BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

I was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1951. Since my dad was in the Air Force, I didn’t live there long! My dad's career took the family to live in many places around the USA, including Alabama, Washington, California, Texas, Hawaii, Georgia, and Delaware.

I attended Dickinson College in Pennsylvania where I met my husband. We went to graduate school at Dartmouth in New Hampshire and then moved to warmer climes in Arizona to do post doctoral research. After a few years in Tucson, we moved to Oregon to work at Tektronix. Oregon is beautiful, but we decided that it would be nice to live closer to family since we now had young children. We moved to Austin, Texas where my parents live and I took time off from work until our youngest child was in school. Then I decided that my initial plans to teach would be the way to go.

I have always been interested in science and math. They were my favorite subjects at school and at first I thought I might like to be an astronaut, having been inspired by the space program. (I’d still like to get to space someday!)

Having had some great teachers in college and high school, I wanted to learn to teach. Those plans were sidelined for awhile, but I eventually got back to what I love best. Helping students learn about the rich and exciting subjects of astronomy and physics is a joy. Trying to find ways to make these subjects understandable and to inspire students to love them too is my continual goal. The feedback from students who realize that they can learn the material, use it in their future careers, or enjoy understanding complex and interesting science information is what makes it all worthwhile!

When not teaching or preparing classes, I enjoy reading, music, and spending time with my family and friends.


EDUCATION:

PH.D. IN PHYSICS, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 1978
Thesis: “Low Temperature Properties of Germanium, Silicon and Carbon with Application to Bolometry.”
Additional study included Quantum Mechanics, Electricity & Magnetism, Solid State Physics, Thermodynamics and Quantum Electrodynamics.

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN PHYSICS, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Penn., 1973
Graduated Summa Cum Laude with Phi Beta Kappa


EXPERIENCE:

AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Cedar Park and Austin, Texas 1996-Present
PROFESSOR OF ASTRONOMY, PHYSICS & MATH
Taught Stellar Astronomy, Solar System Astronomy, Engineering Physics, General Physics, Conceptual Physics, College Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, College Math, and Environmental Science.
INSTRUCTIONAL ASSOCIATE in Learning Lab 2001-Present
Tutored all levels of Math, Physics, and Astronomy.

TEKTRONIX, Beaverton, Oregon 1980-1983
IC / HYBRID PROCESS ENGINEER
Guided and managed research project teams. Re-engineered and implemented new processes into manufacturing. Supervised and assisted engineers and technicians in activities related to lab procedures for hybrid thin-film photolithography.


UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LUNAR AND PLANETARY LABORATORY, Tucson, Arizona 1978 - 1980
POST DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW
Developed infrared radiation detectors for astronomical applications.