Jenni Gibbons
{{Short description|Canadian astronaut (born 1988)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date= November 2023}}
{{Infobox astronaut
|image = Jenni Sidey official portrait.jpg
|alt = Gibbons, wearing her blue Canadian Space Agency uniform bearing the flag of Canada, smiles at the camera, her hands folded.
|caption = Gibbons in 2017
|birth_name = Jennifer Anne MacKinnon Sidey
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|8|3|df=y}}
|birth_place = Calgary, Alberta, Canada
|death_date =
|death_place =
|education = McGill University (BEng)
Jesus College, Cambridge (PhD)
|type = CSA astronaut
|time =
|selection = 2017 CSA Group
NASA Group 22 (2017)
|mission =
}}
Jennifer "Jenni" Anne MacKinnon Sidey-Gibbons (born 3 August 1988) is a Canadian astronaut, engineer, and academic. She was selected by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) as one of the two members of the 2017 CSA Group alongside Joshua Kutryk. In 2023, CSA assigned her to be Jeremy Hansen's backup for the Artemis II lunar flyby mission. As of the 2023 CSA Artemis announcement, she uses her married name, Jenni Gibbons.{{Cite web |last=Lundy |first=Thomas |date=23 July 2024 |title=Jenni Gibbons on her role in Canada's return to the moon |url=https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/jenni-gibbons/ |access-date=31 August 2024 |website=Canadian Geographic |publisher=Royal Canadian Geographical Society}}
Early life and education
Jennifer Anne MacKinnon Sidey was born on 3 August 1988 in Calgary.{{Cite thesis |last=Sidey |first=J. A. M. |title=Experimental and numerical investigations of highly preheated and diluted flames |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Cambridge |oclc=1064667170 |year=2015}}{{Cite web |date=22 November 2023 |title=Biography of Jenni Gibbons |url=https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronauts/canadian/active/bio-jenni-gibbons.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122180910/https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronauts/canadian/active/bio-jenni-gibbons.asp |archive-date=22 November 2023 |access-date=22 November 2023 |website=Canadian Space Agency |publisher=King's Printer for Canada |location=Ottawa}} She earned a Bachelor of Engineering with honours in mechanical engineering from McGill University, where she conducted research in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Flight Research Laboratory of the National Research Council Canada on flame propagation in microgravity.
In 2015, she completed a PhD in engineering at Jesus College, Cambridge. Her doctoral research, supervised by Professor Nondas Mastorakos, focused on combustion processes.
Academic career
Before joining the CSA, Gibbons was a lecturer in internal combustion engines at the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Her research centered on turbulent flame dynamics and pollutant reduction in combustion systems.{{Cite web |title=Dr. Jenni A. M. Sidey — CUED Division A |url=http://www-diva.eng.cam.ac.uk/directory/jennysidey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704120545/http://www-diva.eng.cam.ac.uk/directory/jennysidey |archive-date=2017-07-04 |access-date=2017-07-03 |website=www-diva.eng.cam.ac.uk |language=en}} She also taught undergraduate and graduate students in the Energy, Fluid Mechanics, and Turbomachinery Division on topics such as energy production, thermodynamics, and flame physics.{{cn|date=December 2024}}
In 2016, Gibbons received the Institution of Engineering and Technology's Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award and a Royal Academy of Engineering Young Engineer of the Year Award.{{cn|date=December 2024}}
CSA career
File:Artemis II prime and backup crew.jpg
Gibbons was selected by the CSA in 2017 as part of its fourth astronaut recruitment campaign, joining Joshua Kutryk in the 2017 CSA Group.{{Cite news |last=Semeniuk |first=Ivan |date=3 July 2017 |title=Pushed to the limits, Canada's two newest astronauts eager for space |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2459946700/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=22 November 2023 |work=The Globe and Mail |location=Toronto |pages=A1, A10 |id={{ProQuest|2459946700 }} }}{{Cite news |last=Dunham |first=Jackie |date=1 July 2017 |title=Jennifer Sidey and Josh Kutryk: Canada's two newest astronauts revealed |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/jennifer-sidey-and-josh-kutryk-canada-s-two-newest-astronauts-revealed-1.3485201 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401142350/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/jennifer-sidey-and-josh-kutryk-canada-s-two-newest-astronauts-revealed-1.3485201 |archive-date=1 April 2019 |access-date=22 November 2023 |work=CTV News}} She was the third female astronaut candidate chosen by the CSA, following Roberta Bondar and Julie Payette. At 28 years old, she became the youngest astronaut candidate ever selected by the agency.{{Cite news |last=Buckiewicz |first=Amanda |date=31 January 2020 |title=How fire scientist Jenni Sidey-Gibbons became Canada's youngest astronaut |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/feb-1-understanding-the-coronavirus-cyborg-jellyfish-judging-cat-pain-and-more-1.5446302/how-fire-scientist-jenni-sidey-gibbons-became-canada-s-youngest-astronaut-1.5446314 |work=CBC Radio}}
In July 2017, Gibbons relocated to Houston, to complete the two-year NASA Astronaut Candidate Training Program at the Johnson Space Center, training alongside the 2017 NASA astronaut class.
On 22 November 2023, during a public ceremony at CSA headquarters, Gibbons was announced as the backup for Jeremy Hansen on the Artemis II mission. The mission, part of NASA's Artemis program, is slated to fly no earlier than April 2026.{{Cite news |date=22 November 2023 |title=Canadian Space Agency astronauts Jenni Gibbons and Joshua Kutryk to contribute to future missions, from the International Space Station to the Moon |url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/canadian-space-agency-astronauts-jenni-gibbons-and-joshua-kutryk-to-contribute-to-future-missions-from-the-international-space-station-to-the-moon-898470181.html |access-date=22 November 2023 |work=Cision |location=Longueuil, Quebec |agency=CNW Group}}{{Cite news |last=Nassar |first=Hana Mae |date=22 November 2023 |title=Canadian astronauts receive new assignments |url=https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/11/22/canadian-astronauts-gibbons-kutryk/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122161422/https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/11/22/canadian-astronauts-gibbons-kutryk/ |archive-date=22 November 2023 |access-date=22 November 2023 |work=CityNews |location=Vancouver}}{{Cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |date=5 December 2024 |title=NASA Missions to Return to the Moon Delayed Until 2026 and 2027 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/science/nasa-moon-artemis-delayed-2027.html |access-date=5 December 2024 |work=The New York Times}}
References
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External links
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- {{instagram}}
- {{twitter}}
- [http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/search/video/results.asp?search=Jennifer+Sidey CSA Video Gallery]
- [http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/search/images/results.asp?search=Jennifer+Sidey CSA Photo Gallery]
{{Canadian Space Agency}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons, Jennifer}}
Category:Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
Category:Canadian women engineers
Category:Fellows of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Category:McGill University Faculty of Engineering alumni