I am currently a Professor of Astronomy and the Planetarium Director for the Earth, Space, and Environmental Sciences Department at Palomar College. I joined the faculty at Palomar College in the fall of 1997. Until 1997, my teaching experience was primarily at San Diego State University, Grossmont College, and Southwestern College.
My interest in astronomy dates back to when I was 12 years old. I can remember a friend of the family (who was an amateur astronomer) telling me about the night sky while I was camping in the Anza Borrego Desert. From that moment on, I knew I was hooked! As a teen, I read every book I could get my hands on that was related to astronomy. As a gift one year, my father gave me a subscription to Sky & Telescope magazine and I used my savings to buy a small telescope. I would eagerly await the arrival of each monthly issue of S&T and would devour the words on each page from cover to cover. After high school graduation I headed straight into the Astronomy Program at San Diego State University where I worked with great professors and fellow students. While in college I was given the opportunity to do research with Dr. Ronald Angione and Dr. Paul Etzel. Most of my research was in the field of binary stars. I enjoyed doing research but found that I loved interacting with the public on nights that the University hosted star parties at their Mount Laguna Observatory. During my first year in grad-school I was given the opportunity to teach astronomy lab for the very first time. I found that I loved it and was pretty good at it. The faculty at SDSU saw that I enjoyed teaching and so I was given a rare opportunity to teach the astronomy lecture courses while in grad-school. I had found that teaching astronomy was my passion and it became my career goal. I graduated from San Diego State University in 1993 (BA, astronomy) and 1996 (MS, astronomy) and decided to make a career of teaching astronomy. After teaching a few years at Grossmont College and Southwestern College, I landed the full-time position at Palomar College and have been happy here ever since.
Some of my community involvement over the years includes serving on the Board of Directors for the San Diego Astronomy Association (the largest group of amateur astronomers in San Diego County), the Board of Advisors for the Mount Laguna Observatory Associates (the advisory group for the Mount Laguna Observatory – now defunct), and as a docent for Palomar Observatory. I have occasionally hosted The Sky Tonight planetarium shows at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, and will occasionally volunteer my time speaking to various groups in the community.
My Curriculum Vitae
My professional resume
My Drawings
One of my occasional hobbies
My Astrophotography
Another of my occasional hobbies
My Astronomical Travels (coming soon)
Some of the interesting observatories I have visited