Professional Title/Position

Written Biography

I received my Ph.D in Astronomy from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. I have held positions at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore before coming to Michigan. My current specialty is optical observations of artificial space debris – the amount and characteristics at geosynchronous orbit.

Candidate Statement

In my career I have seen a tremendous change in the nature of my own astronomical observations from photographic plates on refractors to CCDs on space-based telescopes. I have long been fascinated by the history of astronomy, from my undergraduate days at Georgetown University where I used the 12-inch Clacy-Saegmueller refractor at the Georgetown Observatory, through my graduate student days at Virginia where I used the 26-inch Clark refractor at the Leander-McCormick Observatory and the 26-inch Yale-Columbia refractor at Mt Stromlo in Australia. Here at Michigan I served on several committees which advised on the restoration of the Detroit Observatory, its 12-inch Fitz refractor, and its 6-inch Pistor & Martins meridian circle. This gave me tremendous respect for the importance of historical preservation, the techniques for doing it right, and the difficult compromises that often must be made.

Professional Title/Position

Written Biography

I have been a HAD member for a decade and have previously served as a HAD Committee member. I received my PhD in Physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1974 and spent three years teaching at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. After returning to the US I worked on the Voyager mission to the outer planets at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In 1983 I joined the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. My main areas of research have been planetary atmospheres planetary rings, UV stellar astronomy and white dwarfs. In 2007 I authored a popular science book on the star Sirius and subse­quently published several historical papers derived from the research done for the book.

Candidate Statement

If elected I would be honored to serve as Vice-Chair and would take the opportunity to help increase the visibility of HAD within the AAS by maintaining the high level of HAD sessions at annual meetings. The history of astronomy and the achievements of astronomers remain an important part of conveying an understanding of many areas of science to the public, as witnessed by the recent ‘Cosmos’ series. Our society posses many unique resources and individuals that can be resources for both the scientific and lay communities, for example, it might be possible to record videos of HAD prize lectures and other distinguished speakers at HAD meetings and make them available on the HAD web pages.

Professional Title/Position

Written Biography

Terry D. Oswalt earned his Ph.D. in Astronomy at The Ohio State University specializing in studies of binary star systems, stellar evolution, minor planets, and comets. He held appointments at Florida Institute of Technology and the National Science Foundation prior to assuming his current position at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He is the founding Chairman of the Southeast Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA), a consortium of 12 universities that operates telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory in Chile and the Canary Islands. In recognition of his astronomical research and work in founding the SARA consortium, Oswalt was named the 2010 Florida Academy of Science Medalist. He is a Harlow Shapley lecturer for the AAS and has served on a number of other AAS committees.

Candidate Statement

As Vice Chair of the AAS Historical Astronomy Division, I will work hard to increase HAD membership and to cultivate an appreciation for the history of our discipline among the AAS membership, our political leaders, students and the general public. I have special interests in the preservation of astronomers’ original working documents and the archiving of astronomical data so that they may continue to be available to future generations of astronomers and historians.

Improving our Division’s involvement of early career faculty will also have high priority. In addition, we need to increase our Division’s interaction with professional organizations, historical societies, media, and the funding agencies which support initiatives in the history of science. As the astronomical community begins a mid-decadal assessment of goals and priorities, HAD can and should provide an important historical perspective for new priorities.

Professional Title/Position

Written Biography

Kenneth Kellermann works on the study of radio galaxies, quasars and cosmology, on the development of new instrumentation for radio astronomy, and on the history of radio astronomy, including the acquisition and preservation of papers of prominent radio astronomers. He received his S.B. degree in Physics from M.I.T. in 1959 and his Ph. D. in Physics and Astronomy from Caltech in 1963 where he is a Distinguished Caltech Alumnus. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the American Philosophical Society. He has received the AAS Warner Prize, the NAS Gould Prize, the 2014 ASP Bruce Medal, and was a co-recipient the 1971 Rumford Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is currently a member of the NAS Committee on Radio Frequencies, serves as the Vice Chair of the USNC-IAU, and is Chair of the IAU Working Group on Historical Radio Astronomy.

Candidate Statement

I have organized national and international meetings on the history of astronomy for the IAU, the American Philosophical Society, and URSI, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with HAD in planning future meetings, especially in the area of 20th century astronomy.

I note that the HAD bylaws have not kept pace with current practice, particularly with respect to the duties of the HAD Vice Chair. I will try to work for a revision of the bylaws so that they best reflect the intentions of the membership.

