Outreach

Outreach is one of the most important things that scientists can do. It is not enough to discover something and be smug in the hard won knowledge you have gained. It is still not enough to successfully communicate it to your peers. The public, which so graciously foots the bill for us to go around gaping slack jawed at the stars, has a right to accurate information. That starts with the scientist. As for how you get information across in a way that's fun but enlightens people, I'm all ears. I have found that foam balls and playdoh do quite a good job of grabbing people's attention.

I have participated in some outreach, namely Penn State's Astrofest, as well as events for local K-12 schools through our department. For pictures of Astrofest 2001, go to Jane Charlton's page. You'll see me doing the publicity rounds and helping out.

I was part of the PSU Science Lions group, which presents demos to the greater State College Area K-12 schools. In addition I have written a few "Ask Science Lions" articles which appear in the Penn State Collegian, one about the Leonids and one on Aurorae. I have presented talks about extrasolar planets to local high school teachers at the Penn State In-service Workshops, and taught children at the Penn State Kids College in Summer 2003. Most recently I have helped my wife with the first three annual BioDays outreach event, which has been extremely successful, exposing over 2000 people to the joys of biology!

My research has generated two press releases, one for my work on discovering a way that planets may rejuvenate themselves around white dwarfs, and another for my work looking at faint companions to nearby stars using the famous Mt. Wilson 100-inch telescope. You can find links to various stories in my Research page.

Additionally, my outreach has been towards our representatives in government. In September 2006, I, along with 200 other scientists lobbied members of the Senate and House to support NSF funding increases that are part of an appropriations bill called H.R. 5672. NSF participates in funding basic research and the education of people from kindergarten to the graduate level. It provides one of the cornerstones for ensuring that America remains a competitive technological and economic power in this century. I encourage everyone to write to their representatives requesting strong support of federal science funding.

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