Speakers - Astronomy for All 2027 Eclipse Trip. Online registration by Cvent

Dr. Douglas Duncan is an astronomer at the University of Colorado. From 2002-2018 he directed Fiske Planetarium, leading it to be one of the most advanced planetariums in the United States. Dr. Duncan was part of the project that first found sunspot cycles on other stars. Subsequently, he joined the staff of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Dr. Duncan has provided commentary on Chicago Public Radio station WBEZ and the program “Colorado Matters.” He has appeared on TV programs such as the History Channel and BBC Horizon. In 2011, he was named “Outstanding University Astronomy Teacher in the U.S." Dr. Duncan wrote the first book on how to teach effectively with “clickers” – classroom response systems that engage all students, not just the ones who sit in the front. He published the first study on the correlation between student texting and grades, which shows that 75% of university students text during class and their grades are 4-5% lower!

Dr. Duncan leads educational trips throughout the world to watch total eclipses of the sun and to see the northern lights. He is also the inventor of Solar Snap, an app to take photos of the sun with any smartphone that became the most popular free app in the U.S. on eclipse day, April 8, 2024. In 1991, Duncan traveled to the North Pole and was elected to The Explorer’s Club of New York City.

Chris Impey is a University Distinguished Professor at the University of Arizona. He has published over 250 astronomy papers and 120 on educational topics. He has won 11 teaching awards and mentored 30 graduate students and 270 undergraduates. Over 420,000 adult learners have enrolled in his massive open online courses. Chris is a past Vice President of the American Astronomical Society and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has published a dozen popular books (http://chrisimpey-astronomy.com/books), and he has been interviewed on the National Public Radio program “Fresh Air.” In 2014, he was the first astronomer named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, related to his studies of the search for life in the universe.

José Francisco Salgado (josefranciscosalgado.com) is an Emmy-nominated astronomer, science communicator, and experimental photographer, who creates multimedia works that communicate science in engaging ways. As the co-founder of the nonprofit KV 265, Dr. Salgado collaborates with orchestras to present films that provoke curiosity and a sense of wonder about the Earth and the Universe. His Science & Symphony films (kv265.org) have been presented in 270 concerts and 230 lectures in 21 countries reaching a combined audience of half a million people. These films have been recognized by UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the MacArthur Foundation.

As an experimental photographer, Dr. Salgado has documented more than 30 scientific sites around the world including the Atacama desert, the French Pyrenees, and the South African Karoo, and has contributed visuals to documentaries produced for the History, Discovery, BBC, and National Geographic channels. As a public speaker, he has given talks in all seven continents, including a presentation at the South Pole.

Dr. Emily Levesque is a Professor of astronomy at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her research combines observations and theory to explain how the largest (and weirdest!) stars in the universe evolve and die. She observes on many of the planet’s largest telescopes and has flown over the Antarctic in an experimental aircraft. Dr. Levesque is also a dedicated teacher and a popular science communicator. Her popular book, "The Last Stargazers," shares the stories of life as a professional astronomer and explores the crucial role of human curiosity in a rapidly changing field. It was an Amazon Best Book of 2020. Dr. Levesque has appeared on "TED Radio Hour" and filmed a 24-episode lecture series titled "Great Heroes and Discoveries of Astronomy" available on Wondrium.

Astrophysicist/author Jeff Bennett has devoted his career to math and science education. He has taught at every level from preschool through graduate school, including more than fifty college classes in astronomy, physics, mathematics, and education. He is the lead author of best-selling college textbooks in astronomy, astrobiology, mathematics, and statistics; of critically acclaimed books for educators and the public on topics including Einstein’s theory of relativity, the search for extraterrestrial life, global warming, the scale of the universe, and math and science teaching; and of seven award-winning science books for children, all of which have been launched to the International Space Station for “Story Time From Space.” Other career highlights include serving two years as a visiting senior scientist at NASA headquarters, proposing and co-leading development of the Colorado Scale Model Solar System on the CU-Boulder campus and the Voyage Scale Model Solar System on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., creating the free Totality app for learning about solar eclipses, and creating a free online digital textbook for middle school Earth and Space Science. Among other awards, he is a recipient of the American Institute of Physics Science Communication Award and the Klopsteg Memorial Award for education from the American Association of Physics Teachers. Learn more at his web sites, jeffreybennett.com and bigkidscience.com.