Thurs, Oct 6 @ 7:00 PM
Night Owl Club is a monthly conversation about astronomy and space exploration. Join online with questions or simply listen-in for inspiration to help you read the night sky and connect with a community of stargazers and explorers.
This month, our guest is Rachel Freed, a co-founder of the Institute for Student Astronomical Research (InStAR), as well as a Seminar instructor, with a mission to incorporate true scientific research into secondary and undergraduate education. She is also a faculty lecturer in the School of Education at Sonoma State University and on the Science Organizing Committee for the annual conference on Robotic Telescopes, Student Research, and Education (RTSRE).
In this presentation Rachel will describe her journey from a beginning amateur astronomer and high school science teacher through more involvement in the local and eventually the global astronomy education community. She helped create the Institute for Student Astronomical Research, of which she is currently the president, and she is very engaged in bringing research and publication opportunities to students at the high school and undergraduate level. Her high school and undergraduate students conduct research on double stars and publish their findings. Rachel is also the editor of the Journal of Double Star Observations and on the Sky and Telescope Editorial Advisory Committee. She is currently finishing a PhD in astronomy education studying the impacts of telescope use and research programs on students and educators and looks forward to continuing to provide increasing opportunities for students to access telescopes and participate in research programs. She enjoys being part of a global community interested in astronomy as a formative experience for understanding the nature of science and scientific research with a mission to increase science literacy on a global scale.