Seminar Schedule, Spring Semester, 2002

Jan. 17 – The American Astronomical Society [PPT]
Catherine A. Pilachowski, Professor of Astronomy, Indiana University
Pilachowski’s seminar described the activities of the American Astronomical Society and its role within the astronomical community.

Jan. 31 -  Industrial Astronomers [PPT]
Nick Mostek, Graduate Student
Mostek’s seminar reviewed career paths for Astronomy Ph.D.s in industry and compared and contrasted those careers with more traditional careers.

Feb. 7 – Public Outreach in Astronomy
Brian Pickett, Professor of Astronomy, Purdue University Calumet.
Pickett discussed the importance of public outreach for astronomy and described his experiences as a Project Astro volunteer for the ASP education outreach program.

Feb. 14 – Women in Astronomy [PDF]
Janet Casperson, Graduate Student
Casperson reviewed the history of women in astronomy and the current status of the participation of women in professional astronomy.

Feb. 21 – Astronomy at the National Science Foundation
Eileen Friel, Executive Officer of the NSF Astronomy Division 
Friel described the process of astronomy funding at the NSF, the types of programs supported by the Astronomy Division, and opportunities for graduate students and early career professionals, including advice on proposal preparation.

Feb. 28 – Astronomy and the Media [PPT]
Heidi Tebbe, Graduate Student
Tebbe described the various ways that astronomy is covered by the media and the ways in which astronomers interact with those media.  The role of the media in public understanding of science is an important one.

March 7 – Teaching Astronomy 101 [PDF]
Richard Durisen, Professor of Astronomy, Indiana University
Durisen described the developing discussion of the goals of non-major courses in astronomy at American universities, and modeled some of the interactive learning activities that are being developed to improved learning in astronomy.

March 21 – Astronomy in China and in Europe [European Astronomical Society: PPT],                     [Astronomy in China PPT]
Kai Cai and Stella Kafka, Graduate Students
Cai presented an overview of the astronomical infrastructure and organization in China, including a description of the major observatories, facilities, programs, and history.
Kafka reviewed the broad astronomical infrastructure of Europe, particularly the wide range of facilities and support of astronomers in different countries.

March 28 – Large Telescope Projects
Annie Mejia – Graduate Student
Mejia summarized the many projects underway in astronomy to build large, ground-based telescopes.  Her summary included the expected performance of the telescopes, their planned capabilities, schedules, and budgets.

April 4  – Major Survey Projects
Allen Rogel – Graduate Student
Rogel reviewed the wide range of large survey projects in astronomy, including historical projects (e.g. the POSS), ongoing projects (e.g. the Sloan Digital Sky Survey), and planned surveys (e.g. LSST).

April 11 – Scholarly Publishing and the Refereeing Process
Steven Shore, Professor of Astronomy, Indiana University South Bend 
Shore described the origin of the scientific literature during the scientific revolution and the impact of its historical origins on the process of scholarly publishing today. Shore serves as a Scientific Editor for the Astrophysical Journal; information about the criteria for scientific papers and a guide for
publication are available from the University of Chicago Press."

April 18 – Public Policy in Astronomy [PPT]
Kevin Marvel, Deputy Executive Officer, American Astronomical Society.
Marvel introduced the federal budget process and described how astronomers can influence the federal research budget.

April 25 – Proposal Review Panel [PDF]
Richard Durisen, Professor of Astronomy, Indiana University
Durisen guided graduate students to conduct a review panel for project proposals submitted by members of his concurrent stellar interiors graduate class.  The panel awarded grade points to successful proposals.

July 31 – Astronomers in Government [PPT]
Guenter Riegler, Executive Director for Science, NASA Office of Space Science 
Riegler described the process of and interplay between research and mission funding at NASA, and the role that scientists play in science management within the government.