I was brought up in Edinburgh, and I studied
astronomy at the University of St.Andrews, as an undergraduate and a
postgraduate, finally getting my PhD in 1980.
I have done a variety of jobs, including a spell with the BBC World Service in London.
From 1982 to 1994 I held the post of City
Astronomer in Dundee, looking after the Mills Observatory -
Britain’s only full-time public observatory. For some years I was
editor of the Scottish
Astronomers’ Group newsletter SAGMag.
My chief astronomical interest is in asteroids and other small
solar-system objects. I used to be mainly involved in accurate
position measurements; lately I have also being measuring their changing
brightnesses, to produce light-curves.
I am an honorary member of staff at St.Andrews University, in the School of Physics and Astronomy. From 1996 to
2003 I was an active member of the team taking the St.Andrews mobile planetarium on trips to schools,
during which time I presented nearly 200 shows. I still provide simple information on what’s in the sky.
In February 1998, I gave a short series of lectures on Positional
Astronomy for second-year students at St.Andrews. Notes for
these lectures are available for users within the University.
I am also employed by the Open
University, currently tutoring their second-level course Science
in Context and their third-level course on
astrophysics, The Energetic
Universe. I have tutored, or acted as Study Adviser, on several
other OU astronomy courses in the past. In my "spare" time I also study
various Open University courses, ranging from the History of
Mathematics to Women’s Studies. And in 2007 I started
training as a keep-fit teacher with Medau Movement.
I live in St.Andrews with Roger
Stapleton, and two cats called (among other things)
Smokey and Ben. I gave up driving a car
some
years ago;
I get around on foot, by bicycle, or using public transport.
Other non-astronomical interests include: amateur radio,
hand-spinning and needlework, gardening, and certain
areas of science fiction/fantasy (I share my name with a starship).
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Page last modified 2008 January 6th.