# Sara Ellison

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**Sara Ellison** is an [Astronomy](/source/Astronomy) Professor at [University of Victoria](/source/University_of_Victoria).[1] Her work involves observational [extragalactic astronomy](/source/Extragalactic_astronomy), [galaxy mergers](/source/Galaxy_merger) and evolution, galactic chemistry and [active galactic nuclei](/source/Active_galactic_nucleus).[2]

## Background and education

Ellison was inspired to study astronomy by a teacher who was also an astronomer. The only student in a physics class in her small, all-girls school, Ellison finished the standard curriculum quickly and spent the remainder of class time discussing astronomy with her teacher.[3]

Ellison enrolled in physics and space science at the [University of Kent](/source/University_of_Kent) in 1993 and received her [MSc](/source/Master_of_Science) degree in physics at this university in 1997. She went on to earn her [PhD](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy) degree in astronomy from [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge) in 2000. After finishing her graduate studies, she worked as an [ESO](/source/European_Southern_Observatory) fellow in Chile for three years, and then joined the faculty of the University of Victoria as an assistant professor in 2003.[4][5] The same year, she was selected as [Canada Research Chair](/source/Canada_Research_Chair) (Tier II), a grant given to extraordinary emerging researchers by the Canadian government. In 2008, she became an associate professor and in 2014 a full professor at the University of Victoria.[4]

## Research

The main themes of Ellison's research are studying absorption lines in [quasar](/source/Quasar) spectra and studying the effects of environment on galaxy evolution.[2] Her quasar work has focused on studying the chemistry of gas along the line-of-sight to quasars such as [Damped Lyman-alpha systems](/source/Damped_Lyman-alpha_system)[6] and the [Lyman-alpha forest](/source/Lyman-alpha_forest).[7] Much of Ellison's most recent work has focused on using close pairs of galaxies in the [Sloan Digital Sky Survey](/source/Sloan_Digital_Sky_Survey) to investigate how galaxy interactions affect galaxy evolution.[8][9]

## Personal

In addition to her work in astronomy, Ellison has been involved in science outreach since 1992.[10] She appeared on CBC Radio's *[Quirks & Quarks](/source/Quirks_%26_Quarks)* to answer questions about lunar landing sites.[11] In a 2015 interview with the *[Vancouver Sun](/source/Vancouver_Sun)*, she spoke about how she got interested in astronomy.[3] Her hobbies include painting on stretched canvas in acrylics.[12] An accomplished amateur athlete, Ellison has a [Boston Qualifying marathon](/source/Boston_Marathon#Qualifying) time and age group wins in both running and triathlon.[13]

## Honours and awards

- 2021: [Canadian Astronomical Society](/source/Canadian_Astronomical_Society) Peter G. Martin Award for mid-career achievement[14]
- 2020-2022: President, [Canadian Astronomical Society](/source/Canadian_Astronomical_Society)[15]
- 2018-2020: Vice President, [Canadian Astronomical Society](/source/Canadian_Astronomical_Society)[15]
- 2015: Elected member of the [Royal Society of Canada](/source/Royal_Society_of_Canada)'s College for New Scholars[4]
- 2014: Royal Society of Canada Rutherford Memorial medal in physics[16]
- 2009: Faculty of Science excellence in research award[17]
- 2007: [NSERC](/source/NSERC) Discovery Accelerator grant
- 2004: [Royal Astronomical Society of Canada](/source/Royal_Astronomical_Society_of_Canada) Ovenden lecturer
- 2004: [American Astronomical Society](/source/American_Astronomical_Society) [Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy](/source/Annie_Jump_Cannon_Award_in_Astronomy)
- 2001: [Royal Astronomical Society](/source/Royal_Astronomical_Society) PhD thesis prize (runner-up)

## References

1. ["Sara Ellison - University of Victoria"](https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/arc/people/faculty/ellison-sara.php). *www.uvic.ca*. Retrieved 2021-02-11.

