Doug Duncan, an astronomer and researcher from the University of Chicago, is the new director of Fiske Planetarium and Sommers-Bausch Observatory at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Duncan was director of astronomy at the University of Chicago's Adler Planetarium and a senior research associate in the department of astronomy and astrophysics. He also worked with the American Astronomical Society, where he focused on improving teaching and public communication for astronomers throughout the United States.
"Doug brings enormous energy and experience in teaching and planetarium program development, and is a very well-known educator and scientist," said Michael Shull, chair of the astrophysical and planetary sciences department at CU-Boulder that oversees the observatories.
Duncan studies stellar astronomy, the Big Bang theory, galactic chemical evolution, stellar rotation and the evolution of stars like the sun. In the late 1970s, he was part of a project that found sun spot cycles on other stars, which has helped scientists better understand solar activities and how they affect Earth.
He also was responsible for operating one of the original instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope, known as the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph, or GHRS. As the instrument scientist for GHRS at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Duncan and his research team studied "fossil stars," the oldest known stars dating almost to the Big Bang.
For the past five years Duncan has been a science commentator on National Public Radio in Chicago. He received his doctorate in astronomy from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
As director of Fiske and Sommers-Bausch, Duncan will continue to develop existing education and outreach programs and may develop new ones, Shull said. He also will teach in the astrophysical and planetary sciences department.Ìý
Duncan replaces Professor Ted Snow, who was interim director of Fiske Planetarium, and Associate Professor Erica Ellingson, interim director of Sommers-Bausch Observatory since the departure of Katy Garmany in June 2000. Snow and Ellingson are faculty members in the astrophysical and planetary sciences department at CU-Boulder.
For more information about Fiske Planetarium and other shows and programs it offers to the public and educators, call (303) 492-5001 or visit the Web site at . For information about Sommers-Bausch Observatory, call (303) 492-5002 or visit the Web site at .