CUREA staff for 2007

Paula Turner - CUREA Director
Paula is an associate professor of physics at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, currently serving as an associate provost for the College. She will return to teaching full time in 2009-2010. Her research involves near infrared imaging of merging galaxy systems, using the infrared radiation to probe the merger-induced star formation in these systems. At Kenyon, Paula teaches courses ranging from Astronomy 101 to senior-level experimental physics. She is also the director of the Franklin Miller Observatory on campus.

James LoPresto
Jim is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He is actively involved in solar physics research at the National Solar Observatory at Kitt Peak in Arizona. Jim designed and built the Maize Sunfire Observatory which has a 20 inch Torus Robotic Telescope in an automated dome and a small solar telescope spar in a roll off roof observatory. The Torus is used to hunt supernovae and asteroids. Jim's main interest is ultra-high resolution solar spectroscopy using the Fourier Transform Spectrometer associated with the McMath-Pierce Solar telescope.

Karina Leppik
Karina is on the planetarium staff of the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village, Ohio. In addition to public programs at the planetarium, she takes StarLab, a portable planetarium, into Cleveland City schools to share the wonders of the universe with urban kids. Karina has spent time at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station as a telescope technician and helps with public viewing at the Oberlin College Observatory.

Chris Martin
Chris is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Oberlin College in Oberlin Ohio where he teaches everything from Introductory astronomy to advanced Astrophysics, Electronics and Quantum Field Theory. His research pursuits have taken him to the ends of the Earth- literally. After spending time at the South Pole with the Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory mapping the galactic center, he is using similar instrumentation to look at the Earth's mesosphere.

Mike Simmons
Mike was the founding president of the Mount Wilson Observatory Association and remains active in that organization and at the observatory. He is familiar with all of the observatory's facilities and has used many of them. Wth a particular interest in the history of the observatory, Mike has written several articles on various historical topics and often lectures on the observatory's early days. A long-time amateur astronomer, Mike is also a past president of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society.

Tom Meneghini
Tom has been interested in astronomy since watching Earth's first artificial satellite, Sputnik, pass overhead as a child. He is an active participant in Mount Wilson Observatory's public education and outreach programs. He was a telescope operator for the Telescopes in Education remote telescope program and now operates the 16-inch and 60-inch telescopes. Tom has participated in several CUREA sessions and is usually found in one dome or another throughout the night training students and assisting them with their research projects. He is a member of the Mount Wilson Observatory Association and the Los Angeles Astronomical Society.

Dave Jurasevich
Dave Jurasevich is the superintendent of Mount Wilson Observatory. A mechanical engineer by training, Dave inaugurated Mount Wilson’s outreach efforts with the 16-inch telescope that is used nightly by CUREA, improving the telescope and training telescope operators. Dave’s interest in astronomy began while growing up at the dawn of the Space Age. His primary observing interest is double stars and he has become a renowned astrophotographer (see Dave's web site).

Don Nicholson
Don Nicholson was born in Pasadena and was raised in Pasadena and Altadena. He is a graduate of Pomona College and holds a Master of Science degree from Caltech. His father, Seth Nicholson, was an astronomer on the staff of the Mount Wilson Observatory. Don grew up having a very close involvement with the Observatory and since his retirement from a career as an optical engineer has returned to that relationship. He is currently President of the Mount Wilson Observatory Association, a support group for the Observatory, and is Associate Deputy Director for External Affairs of the Mount Wilson Institute which manages the Observatory for the Carnegie Institution of Washington. As such, he has a personal knowledge of the Observatory's history and accomplishments and of the developments currently taking place there.

Bob Eklund
Bob Eklund grew up on the grounds of Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin where his grandfather and mother worked. He is a science and technology writer and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Mount Wilson Observatory Association. Bob has edited MWOA's newsletter and quarterly publication, Reflections, for many years. He also writes a weekly column, "Looking Up," in the Sierra Madre, California-based newspaper, The Mt. Wilson Observer and has two books currently being prepared for publication. Several astronomers and observers at facilities on Mount Wilson also contribute to CUREA in their areas of expertise.

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