Chair, Physics & Astronomy, University of Texas at San Antonio
Co-chair, Solar Eclipse Task Force, American Astronomical Society
Professional and amateur astronomer; Senior Contributing Editor of Sky & Telescope; author of Astronomy for Dummies; former Public Information Officer for the American Astronomical Society. Project manager, Solar Eclipse Task Force, American Astronomical Society
Areas of expertise: Eclipse science, outreach, and safety. Rick is also the administrator of eclipse.aas.org.
Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Chair, Rochester, NY Eclipse Task Force
Co-chair, Solar Eclipse Task Force, American Astronomical Society, and webmaster, eclipse2024resources.com.
Areas of expertise: Eclipse preparations throughout North America as well as specifically for Rochester, NY. Deb can connect you with local and science experts throughout the eclipse preparation community.
Psychologist, eclipse chaser, researcher, community consultant. Founder of Being in the Shadow.
Areas of expertise: As a trusted consultant and a leading authority on eclipse community planning all over the world, Dr. Kate's services include consultations, workshops, presentations, community engagement, and media engagement.
Founders, GreatAmericanEclipse.com
Areas of expertise: Michael is expert in geographic information systems (GIS) and combines his professional skills with his passion for total solar eclipses. His eclipse maps are made with scientific accuracy and good cartographic design. Polly has managed businesses for three decades and is now executing a unique business model focused on the coming massive spike in interest close to the eclipse.
Publisher, Eclipse2024.org
Areas of Expertise: Dan McGlaun is a veteran of 15 total solar eclipses, with backgrounds in math, computer science, technical project management and education. Eclipse2024.org offers detailed eclipse information and educational/community resources for over 140,000 locations in North America. The Eclipse2024.org eclipse simulator is featured on NASA's web site and major astronomy publications. Video extracts of the simulator are available on YouTube and in streamlined versions suitable for broadcast.
Dan performs all the eclipse calculations that power Eclipse2024.org using NASA LOLA data, his own Besselian Elements, and custom calculation techniques which allow real-time presentation to users.
Astrophysicist & Co-Founder, ARISA Lab, Cambridge, MA
Areas of Expertise: Eclipse Soundscapes Citizen Science Project: With the help of citizen scientists, NASA subject matter experts (SMEs) will collect audio recordings from eclipses and analyze acoustic data to determine how disruptions in light and circadian rhythms may affect ecosystems.
Astronomer and founder of the LightSound project at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
LightSound is a sonification (converting light to sound) device designed to be a tool for blind and low-vision individuals to experience solar eclipses with sound. She is an astronomer who researches exoplanets and runs Harvard's undergraduate astronomy lab and telescopes. She is a committee member of AAS Working Group for Accessibility and Disabilities and the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion. Email Allyson here to request more information or an interview.
Chief Astronomer and Director, Fels Planetarium at The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA
Director of Free Choice Learning, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco
Graduate Student, Astrophysics, University of Texas at San Antonio
Trish Erzfeld is Director of Perry County Heritage Tourism in Perryville, MO and chair of Missouri's Task force on the 2024 Great North American Eclipse.
Click here for interview transcript, which also contains some additional information about how Perry County handled the 2017 eclipse and how they are preparing for 2024.
Director of Public Observing and Director of the Doane Observatory at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL.
Areas of expertise: Ms. Nichols leads all of the Adler Planetarium's eclipse, telescope, observatory, and sky observing initiatives and events. She specializes in helping the public engage with the sky and she is passionate about making astronomy - especially eclipses! - accessible for everyone.
Transportation specialist, Federal Highway Administration (Ret.)
From 2004 until her retirement at the end of 2016, Laurie Radow served as a member of the Federal Highway Administration, (FHWA), US Department of Transportation, Office of Operations Traffic Incident and Events Management Team.
Eclipse-related areas of expertise: Planned special events; traffic Management; operations coordination among partners; government / public safety, public/private partnerships
St. Louis Astronomical Society, Library Telescope Program Coordinator
Missouri Solar Eclipse Task Force, St. Louis Regional Chair
International Library Telescope Program, Co-Chair
Areas of expertise: St. Louis's role in preparing for the 2017 eclipse and now the 2924 eclipse, coordinating more than 160 organizations. Library Telescope Program: STL has the largest metro area telescope checkout program in the world. Don is also the Founder of DarkSky Missouri, an official chapter of DarkSky International, and Founder of Lights Out Heartland, a multi-state collaboration to help birds migrate safely at night.
Journalist
Editor, WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com
Writer for Forbes.com, Space.com, Sky & Telescope, and many other publications
Eclipse Partnership Coordinator, Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY
Areas of expertise: Community involvement, museums, planetariums, and science.
© 2024, American Astronomical Society.
Interviews were conducted and videos produced by Ella Ross.
Eclipse 2024 resources
Click for more information from the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force
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