Professor Evgenya Shkolnik: Professor of Astrophysics

Professor Evgenya Shkolnik is a professor of astrophysics at Arizona State University, where she teaches and researches stars and exoplanets. Professor Shkolnik has a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Dalhousie University, an M.S. in Astronomy from University of British Columbia, and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from there as well.

I was introduced to Professor Shkolnik during my participation in the Jerusalem Science Contest, an annual science competition that has a different theme every year. The theme during my Junior year was astronomy. As I worked on my contest entry, a research project on the characteristics of the formation of stars, I knew I wanted to learn more, and as a fan of science (and science fiction), I thought it would be interesting to interview someone who spends her day solving problems in space.

My interview with Professor Shkolnik took place by Zoom in December 2020.

Professor Shkonik, what do you do on a typical day in your job?

As a professor, my time is split in a few different ways. Mostly, I do research. I study whatever I want to study, which is the best part of being a professor and a researcher. I spend about 70% of my time doing research. At the moment, I am studying stars and exoplanets and their UV (ultraviolet) environments, since ultraviolet light can be quite damaging to the planets and life on planets. I’ve been working on that for a few years now, along with things that are associated with collecting data, such as building telescopes. I spend about 30% of my time teaching, which is really fun, even during COVID times when we are all on zoom. I get to connect with people more on zoom and teach what I think is important for students to leave ASU with.

Another part of my day is spent helping to drive the broader community in a direction that I think it should go. For instance, sitting on committees to hire the next dean or director, giving talks at conferences in order to share my research or my vision.

It's a really diverse job, so every day is a little different. Before COVID hit, I spent a lot of time at telescopes around the world, and that was great fun, but now with technology, it is easier just to call in or remotely control the telescope by the internet. I still do love going to the telescope when I have the opportunity to do that. Also, I am working on building a couple of satellite observatories (telescopes that would be in space) because I need to observe ultraviolet, which can’t be observed from the ground because Earth’s atmosphere absorbs most of the ultraviolet. So if you want to look at stars or planets in the ultraviolet, you have to go above the atmosphere.

Was this something you always wanted to do and how did you get involved in this field specifically?

I have always been interested in science, and definitely became more interested in physics throughout high school. I did my undergraduate degree in physics and math. When I was a physics undergraduate, in 1995, exoplanets were discovered–at least the most popular ones were reported on the radio then and it was very exciting to me. I realized that I wanted to study these exoplanets (planets around other stars) more than I wanted to be in a basement physics laboratory, which I also enjoyed. I thought exoplanets were just so exciting, because it wasn’t just about us on Earth or our solar system or a single sun, but rather many more planets. I then did my master’s degree in Astronomy, but I wasn’t totally 100% sure if I wanted to make this big switch, since I didn’t know any astronomy. But thankfully astronomy is just an application of physics, so it wasn’t a very hard transition. I did a masters degree up in Canada, which is something you have to do before you do a PhD, and then I continued on with my PhD.

Do you have a favorite project that you have worked on?

Well, I try to only work on the things that I love. I really don’t work on things that I find boring, so everything that I do is important to the bigger picture, which is to understand the distribution of habitable worlds in our galaxy. And so that is answering many questions: What are the stars like? What are the planets like? How do they evolve through time? What are they like at the time that they are born? What are they like when they are 10 billion years old? So everything I do, as varied as it is, feeds into that one big question. So given that I have enough interesting topics to work on, I rarely work on anything boring. It’s hard to pick one favorite, since they are all a part of a bigger puzzle.

Have you ever felt that you weren’t capable of doing any of this or that it was too hard? What did you do to overcome that feeling?

Oh sure, I’ve definitely felt that. Impostor syndrome is a very classic thing, in both men and women in science–probably everyone feels that way at some point in their lives. Certainly I did, but I had this great trick from my husband. He told me to look at your resume or your CV and switch it to someone else's name. Would you think they’re impressive? Why would you look at your same experience and education any differently than you would anyone else's? You can listen to the people around you and the messages they’re giving you. Maybe your parents are telling you that you’re the best thing in the world, because they’re your parents and they have to say that! But I’m sure they have the greatest faith in you, or else they wouldn’t have such high expectations. So I would just believe it. Believe the positive things the world is telling you. And when the world tells you something negative, then you have to assess where it’s really coming from. Is it coming from someone else’s insecurities, like bullying, or is it coming from tough competition? The world gives you messages - both positive and negative - and you have to work to figure out which to believe and which not to believe.

Do you have any advice for young women who want to go into STEM?

I would not listen to society’s expectations of young women. I had very supportive parents who taught me I could do anything. I would just try to find what interests you most, because ultimately, if you have the ability, training, motivation, and persistence to do science and research, then the opportunities are wide open for you. Ultimately, if you are working on something you are not interested in, or working with people who are not fun and encouraging to work with, then that is just going to stifle your progress. You are not going to want to go to work if you don’t enjoy it, and so ultimately, it is about choosing the right research, environment, or school that will be a place you want to go to every day.

Some takeaways:

• Being a professor can allow for a great deal of freedom in choosing what to research. Spending 70% or your time on researching what interests you is very appealing.

• Professor Shkolnik is clearly passionate about her job. I hope to find a field that I am equally passionate about.

• Talking to her, I am motivated to continue my astronomy experience, and would be open to continuing to learn more when I am in college.

• It was a little intimidating, speaking to someone who has accomplished so much! She and her team literally discovered planets. I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to talk to her despite how busy she is.