I’ve been hesitant to write about this, since it was a rather private affair, but astronomy lost a shining star recently when my friend Heidi lost her battle with cancer. She was Assistant to the Director at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and worked in the Dean’s office at the University of Virginia before that.…
So I’m nursing a headache on New Year’s Day and it’s not for the reason you would think. Though I allowed myself one martini last night, that was also with dinner and a full bottle of water and a wee bit of chocolate. I haven’t been feeling well for a couple of weeks and I’m…
I realize that it is Wednesday and thus halfway through the week BUT… this week is Mental Illness Awareness Week. And you all should be aware that mental illness is a real thing. The brain is an organ in your body that can actually give you an illness. If you are having problems, you aren’t just “crazy,”…
Hello, all. Checking in to say GGEEEAAAAGGGGGHHH. Between #NaTheWriMo, aka National Thesis Writing Month, or several months really, and #willastronomfornoms, aka my search for a job after said thesis is finished, I’m a wee bit stressed. BUT, I did run all you lovely donators for the VA Earthquake victims through a random number generator for…
Update: The family has set up a public Facebook page where you can share your favorite Bob Rood stories and memories. Also, the current astronomy department chair wrote this in remembrance of Bob. Update 2: A public memorial service will be held at 4pm on November 10th at the University of Virginia chapel. It will…
It’s Friday, not Monday, which means I’m going to load up part 1 of the “stuff that interests me” from the past few weeks. Since I… I missed a couple of Mondays there. Obviously, big news in the tech world… Steve Jobs has died. Amanda Bauer’s blog brought his 2005 Stanford speech to my attention,…
We have more University of Virginia Astronomy tweeters! A few I’ve had to pester, most came here on their own. They all have such lovely stories to tell, and I’d recommend following them to anyone! They are all listed at UVa-Astro. We have my officemate, @demessieres, a sweet, lovely geek who is just about at…
I’m blogging from an iPad in the Apple Store. SO want…
I’ve always known William Shatner as that funny older gentleman that was in Star Trek. Then I watched Star Trek: The Original Series and realized that he was quite funny as a young actor as well. I think he can be his own meme. But on a serious note, he recorded the wake-up-call for the…
We’re not breaking up. We’re taking a break. The internet and I, that is. Though I love to share my travels, especially in the southwest, and I love to read on a plane, this week, it just cannot be.
On March 22, 2013 we found out that many NASA EPO programs will be suspended as a direct result of US budgetary sequestration. We are proactively working to raise money to make sure that CosmoQuest can continue to support its staff and its programs.
Your donation will support science education that produces science!
Total Raised: $3,385 (as of 2pm CDT, 4/18/2012)
I’m a brand new post-doc in astronomy working as part of the CosmoQuest team. My thesis focused on radio astronomy instrumentation. That means, I got to build cool telescopes that will open up new frontiers in the universe. I also love to teach, both in a classroom setting and informally. I'm happy to talk about the universe with anyone who will listen, and I am skeptically curious about all things.
