Hosted by Dr. Jacinta Delhaize, Dr. Tshiamiso Makwela & Dr. Daniel Cunnama. From June 19, 2024. Season 6. In this episode of The Cosmic Savannah, our hosts chat with Dr. Rojovola Zara-Nomena Randriamanakoto from the South African Astronomical Observatory about her transformative journey from Madagascar to becoming an instrumental figure in astronomy, advocating for women in STEM, and her research on star clusters and colliding galaxies. Dr. Zara Randriamanakoto is an influential astronomer from Madagascar working at the South African Astronomical Observatory. She moved to South Africa in 2008, overcoming language barriers and limited initial exposure to computers and programming. Her journey into astronomy was driven by an opportunity linked to the Square Kilometre Array project. Zara studies massive star clusters, particularly in collisional ring galaxies, utilizing data from the Hubble Space Telescope. She has played a pivotal role in developing the astronomy community in Madagascar, focusing on education, outreach, and increasing female participation in STEM fields. Zara has received several prestigious awards, including the L'Oreal UNESCO Young Talent Program and the Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans. She is committed to mentoring and inspiring the next generation of scientists and is actively involved in promoting astronomy both in Madagascar and South Africa. Podcast Manager and Show Notes: Francois Campher Social Media Manager: Sumari Hatting Transcripts: Abigail Thambiran Audio Editing: Jacob Fine We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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