Education Team for 2024
organizer - susan kassin (she/her)
Dr. Kassin is a tenured astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute and a research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Department of Physics and Astronomy. She studies how galaxies form and evolve using observations with ground and space-based telescopes, in addition to computer simulations.
Education and outreach professional - Bonnie Eisenhamer (she/her)
As the former Deputy Director for the Office of Public Outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute, Bonnie led the Space Telescope Education Program and the evaluation programs for the Office of Public Outreach and the Astrophysics Science Education and Public Outreach Forum. Bonnie came to the Institute eighteen years ago as the evaluation specialist for the Office of Public Outreach and for eight years was instrumental in transforming the Amazing Space education Website into a comprehensive education program for K-12 educators. The team that she managed develops curriculum support products for the K-12 education community and offers training for both pre-service and in-service teachers. Bonnie’s previous professional experience includes serving as an evaluation specialist for the Federal Court Interpreters Project and as an education specialist for the Los Angeles Community College District. In addition, she served as a program evaluation consultant for both state and federal agencies
Astrophysicist & Education and Outreach Professional - Frank Summers (he/him)
Frank Summers, an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, earned his B.S. in physics from Virginia Tech and his M.A. and Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley. For almost two decades, he has contributed to all aspects of the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope press, education, and outreach through news media, web sites, educational programs, social media, museums and planetariums. His specialty is creating accurate and aesthetic scientific visualizations by combining research data and imagery with Hollywood rendering techniques. Highlights of his career include working on several IMAX films, curating exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, creating a DVD lecture series for The Great Courses, and setting a Guinness World Record for “Largest Astronomy Lesson”.
Systems Software Developer & Branch Lead - Nadia Dencheva (she/her)
Dencheva is involved in the design and development of software for the calibration and analysis of data coming from the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. Recent projects she has worked on include software for World Coordinate Transformations used by astrodrizzle and a package for modeling and fitting of data. Dencheva is a contributor to the open source project Astropy.
Research Scientist - Anna Wright (she/her)
Dr. Wright is a theoretical astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University.
professor of education - Carolyn Parker (she/her)
Carolyn Parker is the Director of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program in the School of Education at American University in Washington, DC. She began her career as a science educator as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. Upon her return to the United States, she earned an M.A. in science teaching and then taught high school science in New York State and Miami, Florida. Dr. Parker earned her Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland College Park.
Dr. Parker’s current research focus is twofold, focusing on teacher education and issues of equity and access in STEM education. Most recently, Dr. Parker was a principal investigator of a National Science Foundation Math-Science Partnership award, STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES). The SABES project served nine high poverty Baltimore City elementary schools by improving STEM curriculum and instruction. The project included research focused on the development and delivery of rigorous curriculum supported by intensive and sustained teacher professional development that included in-school coaching, peer classroom visits and content intensive STEM Academies. In addition to the school day component, the project offered a STEM-focused, out-of-school day program where students completed engineering-focused projects relevant to local communities.
Dr. Parker’s has authored numerous book chapters, technical reports, and peer-reviewed papers. Her work appears in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education, and Cultural Studies in Science Education.
Prior to American University, Dr. Parker was a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Education.
Emeritus Astronomer - David Soderblom (he/him)
David Soderblom is an Emeritus Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute. He studies stars.