1. ["Astronomy Research"](http://www.astro.uvic.ca/~sara/astro.html). *astro.uvic.ca*. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

1. Robinson, Matthew. ["Q&A: Gazing into space to see the future"](https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/qa-gazing-into-space-to-see-the-future). *The Vancouver Sun*. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

1. ["A Brief CV"](http://www.astro.uvic.ca/~sara/CV.html). *astro.uvic.ca*. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

1. Guardian Staff (2001-11-18). ["Stars in their eyes"](https://www.theguardian.com/education/2001/nov/18/highereducation.research). *The Observer*. [ISSN 0029-7712](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0029-7712). Retrieved 2019-10-29.

1. Ellison, S. L.; Yan, L.; Hook, I. M.; Pettini, M.; Wall, J. V.; Shaver, P. (2001). "The CORALS survey I: New estimates of the number density and gas content of damped Lyman alpha systems free from dust bias". *Astronomy and Astrophysics*. **379** (2): 393–406. [arXiv:astro-ph/0109205](https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0109205). [Bibcode:2001A&A...379..393E](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001A%26A...379..393E). [doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20011281](https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20011281)

1. Ellison, Sara L.; Songaila, Antoinette; Schaye, Joop; Pettini, M. (2000). "The Enrichment History of the Intergalactic Medium-Measuring the C IV/H I Ratio in the Lyα Forest". *The Astronomical Journal*. **120** (3): 1175–1191. [arXiv:astro-ph/0005448](https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0005448). [Bibcode:2000AJ....120.1175E](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000AJ....120.1175E). [doi:10.1086/301511](https://doi.org/10.1086/301511)

1. Ellison, Sara L.; Patton, David R.; Simard, Luc; McConnachie, Alan W. (2008). "Galaxy Pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I. Star Formation, Active Galactic Nucleus Fraction, and the Mass-Metallicity Relation". *The Astronomical Journal*. **135** (5): 1877–1899. [arXiv:0803.0161](https://arxiv.org/abs/0803.0161). [Bibcode:2008AJ....135.1877E](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008AJ....135.1877E). [doi:10.1088/0004-6256/135/5/1877](https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/135/5/1877)

1. Ellison, Sara L.; Patton, David R.; Mendel, J. Trevor; Scudder, Jillian M. (2008). "Galaxy pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey – IV. Interactions trigger active galactic nuclei". *The Astronomical Journal*. **418** (3): 2043–2053. [arXiv:1108.2711](https://arxiv.org/abs/1108.2711). [Bibcode:2011MNRAS.418.2043E](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011MNRAS.418.2043E). [doi:10.1088/0004-6256/135/5/1877](https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/135/5/1877)

1. ["Astronomy Outreach"](http://www.astro.uvic.ca/~sara/outreach.html). *astro.uvic.ca*. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

1. ["Quirks Question Period – Lunar Landing Sites"](http://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/quirks-quarks-for-jan-2-2016-1.3378142/quirks-question-period-lunar-landing-sites-1.3378212). Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

1. ["Sara's Art Page"](http://www.astro.uvic.ca/~sara/art.html). *astro.uvic.ca*. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

1. ["Sara's Race Page"](http://www.astro.uvic.ca/~sara/races.html). *astro.uvic.ca*. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

1. Administrator |, Office (2021-04-12). ["Peter G. Martin Award for mid-career achievement: Dr. Sara Ellison – CASCA"](https://casca.ca/?p=15871). Retrieved 2025-06-11.

1. ["Past Officers and Directors of the Society – CASCA"](https://casca.ca/?page_id=681). Retrieved 2023-03-16.

1. ["Past Award Winners | The Royal Society of Canada"](https://rsc-src.ca/en/awards-excellence/past-award-winners). *rsc-src.ca*. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 2021-02-11.

1. ["Dr. Sarah Ellison awarded the 2008/09 Faculty of Science Award for Research Excellence - University of Victoria"](https://www.uvic.ca/engineering/mechanical/home/news/archive/ellison-research-award.php). *www.uvic.ca*. Retrieved 2021-02-11.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sara Ellison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Ellison) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Ellison?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.