Outreach

I thrive at the intersection between science and the public. I have a passion for science communication and engaging all ages in the thrills of scientific discovery. Throughout my career I have sought out opportunities to participate in and coordinate events that bring astronomy to the public. I have spent hundreds of hours participating in and organizing outreach activities. Below I provide an overview of the outreach activities I have participated in.

I have given many astronomy talks to various groups of people such as amateur astronomy clubs, student clubs, grade school classes, and appearing on podcasts. If you would like to have me give a talk about astronomy and/or my research for your group, please contact me. 

I have participated in Letters to a Pre-Scientist for many years which is a program where students write a series of letters with a STEM professional throughout the school year. I highly recommend if you are a teacher hosting this program in your classroom or if you are a STEM professional, becoming a STEM pen-pal. 

During my time at Green Bank Observatory, I have spent many hours participating in outreach events put on by the observatory and mentoring students who participate in immersive summer camps at the observatory (such as the West Virginia Governor's STEM Institute and Physics Inspiring the Next Generation). 

During my time at the University of Florida as part of the outreach team, I spent hundreds of hours participating in and organizing outreach activities like the following:

• co-founding and leading outreach programs

• coordinating and participating in large community events at museums, the Kennedy Space Center, and universities

• making school visits with astronomy activities

• participating in workshops to train educators in the astronomical sciences

In early 2016, I participated in the AAS Astronomy Ambassador Program which gave me the tools and skills in order to explain complex astrophysics concepts using ordinary, every-day objects. I highly recommend this workshop and program and can’t thank the founders and facilitators enough for this workshop.

After this workshop, several colleagues and I went back to the University of Florida and formalized the founding of the UF Astronomy Outreach program. Then, two colleagues and I applied for and received the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center H3C Initiative Grant in which we created an outreach program called, Springs & Stars. In this program, we took our educational star gazing events to three Florida State Parks in order to bridge the gap between education hubs, underserved rural areas, and Florida’s public parks by improving access to and engagement in science.

During my career as an astronomy I have also spent countless hours volunteering at public stargazing nights.

Explanatory Videos

Something that is important to me is that not only professional astronomers understand my research, but that a public audience also feels that they can understand my research. To this end, I have made two videos concerning my research for the public audience:

• A 10 minute video explaining what a radio galaxy is with the public being the intended audience: Radio Galaxies

• An 8 minute video summarizing my work with quasars with the public being the intended audience: Cosmic Scrapbook