Professional Title/Position

Written Biography

John’s current work includes CCD photometry and astrometry involving schools and related organizations. Long active in the history of astronomy, he is best known as a historian of telescopes and related instrumentation. John served for many years as an instrumentation engineer based at Yerkes Observatory. Projects included laser guide “stars” now commonly used in AO; instrument commissioning for SDSS; field engineering for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope; and three visits to Antarctica, including a winter-over at South Pole Station. In earlier days John served as a parallax observer at Wesleyan’s Van Vleck Observatory. In residence at Mount Wilson, he observed chromospheri­cally active stars for the long-running HK Project. He also served as an editor at Sky & Telescope magazine in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is a past president of the Antique Telescope Society. John conducts the Hartness House Workshop series in conjunction with the annual Stellafane convention in Springfield, Vermont.

Candidate Statement

Early on, it was my good fortune to discover an encouraging and welcoming sense of community among folks interested in the history of astronomy at a variety of meetings. This was no less so when I began to participate at AAS HAD events and at the Notre Dame workshops. If elected, I'll approach HAD issues recognizing the importance of maintaining these traditions.

I'm very interested in historical preservation, which is so important at a grass-roots level. Relevant to assisting HAD is my experience starting and maintaining the historically themed annual Hartness House Workshop in Vermont, now in its sixth year. I was also responsible for organizing a very successful symposium at Mount Wilson in connection with the 2012 Transit of Venus. I've served once before in the HAD committee, and I'm a founding member of the active Antique Telescope Society. But I'm especially proud to have been a founding staff member for Mount Wilson's ongoing Consortium for Undergraduate Research and Education in Astronomy, for which we reactivated the dormant Snow telescope. That was now nearly 25 years ago! I presently serve as Historian for the long-running Summer Science Program, originally based in Ojai, California.

Professional Title/Position

Written Biography

Brenda Corbin directed the U. S. Naval Observatory Library from 1973 until 2005 and is now Librarian Emeritus. Since 1979 a prime interest has been the preservation of 19th and early 20th century publications from observatories around the world. After many years this project was successful as these publications were microfilmed at Harvard with the great assistance of Harvard librarian Donna Coletti. The Astrophysics Data System (ADS) digitized the microfilm and now the full texts are available at ADS. Brenda has published papers on various topics including bibliographical sources for historians of astronomy and papers relating to Simon Newcomb and Etienne Trouvelot. She held the position of Committee Member from 2001-2003 and also served on the HAD Prize Committee. Currently, she is on the Organizing Committee of the Interna­tion­al Astronomical Union’s Commission 41 (History of Astronomy) and is past Chair of the Commission’s Working Group on Archives.

Candidate Statement

I have always enjoyed assisting historians of astronomy in finding “hidden” resources via careful bibliographic sleuthing so HAD was the perfect home for me. As a long time member and active participant through the years, I have been aware of the real importance of our group to the wider family of the American Astronomical Society. At present, HAD is in a strong position as excellent programs (thanks to Chairs and Past Chairs) are presented at each January AAS meeting and also in sessions while meeting with other AAS Divisions. The reach of HAD is shown in the wide attendance at our sessions which draws astronomers who are not currently members but want to hear the topics discussed. I feel we should keep HAD strong by continuing to offer sessions on specialized topics but definitely continuing the contributed papers so all HAD members may participate and share their specific interests and research. We are doing a good job, let’s continue.

Professional Title/Position

Written Biography

Linda (May) French earned her A. B. degree in astronomy from Indiana University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in planetary astronomy from Cornell University. She taught astronomy to undergraduates at MIT, and pre-service elementary teachers at Wheelock College, before moving to Illinois Wesleyan University where she teaches astronomy, astrophysics, and the history of astronomy. Her astronomical research takes her frequently to observatories in Arizona and Chile, accompanied by students. She has served as Education Officer of the AAS's Division for Planetary Sciences and has worked to develop curriculum and lead teacher workshops at the Center for Astrophysics. Her historical research has focused on the work of John Goodricke and Edward Pigott, and eighteenth-century English astronomy in general. Her research in both history and "regular" astronomy have heightened her interest in studying interactions between professional and amateur astronomers.

Candidate Statement

It is the history of a discipline that tells us how individuals went about their work, and how current beliefs shape the science of the time. As a vibrant mixture of astronomers with an interest in history and historians of sciences, the HAD can play a valuable role in documenting and interpreting the work of astronomers of our own time and of previous eras. I have benefited greatly from the use of archives, often small and underfunded, and I will work to achieve greater support for these valuable facilities. I look forward to participating in and helping to promote AstroGen, the Astronomy Genealogy Project.