her excitement. It was that day that she decided that she wanted to be an astronomer who studied black holes.

After deciding to pursue a career in physics and astronomy, she delved into works of popular science, such as Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, and Richard Feynman’s Six Easy Pieces. She later discovered astronomer and science communicator Carl Sagan who wrote the book Contact. The film adaptation of this book, and seeing a woman doing astronomy, further inspired her to continue this path.

She applied to a few universities and was offered scholarships from both Queen’s University and Bishop’s University. After exploring all factors, she opted to stay at Bishop’s to be close to home and save money. Being surrounded by great Physics educators, Ilana was able to obtain one on one attention from world-class scientists. Had she decided to select a big university, she feels she wouldn’t have received the same treatment and opportunities. Before even starting her undergrad at Bishop’s, she was hired as a summer research assistant by Dr. Lorne Nelson to work in the Physics laboratory. Ilana got the opportunity to gain experience in research which was instrumental in her acceptance to the PhD program in Astronomy at the University of Toronto. She completed three years of summer research, and during this time she was able to participate in the public astronomy nighttime events and to manipulate the telescope at the Bishop’s Astronomical Observatory. Being able to work with the public is something she really enjoyed doing.

At the University of Toronto, she did her PhD with Harald Pfeiffer studying the ripples in spacetime from two black holes spiraling around each other, which we call gravitational waves. When she started her studies to become an astronomer, she was certain she wanted to follow a traditional academic path that would lead to becoming a post-doctoral fellow, and eventually a professor at a university doing astronomical research. Ilana discovered through her PhD that research wasn’t for her. Ilana stated that during her graduate studies, “[she] lost track of the big picture”. During her graduate career, she found that she mostly enjoyed the non-research activities, such as teaching, running the monthly public lecture series called AstroTours, and giving planetarium shows much more than she enjoyed the research she was supposed to be doing. After graduating in 2013, she worked a variety of part-time jobs, including consulting on an astronomy documentary, tutoring math, and running outreach activities for the Math Department at the University of Toronto.

Currently, Ilana is working for the Astronomy Department at the University of Toronto in course administration, where she manages the largest Astronomy courses in Canada with an enrollment of 1500 students. She also works part-time at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics as the Outreach Coordinator. Coordinating astronomy outreach activities and communicating astronomy to the public is her dream job and eventually, she hopes to do it full-time. For Dunlap, she works on multiple projects, such as creating a web series called “Cosmos from your Couch”, which allows her to use her creativity to express her passion for astronomy. She also runs one of the most well-attended astronomy pub nights called Astronomy on Tap Toronto, hosts visits to the downtown UofT observatory, runs an online trivia night, regularly gives lectures to the public, and is preparing activities for the 2024 solar eclipse.

When asked what legacy Ilana hopes to leave; she answered that “it’s not about leaving something physical behind, but more about inspiring other people to pursue their goals and dreams.” She hopes that someone, someday, will come up and tell her, it was because of her they decided to go into astrophysics.

Ilana wants to tell the next generation of female STEM students: “Know that you’re as good as anyone else, despite what others might say. Don’t let the voices in your head and out in the world tell you otherwise because they’re wrong. It is important to know that even though it’s not always easy, you’ll eventually be exactly where you’re supposed to be as long as you follow your passion.”

Joannie St-Germain M.Sc. for the Research Office at Bishop’s University

 “For all our failings, despite our limitations and fallibilities, we humans are capable of greatness.” ― Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space