Chris Impey
University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
October 18-20, 2006 (Thursday and Friday)
Chris Impey, recipient of eleven teaching awards at Arizona, is a University Distinguished Professor in the department of astronomy. In 2002 he was named the National Science Foundation Distinguished Teaching Scholar as well as the Arizona Teacher of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation, and in 2005 he was selected a Galileo Circle Scholar, the College of Science’s highest honor. He created the Astronomica Web site, which provides students with interactive tools and instructional technology, and has been instrumental in curriculum development in astrobiology.
His research interests are in observational cosmology, gravitational lensing, and the evolution and structure of galaxies. He is the co-author of two textbooks, The Cosmic Journey and Universe Revealed. He currently serves as vice-president of the American Astronomical Society and is a member of its astronomy education board and the editorial board of Astronomy Education Review. He has been a Harlow Shapley visiting lecturer for the AAS, and in 1998 received the Slipher Award from the National Academy of Sciences.
Professor Impey’s lecture on “The Art of Science” was part of the Sagan National Colloquium of Fall 2006.