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Searching With NASA’s SOFIA
Talk by Dr. Dana Backman
Tuesday, February 23
7-8 p.m.
Get to know SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, which recently helped scientists find water on the Moon. SOFIA is a specially-modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that carries a very powerful 106-inch reflecting telescope.
About Dr. Dana Backman
Principal Investigator of NASA’s Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program. B.Sc. in physics from MIT, Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Hawai’i. Infrared astronomy post-doctoral researcher at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona and at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Professor of physics and astronomy for 12 years at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Employed by the SETI Institute as director of education and public outreach for NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) at NASA-Ames from 2003 to 2016. Has taught courses on introductory astronomy at Santa Clara University and on global climate change in Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program. Co-author with Michael Seeds of three college introductory astronomy textbooks: “Horizons”, “Foundations”, and “ASTRO”.
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