Michael talks with our guests about the new Smithsonian exhibit, “Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky. It sounds like this exhibit will convince any skeptic of the importance of restoring the night sky. Watch out for a future episode, live from the Smithsonian. Dr. Kimberly Arcand is a leading expert in astronomy visualization and has been a pioneer in 3D imaging, printing, and extended reality applications with astrophysics data. She has worked for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory since 1998. Her current research includes sonification of spatial data, machine learning as applied to image processing, and other intersections of emerging technology and astrophysics. Jill Johnson is an exhibit developer and project manager in the Office of Exhibits at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. I have worked here since 1979—44 years! Seven of those were spent with the Marine Systems Laboratory at the museum. She has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Science from Southampton College/Long Island University. Stephen Loring attended Goddard College in Vermont and later the University of Massachusetts in Amherst from whence he got his PhD in 1991. He taught anthropology and northern studies at Middlebury College and the University of South Carolina prior to accepting a job with the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center in 1992.
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