When Erin Macdonald was young, she was enamored by various scientists she saw on television, inspiring her to pursue a degree in astrophysics.
In an interview with The Dominion Post, Macdonald shared about some of her early inspiration.
“I first wanted to be a scientist because I watched ‘The X Files’ growing up, and I was obsessed with Dana Scully; coolest woman to ever exist. Also, I loved the film ‘Contact’ with Jody Foster, who played Dr. Ellie Arroway. That was sort of my first thought. Like, ‘Oh, astronomer is a job. You could study space that can be your job.’ That kind of put that bug in my brain and kept me going through my education. I just loved the idea that I could go to university and study space for years. I still love that.”
Macdonald conducted research at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). She was torn between work in research and work as a professor. When she was doing research, she missed teaching and began attending sci-fi conventions where she would conduct panels on physics and “Star Trek,” which became immensely popular.
“I got onto ‘Star Trek’s’ radar through my convention talks. They heard about my Physics of Star Trek, and they brought me on to their licensed events. And then, when they wanted to hire a science adviser for season three of ‘Discovery,’ I was on their radar and got the job. And then went from there. I’m in L.A., they have a ton of shows being greenlit, and they were like, it makes sense to have one person manage all the science.”
In addition to her work with “Star Trek,” Macdonald also works in film production. Most recently, she helped produce a film by YouTuber Jessie Earl called “Identiteaze.” The two met at a sci-fi convention and decided to work together.
“I think what’s most important for me, and the joy I get out of making these, is telling LGBTQIA stories in the sci-fi space. I feel like that’s an intersection that we don’t get to see much of outside of metaphor. But I want to tell actual love stories in a sci-fi setting with characters in that community and what’s been wonderful is to create that both in front of the scenes and behind the scenes.”
She goes on, “We have a majority LGBTQIA crew. We all wear pronoun pins. It’s a bunch of trans creators, a bunch of queer creators of all shapes, sizes, colors, everyone. And being able to create that welcoming, safe environment is just such a joy for me.”
Macdonald hopes she is able to inspire others to pursue work in STEM. “One of my favorite things is when I go to a school, and they hear that Dr. Macdonald is an astrophysicist, they don’t expect a woman with dyed hair and tattoos to come in. I think you see kids perk up because it’s rewiring their brains a little bit into what being a scientist looks like. And so yes, any opportunity I have to help teach science, to make science more accessible, I am so grateful for that. That’s a huge dream of mine.”
“Star Trek: Prodigy” is available on Netflix, and “Space Cadet” is streaming on Prime Video.
