On Monday, May 7, 2012, Astronomy Foundation (AF) President David J. Eicher announced that Alex Khachaturyan, vice president of the Astronomy Foundation, has stepped aside, and that Delaware amateur astronomer and activist Karen Jennings is the foundation’s new vice president. Khachaturyan will continue as a member of the foundation and will continue providing help on the AF website with his company GammaFX.
Jennings, a dedicated amateur astronomer and town council member in Townsend, Delaware, becomes the foundation’s vice president through April 2013. She is also the Astronomy Club Committee chair for the foundation, and has been communicating frequently with astronomy clubs in the United States and elsewhere to solicit their participation in AF activities. She is the author of “
Why Gen X and Y should care about astronomy” in the February 2011 issue of
Astronomy magazine. Vice President Jennings is married to amateur astronomer and telescope maker Chuck Jennings, and they have two children.
Those of you who follow the foundation’s activities know that Karen has recently produced “Sidewalk Astronomy” and “Star Party” resource guides that are available to astronomy clubs, educators, and advocates as
downloadable PDFs. Karen also recently established a light-pollution ordinance in her town and hosts regular community outreach events such as “Astronomy in the Park.” She recently represented the foundation at the Philadelphia Science Festival and at the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF).
Karen began her undergraduate studies as a dance major at the University of the Arts, and graduated from Temple University with a degree in psychology. She is currently working on outreach initiatives that include collaborations between the astronomy and arts communities; amateur telescope making; observing aid that will help those with physical and intellectual disabilities; and programming to help broaden diversity in amateur astronomy and to increase participation by Gen X and Y in the hobby.
For more information, see the
Astronomy Foundation website, the
Astronomy Foundation’s page on Facebook, and the
Astronomy Foundation area on Astronomy.com.