Matt O'Dowd (astrophysicist)

Last updated

Matt O'Dowd
Born (1973-01-05) January 5, 1973 (age 51)
Australia
Alma mater University of Melbourne (BSc, PhD)
OccupationAstrophysicist

Matthew John O'Dowd is an Australian astrophysicist. He is an associate professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the Lehman College of the City University of New York [1] [2] and writer and host of PBS Space Time on YouTube. [3] He is a frequent guest on Science Goes to the Movies on CUNY TV and on StarTalk radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson. [4]

Contents

Education

University

O’Dowd attended the University of Melbourne, beginning his Bachelor's in Science in 1992 and concluding in 1994 with a major in physics. In 1995, he completed his First Class Honours in physics. In 2003, he completed his Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics with his thesis, titled: 'The Host Galaxies of Radio-loud AGN'. [5]

Career

O'Dowd is an associate professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the Lehman College of the City University of New York. [1] He is a staff scientist at the American Museum of Natural History. Since 2015, he has been the writer and host of PBS Space Time, a video series by PBS Digital Studios. [6] O'Dowd is a crew member of Black Rock Observatory, a mobile observatory that debuted at Burning Man in 2012. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Drake</span> American astronomer and astrophysicist (1930–2022)

Frank Donald Drake was an American astrophysicist and astrobiologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astrophysics</span> Subfield of astronomy

Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the heavenly bodies, rather than their positions or motions in space–what they are, rather than where they are." Among the subjects studied are the Sun, other stars, galaxies, extrasolar planets, the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background. Emissions from these objects are examined across all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition. Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, astrophysicists apply concepts and methods from many disciplines of physics, including classical mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehman College</span> Public college in the Bronx, New York

Lehman College is a public college in New York City. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college within CUNY in September 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United States senator, philanthropist, and the son of Lehman Brothers co-founder Mayer Lehman. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY) and offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and specializations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janna Levin</span> American theoretical cosmologist

Janna J. Levin is an American theoretical cosmologist and a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in astronomy and physics with a concentration in philosophy at Barnard College in 1988 and a PhD in theoretical physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993. Much of her work deals with looking for evidence to support the proposal that our universe might be finite in size due to its having a nontrivial topology. Other work includes black holes and chaos theory. She joined the faculty at Barnard College in January 2004 and is currently the Claire Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiorella Terenzi</span> Italian astrophysicist, musician

Fiorella Terenzi is an Italian-born astrophysicist, author and recording artist who is best known for taking recordings of radio waves from far-away galaxies and turning them into music. She received her doctorate from the University of Milan but is currently based in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil deGrasse Tyson</span> American astrophysicist (born 1958)

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University. In 1994, he joined the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist and the Princeton faculty as a visiting research scientist and lecturer. In 1996, he became director of the planetarium and oversaw its $210 million reconstruction project, which was completed in 2000. Since 1996, he has been the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. The center is part of the American Museum of Natural History, where Tyson founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Berlin</span> American neuroscientist

Heather A. Berlin is an American neuroscientist and licensed clinical psychologist noted for her work in science communication and science outreach. Her research focuses on brain-behavior relationships affecting the prevention and treatment of impulsive and compulsive psychiatric disorders. She is also interested in the neural basis of consciousness, dynamic unconscious processes, and creativity. Berlin is host of the PBS Nova series Your Brain, the PBS series Science Goes to the Movies, the Discovery Channel series Superhuman Showdown, and StarTalk All-Stars with Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Nye</span> American science communicator (born 1955)

William Sanford Nye is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science education television show Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–1999) and as a science educator in pop culture. Born in Washington, D.C., Nye began his career as a mechanical engineer for Boeing in Seattle, where he invented a hydraulic resonance suppressor tube used on 747 airplanes. In 1986, he left Boeing to pursue comedy—writing and performing for the local sketch television show Almost Live!, where he regularly conducted wacky scientific experiments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science Writing Award</span> Award for excellence in writing about science

The American Institute of Physics (AIP) instituted their Science Writing Award to "promote effective science communication in print and broadcast media in order to improve the general public's appreciation of physics, astronomy, and allied science fields." The winner receives $3000, and an engraved Windsor chair. The award is given in three broad categories: 1) science writing, 2) work intended for children, and 3) work done in new media. The AIP stopped issuing awards to three categories: 1) work by a professional journalist 2) work by a scientist, and 3) broadcast media

