Mika McKinnon
Alma materUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
The University of British Columbia
Known forDisaster research, Stargate
Scientific career
FieldsGeophysics, Disaster Research, Science Communication
InstitutionsSETI Institute
FEMA
Gizmodo
Natural Resources Canada
ThesisLandslide runout: statistical analysis of physical characteristics and model parameters (2010)
Academic advisorsOldrich Hungr[1]
WebsiteWebsite

Mika McKinnon is a Canadian field geophysicist, disaster researcher, and science communicator. She is a co-investigator of the Southwest Research Institute's Project ESPRESSO and was a science adviser to the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe.[2][3]

Education and early career

In 2000, she was a student in the astronomy program of the Summer Science Program and later served on its board and as a guest lecturer.[4][5][6]

McKinnon received her Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2005, attending the College of Creative Studies. There, she re-launched the Society of Physics Students chapter and led a student colloquia on science in fiction.[7]

She received her Master of Science in geophysics from the University of British Columbia in 2010.[1] Her graduate work was about assessing and managing risk of landslides using statistical models to map their physical characteristics to better predict landslide runout and reduce the number of casualties and the extent of the damage.[8][9]

While looking for work after graduation, during a hiring freeze by the Canadian government, she discovered women in her field were being hired because they could be paid less than men – which contributed to her vocal support for women and minorities in science.[2]

Research career

McKinnon's research interests are in disaster management, preparedness, and communication, working at the intersection of scientific research, advocacy and policy. In policy, she uses expertise in both science and communication to teach science to disaster managers, revising Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) science curriculum for emergency managers as a contractor and working on several projects with Natural Resources Canada.[7][10]

McKinnon is a co-investigator of Project ESPRESSO, lending her expertise in terrestrial landslides and hazard mapping towards the project's goal of characterizing extraterrestrial target surfaces (asteroids, comets, and moons) and reducing other operational risks for robots and humans in space exploration.[11] The project, which represents a consortium of seven partner institutions, was proposed in response to NASA's 2016 call for Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute nodes, and is one of four selected projects resulting from that call.[3] She holds a joint appointment at the SETI Institute, one of ESPRESSO's partner institutions.

Science communication

McKinnon earned the 2022 E. R. Ward Neale Medal, for sustained outstanding efforts in sharing earth science with Canadians, from the Geological Association of Canada.[12]

McKinnon began her science communication efforts as a Master's student at UBC, after answering a call from the producers of the television show Stargate: Atlantis for a physicist who could help with accurate scientific justifications for the show's science fiction plots.[10] After graduation, she pursued a career in science communication that included popular science writing and continuing her consulting role on the television shows Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe.[13][10] More recently, McKinnon has consulted on Doomsday: 10 Ways the World Will End, No Tomorrow, Madam Secretary, and Star Trek: Discovery.[14] In a profile with her alma mater, UCSB, she says that her interest in communication stemmed from the media's misrepresentation of a major landslide in the Pacific Northwest.[7]

She was a contributing editor for Gawker Media, providing coverage on popular science topics for io9 and later became a science writer for Gizmodo.[15] Her bylines cover topics including space exploration, dinosaur discovery, the convergence of science and art, and disaster preparedness. Her writing is in publications including Wired UK, Smithsonian magazine, Ars Technica, and Astronomy.[16][17][18][19]

She volunteers for the National Academy of Sciences Science & Entertainment Exchange, providing subject matter expertise to the entertainment industry for more accurate depictions of science in the media.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 McKinnon, Mika (2010). Landslide runout: statistical analysis of physical characteristics and model parameters (Thesis). University of British Columbia.
  2. 1 2 Wagner, Sarah (2017-04-18). "Young Professional Profile: Mika McKinnon, UBC M.S. '10". Yale Scientific Magazine. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  3. 1 2 "NASA Selects New Research Teams to Further Solar System Exploration". Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  4. ↑ "Universal Times" (PDF). Summer Science Program. October 2009. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  5. ↑ "Universal Times" (PDF). Summer Science Program. October 2011. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  6. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Summer Science Program. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  7. 1 2 3 Proctor, Will; Shapiro, Emma (2018-05-25). "Disasters and Space Exploration". UC Santa Barbara College of Creative Studies. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  8. ↑ McDougall, Scott; McKinnon, Mika; Hungr, Oldrich (2012-08-23). "Developments in landslide runout prediction". Landslides: Types, Mechanisms and Modeling. Cambridge University Press. pp. 187–195. ISBN 9781139560399.
  9. ↑ McKinnon, Mika; Hungr, Oldrich; McDougall, Scott (2008). "Dynamic Analyses of Canadian Landslides" (PDF). Proceedings of the 4th Canadian Conference on Geohazards: From Causes to Management.
  10. 1 2 3 Levine, Alaina G. (June 2017). "Profiles In Versatility: Mika McKinnon". American Physical Society. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  11. ↑ "Team". ESPRESSO. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  12. ↑ "E.R.Ward Neale Medal". GAC. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Ronson, Jacqueline (2016-07-22). "This Physicist Makes Sure 'Stargate' Is Scientifically Accurate". Inverse. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  14. ↑ "Mika McKinnon". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  15. ↑ "Mika McKinnon". Kinja.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  16. ↑ "Mika McKinnon". Wired. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  17. ↑ "Articles by Mika McKinnon". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  18. ↑ McKinnon, Mika (2016-05-09). "As fires rage, emergency responders rely on familiar apps to save lives". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  19. ↑ "Mika McKinnon". Astronomy.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  20. ↑ "Scientist Spotlight: Mika McKinnon". Science and Entertainment Exchange. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
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