Professor of Astronomy, Vanderbilt University (appointed 1991)
- Ph.D., 1989, Geophysics and Space Physics, University of California, Los Angeles: Near-Infrared Speckle Observations of T Tauri Stars and A Multi-Wavelength Study of the Prototype Star T Tauri
- M.S., 1982, Geophysics and Spaced Physics, University of California, Los Angeles:
- B.S., 1980, Physics and Astronomy, Yale University
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Vanderbilt University
Director, Communication of Science & Technology Program, Vanderbilt University
Co-Director, Scientific Computing Program, Vanderbilt University
Co-series Editor, Springer, “SpringerBriefs in Astronomy”
Co-series Editor, Springer, “Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics”
leadership experience:
- 2016-2017, Chair, Faculty Council, College of Arts & Science, Vanderbilt University
- 2011-2012, Chair, Faculty Senate, Vanderbilt University
- 2003-2004, Chair, Faculty Council, College of Arts & Science, Vanderbilt University
Honors and Awards:
- 2016 Robert M. Woods Memorial Lecture, Westminster (PA) College
- 2015 Klopsteg Memorial Lecture Award, American Association of Physics Teachers, which “recognizes outstanding communication of the excitement of contemporary physics to the general public”
- 2014 Natural Sciences Distinguished Lecturer, Colgate University
- 2012 John Wiley Jones Distinguished Lecturer, Rochester Institute of Technology
- 2012 Faculty of the Year Award, Sigma Xi Fraternity (Vanderbilt chapter)
- 2011 Honorable Mention, PROSE Award in Cosmology and Astronomy, the Association of American Publishers, recognizing “the very best in professional and scholarly publishing,” for How Old is the Universe?
- 2011 Ernest A. Jones Faculty Advisor Award, Vanderbilt University, honoring a faculty member “for dedication to undergraduate advising”
- 2009 Thomas Jefferson Distinguished Service Award, Vanderbilt University, “for Distinguished Service to Vanderbilt University in the councils and government of the University”
- 2008 Finalist, AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, Category: Junior High and High School Readers, for Is Pluto a Planet?
- 2005 Chancellor’s Award for Research, Vanderbilt University, recognizing a faculty member for “excellence in research, scholarship, or creative expression … for works published or presented in the preceding calendar year”
- 2003 Jeffrey Nordhaus Undergraduate Teaching Award, Vanderbilt University, “for excellence in undergraduate teaching in the College of Arts & Science”
- 2001 Chancellor’s Cup, Vanderbilt University, for the faculty member who has “made the greatest contribution outside the classroom to undergraduat student-faculty relationships in the recent past”
- 1999 Fellow, Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, Vanderbilt University
- 1994 Teaching Fellow, Lilly Endowment Teaching Fellows Program