NSP

NSP5 Home Page
Daily Reports & Photos
Welcome Letter
Schedule
General Info
Contests & Awards
Programs & Speakers
Door Prizes
Acknowledgements


Lodging
Activities
Site Info

Contact Us

Programs and Speakers

Planetary Nebula	Dave Knisely
Galileo Europa Mission	Mike Ford
Observing Variable Stars	Gary Fugman
Extremophiles - Life On The Edge	Steve Edmondson
The Future of Amateur Astronomy	Carolyn Peterson
Time	Louis Dorland
Tippy’s Talk	Tippy D'Auria

Louis Dorland has been interested in Astronomy since grade school. Early memories include learning the circumpolar constellations and observing a partial solar eclipse with pin hole projection. Louis was an active member and officer of the Black Hills Astronomical Society. He received a Master’s Degree in Physics from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Louis is currently the President of the Omaha Astronomical Society and a member of the Prairie Astronomy Club. Louis lives with his wife Susie and daughter Cassie in Papillion, Nebraska.

Tippy D'Auria is an electronics instrumentation technician and has a degree in Electronic Engineering Technology. He has been an active astronomer since 1980. He is currently a member of the Southern Cross Astronomical Society and has served as a member of the Societies Board of Fellows for 14 years and was a Vice President of that Society for many years as well. Tippy is also a member of The Local Group of Deep Sky Observers, the Institute for Planetary Research Observatories (IPRO), Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (A.L.P.O.), and The Astronomical League.He is a noted astrophotographer who uses cold camera photography for his work and has previously taught Creative Photography and DarkroomTechniques for 7 years at the Miami Dade Community College in Miami,Florida. Tippy is the founder of the Winter Star Party which is sponsored by the Southern Cross Astronomical Society and has been the Chairman of that star party for six of its 14 years. He is also a frequent guest speaker and has lectured on Astronomy at Universities, High Schools, Astronomy Clubs and Civic Groups as well as at State and National Parks. He has been a guest speaker at the Winter Star Party in Florida on fourteen different occasions and has also been a guest speaker at events such as the Texas Star Party in Texas, Mt. Kobau Star Party in British Columbia, Southern Star Conference in North Carolina, Hidden Hollow Astronomy Convention in Ohio, Peach State Star Gaze in Georgia, Starfest Convention in Toronto, the Highlands Star Gaze in Florida, and Astronomy Day Conferences in Columbus, Georgia as well as Miami and Jacksonville, Florida. In 1994 he was invited to attend the 2nd Annual Congress of Central American astronomers in San Salvador, El Salvador, and was an invited speaker at the 4th Annual Congress of Central American Astronomers held in Guatemala City, Guatemala in 1996. In 1987 & 1988 he was awarded the Southern Cross Astronomical Societies "Joe T. Doris Service Award for Outstanding Contribution".In December of 1992 he was honored with a Lifetime Membership to the Southern Cross Astronomical Society for Meritorious Service to that Society. Only six such awards have been given since 1922.He is also the author of numerous articles and papers. He has contributed to the section on darkroom techniques for the book"Introduction to Observing and Photographing the Solar System, by Thomas A. Dobbins, Donald C. Parker, and Charles F. Capen. Tippy also has co-authored, with Vic Menard, the definitive book on telescope collimation, titled, "Perspectives on Collimation - Principles and Procedures".Tippy is also an Amateur Telescope Maker who has several instruments, consisting of sizes in 2", 4-1/2", 6", 10", 12", and 18" sizes. His main astronomical interests are Astrophotography, Deep Sky Observing, Solar System Observing, and enjoys exploring active volcanoes as well.

Steve Edmondson is a biochemist by profession and has a faculty appointment in the Medical Biochemistry Department at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. For the past several years Steve has been studying the enhanced stability of proteins from thermophiles, the bacteria that thrive in hot sulfur springs. He has also recently appeared in a segment on extremophiles on the Discovery Channel.

Mike Ford has been an amateur astronomer for over 36 years. Some of the programs Mike has been involved in include the total and grazing occultation program, contributor to the Jupiter, Saturn and Venus sections of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO), and various observing programs through Crane Observatory at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Also, he has been heavily involved in astronomy education using STARLAB, a portable planetarium, and other odds and ends to teach basic concepts of astronomy. Mike has presented at four National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) National Conventions on astronomy. Also, I was just named a NASA Fellow for the Galileo Europa Mission. He currently teaches astronomy, general science, and broadcast journalism at Holton High School in Holton, Kansas and Introduction to Astronomy and Geology for Highland Community College.

Gary Fugman had his start in astronomy with the Peoria (Illinois) Astronomical Society. He has been a member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers since 1978. Since then he ha slogged thousands of observations of all types of variable stars. Along with other teaching responsibilities, Gary has formulated and taught general astronomy courses for the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, Buena Vista University and Iowa Central Community College. He founded the Northwest Iowa Astronomers, now affiliated with the Sanfors Museum and Planetarium in Cherokee, Iowa.

Dave Knisley has been observing the skies for the past 31 years from near his home in Beatrice, Nebr. He received his B.S. in Physics/ Astronomy from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, but now works with the developmentally disabled at a facility near his home. He is currently president of the Prairie Astronomy Club of Lincoln, and, in addition to being an avid telescope maker, he enjoys observing both Deep-sky wonders and the Sun in H-alpha.

Carolyn Collins Peterson is an award-winning science writer who, since 1980, has created articles and stories for such publications as Sky & Telescope, The Denver Post, and many others. She is first author of Hubble Vision, due out in 2nd edition in late 1998, published by Cambridge University Press, co-written with Dr. John C. Brandt, Principal Investigator of the Hubble Space Telescope's Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS). Carolyn joined Sky Publishing after eight years with the GHRS team at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado. She also did a series of comet observations in Colorado and Hawaii and coordinated observations for the Ulysses Comet Watch Network. Carolyn has written more than 20 planetarium shows for Loch Ness Productions. These programs