Organizing Conferences or Workshops

I have more than three decades of experience organizing conferences (3 – 5 days) and workshops (typically two days) on astronomy education and outreach in the sciences. I planned and led the annual meetings of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, from 1978 to 1992, and have been helping to plan and lead sessions and workshops for the Society into the current decade.  I have also organized a number of workshops at American Astronomical Society meetings and at regional and national science teacher meetings over the years (including the National Science Teachers Association, the California Science Teachers Association, county-wide science fairs, and more.)

Meetings I helped put together included:

• The Cosmos in the Classroom Symposia – on teaching introductory astronomy to non-science majors (two-day meetings to discuss the challenges and techniques for teaching Astro 101 courses; started in 1998 and offered every three years or so until recently.)  See: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269403760_The_Cosmos_in_the_Classroom_Conferences
• The Universe in the Classroom Workshops – hands-on meetings for teachers in grades 3 – 12 on how to incorporate more and better astronomy into the science classroom (two-day workshops started in the 1980’s and offered around the country for three decades)
• Symposia on Astronomy Education (three day meetings with a number of simultaneous strands, including hands-on workshop sessions, oral papers, poster papers, and plenary talks; organized these for the Astronomical Society of the Pacific over many years
• Astronomy Ambassadors Workshops (two-day hands-on sessions for astronomers just starting their careers, on how to be more effective in science outreach, whether with public groups, school groups, families, or festivals.  For more on the workshops we have done for the American Astronomical Society, see:  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268280400_Training_Young_Astronomers_in_EPO_An_Update_on_the_AAS_Astronomy_Ambassadors_Program
• Special Sessions within larger meetings (I’ve organized sessions on such topics as “Astronomy, Literature, Music and Art,” “Student Learning Objectives for Introductory Astronomy Courses,” “The State of Astronomy Education in the U.S.,” and “Debunking Astronomical Pseudo-science.”)

If you are thinking of putting a meeting together and need an experienced hand with speaker selection, logistics, publicity or other aspects of planning, use the contact form to get in touch.