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Kirshen</span> British comedian

Matt Kirshen is a British comedian, actor, writer, and presenter based in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Grinspoon</span> American astrobiologist

David H. Grinspoon is an American astrobiologist. He is Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute and was the former inaugural Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology for 2012–2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Harvey-Smith</span> Australian astronomer

Lisa Harvey-Smith is a British-Australian astrophysicist, Australia's Women in STEM Ambassador and a Professor of Practice in Science Communication at the University of NSW. Her research interests include the origin and evolution of cosmic magnetism, supernova remnants, the interstellar medium, massive star formation and astrophysical masers. For almost a decade Harvey-Smith was a research scientist at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), including several years as the Project Scientist for the Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder and later Project Scientist for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) Telescope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MinutePhysics</span> Educational YouTube channel

MinutePhysics is an educational YouTube channel created by Henry Reich in 2011. The channel's videos use whiteboard animation to explain physics-related topics. Early videos on the channel were approximately one minute long. As of June 2023, the channel has over 5.6 million subscribers.

<i>StarTalk</i> (podcast) Podcast hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

StarTalk is a podcast on science, comedy, and popular culture hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, with various comic and celebrity co-hosts and frequent guests from the worlds of science and entertainment. Past co-hosts have included Colin Jost, Lynne Koplitz, Leighann Lord, Eugene Mirman, Chuck Nice, John Oliver, and Kristen Schaal. Guests have included astronaut Buzz Aldrin, actor Morgan Freeman, George Takei, comedian Joan Rivers, Arianna Huffington, YouTuber Sam Denby, Richard Dawkins and writer Mary Roach. StarTalk has a segment called Cosmic Queries, in which listeners send in questions about the universe to be answered on the show.

<i>StarTalk</i> (American talk show) 2015 TV series

StarTalk is an American television talk show hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson that airs weekly on National Geographic. StarTalk is a spin-off of the podcast of the same name, in which Tyson discusses scientific topics through one-on-one interviews and panel discussions. Space.com called it the "first-ever science-themed late-night talk show." The series premiered on April 20, 2015.

<i>Space Odyssey: The Video Game</i> Upcoming sandbox video game

Space Odyssey: The Video Game is an upcoming sandbox video game with 4X elements developed by Space Media Ventures for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android systems, including virtual reality devices. The game is being co-developed by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and has some educational aspects as the player designs and grows parts of a virtual galaxy.

The Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto is an astronomical research centre.

Anna Louise Watts is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam. She studies neutron stars and their thermonuclear explosions.

Charles Tsun-Chu Liu is an American astronomer and astronomy educator. His research interests include merging and colliding galaxies, active galactic nuclei, and the star formation history of the universe. He is a former director of the William E. Macaulay Honors College and The Verrazano School at the City University of New York's College of Staten Island. He currently serves as a professor of physics and astronomy at the College of Staten Island, and as President of the Astronomical Society of New York. In 2019, he was named a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Fast</span> American Scientist

Kelly E. Fast is an American astronomer, program scientist, and science communicator who currently serves as the Program Manager for NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations program, the Program Scientist for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF), and the Program Officer for NASA’s Yearly Opportunities for Research in Planetary Defense (YORPD) research solicitation. The portfolio Fast oversees is part of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which manages asteroid impact avoidance activities across NASA and coordinates U.S. interagency and international efforts to study and plan a response to the asteroid impact hazard. In 2003, main belt asteroid 115434 was renamed “Kellyfast” in honor of her contributions to planetary science.

References

  1. 1 2 "Lehman Professor Takes Off as New Host of PBS Digital Astronomy Series – CUNY Newswire". www1.cuny.edu. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  2. "Department of Physics and Astronomy - Lehman College". www.lehman.edu. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  3. "PBS Space Time". YouTube. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  4. "Cosmic Queries: A Taste of Space, with Matt O'Dowd - StarTalk Radio". StarTalk Radio Show by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  5. "Curriculum Vitae". Yumpu. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  6. "Matt ODowd". LinkedIn. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  7. "Black Rock Observatory". Black Rock Observatory. Retrieved 25 March 2018.