Jenni Sidey-Gibbons
Jennifer Anne MacKinnon "Jenni" Sidey-Gibbons (born August 3, 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. Early life and education. Sidey was born on August 3, 1988 in Calgary, Alberta. Sidey holds a bachelor's degree with honours in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University. While she was at McGill, she carried out research in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the National Research Council Flight Research Laboratory on flame propagation in  microgravity. She then completed a PhD in 2015 in engineering at Jesus College, Cambridge, where she focused on combustion under the supervision of Professor Nondas Mastorakos. Academic career. Prior to joining the Canadian Space Agency, Sidey worked as a lecturer in internal combustion engines at the Department of Engineering of the University of Cambridge. The focus of her research was turbulent flame physics and pollutant reduction in combustion systems. She also taught undergraduate and graduate students in the Energy, Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery Division on topics ranging from conventional and alternative energy production to introductory thermodynamics and flame physics. In  2016, she was awarded the Institution of Engineering and Technology's Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award, as well as a Royal Academy of Engineering Young Engineer of the Year Award. CSA career. Sidey was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to undergo training as an astronaut as part of the 2017 CSA Group, the fourth Canadian astronaut recruitment campaign. Sidey and Joshua Kutryk were selected among a large field of qualified candidates. In July 2017, Sidey relocated to Houston, Texas, to complete the two-year NASA Astronaut Candidate Training Program at the Johnson Space Center. She is training  alongside the 2017 NASA astronaut class.