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Teaching & Outreach @ PSU
An image of the globular cluster M13 taken with the Meade LX200 and the SBIG CCD at the Davey Lab rooftop observatory during the summer 2002 In-Service Workshops.
Most Recent Courses Taught:
Outreach Activities:
- I am part of the Eberly College of Science Office of Outreach, and I work with the Director of Outreach, Dr. Rebecca Peterson, to assist faculty interested in becoming involved in the outreach projects in the College.
- I am the Director and an Instructor for the Penn State In-Service Workshops in Astronomy. Our workshops are part of the Penn State Workshops for Science Educators program.
- During the summers of 2004 – 2006, I have directed day and resident camps for 4th to 8th graders with Mission to Mars and Astrobiology themes. We also offer a camp for students in grades K to 3 with an Astronomy theme. Other exciting camps in the Action Potential Science Experience include Harry Potter theme camps and Penn State Crime Scene Investigators.
- During July, we hold AstroFest, four nights of astronomy activities including rooftop observing with a number of telescopes, Astronomy Q&A, public lectures on astronomy, and planetarium shows.
- Other astronomy outreach programs include rooftop stargazing, planetarium shows and activities for K-12 classes, and public lectures on popular astronomy topics. In the past, I have assisted Prof. Niel Brandt with judging and selecting the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) astronomy award. From 2007-2011, Prof. Kevin Luhman will be taking over the PJAS Astronomy Award program.
Teaching & Outreach @ UVa
This false color image of Saturn comes from the UVa Alvan Clark Refractor at the Leander McCormick Observatory and an SBIG camera. I took this image while testing the camera for use in astronomy laboratories.
Past Outreach Activities:
- UVa runs an extremely popular public night program, and I served as an observer many times.
- With the assistance of our webmaster, I created an "Ask an Astronomer" website at UVa, called Astronomy Question & Answer (AQuA).
- I had a lot of fun doing 15 minute astronomy spots on the WINA AM radio talk show, Charlottesville Live.
