General Information
Here are photographs (where available) and a short description of the Guest Speakers that we have been fortunate to have give presentations at the monthly meetings of the CDAA.
Nik Szymanek
Nik Szymanek
Nicholas Szymanek, better known as Nik Szymanek, is a British amateur astronomer and prolific astrophotographer. He is acknowledged especially due to his deep sky CCD images and his contributions to education and public outreach. He often collaborates with professional astronomers and works with big telescopes located at La Palma in the Canary Islands. His imaging and image-processing abilities brought him the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 2004. He publishes his pictures in many astronomical magazines and has also written a book on astrophotography called Infinity Rising.
Script taken from 'Wikipedia'
PRESENTATIONS:
5th May 2005
Astro-Imaging from Mauna Kea Hawaii.
6th September 2007
Photographing the Night Sky.
His next presentation for us will be on:
6th May 2010
New Adventures in Astro Imaging.
Dr. Jonathan Shanklin
Dr. Jonathan Shanklin
Website:The Ozone Hole
Dr. Jonathan Shanklin was born in Wrexham, North Wales and educated at King's School, Chester and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He has been employed by the British Antarctic Survey since 1977 and works in the Meteorological and Ozone Monitoring Unit. In the early 1980s he discovered what is now known as the Antarctic ozone hole. This discovery was published in Nature in 1985. He has made 14 trips to the Antarctic, visiting all the British bases and is responsible for running the operational side of the BAS meteorological observing program. This work includes purchasing, testing and installing new equipment, writing computer software, recruiting Antarctic scientists, training staff, analysing data, solving problems, writing papers and giving public lectures.
He received a Blue Peter Badge for the ozone hole discovery. Recent awards include the Society of Chemical Industry Environment Medal and the Institute of Physics Charles Chree Medal and Prize.
Script taken and modified from his own website
PRESENTATIONS:
1st September 2005
An Astronomer in Antarctica.
Dr. Lisa Wright
Dr. Lisa Wright
Website:Lisa Jardine-Wright
Dr. Lisa Wright is a researcher and the educational outreach officer at the Cavendish Laboratory , (physics department) part of Cambridge University. For research she uses computer simulations to study the formation and evolution of galaxies, like the Milky Way.
She is a lecturer of 1st year Maths for Natural Scientists at the University of Cambridge and a lecturer and course director for the Institute of Continuing Education, Cambridge University and also a supervisor and teaching associate in mathematics for Queen's College, Cambridge and the outreach officer for the East Anglian branch of the Institute of Physics.
As part of her science communication work she enjoys giving public lectures and media interviews about her work and general astronomy.
Script taken and modified from her own website
PRESENTATIONS:
5th January 2006
The Milky Way Outside/In.
Professor Nial Tanvir
Professor Nial Tanvir
Website:Nial's Home Page
Professor Nial Tanvir of the University of Leicester is a professional astronomer and has been at the fore-front of astronomy for over a decade. Perhaps most significant is his research in and around Gamma ray bursts. Tanvir featured in the Sky at Night hosted by Sir Patrick Moore, which is an astronomically focused TV program.
In 2002 he was a member of the research group which won the Descartes Prize.
On February 23rd 2009, Tanvir headed the UK team, studying gamma-ray bursts, which first detected the infrared afterglow of 090423 , the most distant event recorded to date.
Script taken from 'Wikipedia'
PRESENTATIONS:
1st June 2006
Mass and Mystery in M31.
Peter Meadows
Peter Meadows
Website:petermeadows.com
Script yet to be added
Script source
PRESENTATIONS:
7th June 2007
Solar Observing.
Jerry Workman
Jerry Workman
Jerry Workman specialises in giving a wide variety of lectures on the
geology and objects of the Solar System. He is widely known in astronomical
circles, giving lectures to many astronomical societies, and won the Eric
Zucker Award from the FAS at its 2009 AGM for his work in the astronomical
community.
Jerry is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, trained as a chemist, works at
Hammersmith in Central London, and is currently chairman of Loughton AS.
Script written by David Pugh
PRESENTATIONS:
1st May 2008
The Cassini Mission.
His next presentation for us will be on:
5th November 2009
The Huygen's Mission to Titan.
His next presentation in the new year will be on:
1st July 2010
The Eclipses of 2008 and 2009.
Dr. Carolin Crawford
Dr. Carolin Crawford
Website:Carolin Craford's Home Page
Dr. Carolin Crawford is an observer working with X-ray, optical and near-infrared data, primarily on: the properties and immediate environment of massive central cluster galaxies and powerful radio sources at intermediate redshift.
She enjoys communicating the excitement of Astronomy to a wide audience and can sometimes be heard on BBC Radio 4, where she is a regular panellist on the environmental programme Home Planet.
Script taken and modified from her own website
PRESENTATIONS:
5th June 2008
The Latest from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Tom Boles
Tom Boles
Website:Coddenham Astronomical Observatory U.K.
Tom Boles comes originally from Glasgow where he spent many happy years as a telescope designer and maker for Charles Frank Ltd., Saltmarket, Glasgow, from whom many amateurs in the UK, including me, acquired their first telescopes.
Today, he is a retired computer and telecom support engineer having held director level positions with several multinational equipment marketing and support companies.
He is a past President and current Vice President of The British Astronomical Association, a Fellow of The Royal Astronomical Society a member of Commission 28 of the IAU. I am also a member of The Webb Society and The Astronomer.
The IAU named asteroid (7648) Tomboles=1989 TB1 in recognition of his contribution to astronomy. The BAA awarded me the Merlin Medal in 2008 for a notable contribution to the advancement of astronomy.
His devouring passion is extra-galactic supernovae: their physics, appearance, demographics and, of course, their discovery. He patrols on every available clear night and monitors some 12,000 galaxies for supernovae.
Script taken and modified from his own website
PRESENTATIONS:
5th February 2009
Discovering Supernovae: Methods, Motivation and Rewards.
Dr. Lawrence Newell
Dr. Lawrence Newell
Dr. Laurence Newell, an amateur radio astronomer from Martlesham in Suffolk
Script taken from the CDAA website
PRESENTATIONS:
2nd April 2009
Radio Astronomy.
Dr. Lee Sproats
Dr. Lee Sproats
Dr. Lee Sproats is a professional astronomer, formerly of the Mullard Space
Science Laboratory and the CTI Centre for Physics. He is one of the most
knowledgeable advisors in UK astronomy, also working for Green-Witch, and
deals with everyone from absolute beginners through to international
research institutes.
Script written by David Pugh