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Astrophysics:
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A returning student, I am working toward a dual major in astronomy and physics.
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Outreach Work:
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Follow these links to some of my outreach activities:
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The
NASA-JPL Solar System Ambassador
home page
for Tucson. I have been a volunteer for this program
since 1997. Public outreach activities and speeches for schools,
civic groups, and the general public are provided free of charge.
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The
Tucson Amateur Astronomy
Association is a great place to learn about astronomy, and to
learn how to use a telesope! This club is certainly one of the finest
in the nation.
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The Weather Around the Solar System web page. Coming soon! This
page will compare and contrast weather from many different planets.
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I am a volunteer telescope operator at the
Flandrau Science Center
observatory here
in Tucson, on the main University of Arizona campus. We have a
16-inch Cassegrain telescope that we use to show gorgeous celestial objects
to the public. The Flandrau Observatory is open every Wednesday through
Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. It is free to come, or if you wish,
please donate $1
to help with the Observatory's costs. All Observatory Operators are
volunteers. And this Tucson sky can't be beat, even in town!
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The Saturn Observation Campaign
has been a lot of fun, and almost 1,000 persons have viewed Saturn
at the Flandrau Observatory in this program. Once Saturn reappears in
the evening skies in Arizona later this fall, I hope to organize more
of these events at the 16-inch telescope here in Tucson.
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Project Astro
is a fantastic program. I will be helping out at a Teacher's Workshop
on September 17-18 and also am volunteering as an astronomer to work with
a classroom and teacher for a year. This program requires that the
volunteering astronomer visit the assigned classroom at least four times
a year, which allows the students to learn more and to establish a
rapport with someone who loves astronomy.
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The
Family ASTRO program is also something I'm volunteering for, where
two events for families are held per year. So I'll be planning
some fun astronomy activities for families later this fall!
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Other Info:
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By this point, you may be wondering...
Yes, I'm an astronomy nerd. And proud of it! Teaching
astronomy, solar system exploration, and manned space exploration
and organizing public outreach events
are so exciting and fun for me that they give me a great reason to
get going every day. My biggest regrets in life are that I am not
an astronomy professor, and am not an astronaut. But, hey,
anything is possible,
so I am still working and hoping for both.
I enjoy the outdoors, and am training with the
Better Than Ever team and plan to race in the
Bobbi Olson Half Marathon
on December 5, 2004. The Better Than Ever program has changed my
life and health for the better.
I am an author, working on a nonfiction book about
Space Women and several science fiction and fantasy novels.
I'm fifty! Fifty years old!
On Neil Armstrong's birthday -- and mine, and my step-grandson's
birthday (Darby Harris) -- I
turned fifty several years ago,
and I can still kick! (But with all respect to Molly Shannon,
I avoid Camel Toes, double-knit fabric, and big hair.)
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Other Links:
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Some other links to favorite places:
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The Retirement Party for Professor
Tibor Herczeg Home Page shows the tribute that his many
students and colleagues paid to him. I have known Tibor Herczeg for
over thirty years, and he has been a fantastic friend and professor.
Many of his former students have become very successful astronomers
and professors, such as Jerry Bonnell, Janet Fender, Chris St. Cyr,
and many others.
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The Evil Macintosh Queen's home page.
Dare you enter it?
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