Photo caption: Associate Professor Samantha Lawler enjoyed a star-studded experience as an Erskine Fellow at the University of Canterbury.
Samantha Lawler, an Associate Professor of Astronomy at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada, was hosted by Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) as an Erskine Fellow earlier this year.
She says swapping a Canadian winter for late summer in New Zealand and getting to work with her friend and collaborator at UC, Associate Professor Michele Bannister, made her sabbatical year “amazing”.
During her visit, Associate Professor Lawler was sponsored by the Royal Astronomical Society to carry out the Beatrice Tinsley lecture tour at amateur astronomy clubs around New Zealand.
Beatrice Hill Tinsley was a New Zealand astronomer (and UC Master of Science graduate) who helped shape understanding of how galaxies form and evolve.
During her stay Associate Professor Lawler gave lectures in 13 different cities around New Zealand. Along the way she says she met many people who “truly love the night sky”.
“It was really great education work, and I saw the best southern hemisphere night skies of my entire life – the night sky in Tekapo was particularly memorable.
“My lecture was "Astronomy vs the Billionaire Space Race", in which I talked about all the ways satellite pollution is changing the night sky and the atmosphere worldwide, making orbital operations for satellites more dangerous.
“It also covered my own personal experiences of watching the weird world of international space law play out when farmers in Saskatchewan found pieces of SpaceX spacecraft on the ground.”
She says her time in New Zealand was “incredibly full and intense”. “I learned a lot about slightly different ways of teaching beginner astronomy courses, incorporating Māori traditional knowledge and environmental immersion, which I will definitely take back to my university and incorporate into my own teaching techniques.”
Associate Professor Lawler also made excellent connections in the UC astronomy research group including a new research collaboration with atmospheric chemist Associate Professor Laura Revell.
Her advice to other academics considering applying for an Erskine Fellowship is: “Do it! But maybe don’t try to give lectures in quite as many cities quite as fast as I did. If I had been in New Zealand for four months instead of two, that would have been a perfect trip.”
UC’s Erskine Programme awards fellowships that enable world-leading academics to come and lecture at UC, sharing their expertise with students and staff. Find out more here.
Associate Professor Samantha Lawler with ‘space junk’.
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