photo by Jerry Foreman Kathy Eastwood will teach a stellar astronomy seminar in La Serena, Chile, next semester

Fulbright award has professor
seeing stars

Kathy DeGioia Eastwood, professor of physics and astronomy, has achieved a stellar honor—a Fulbright lecturing and research award at the University of La Serena in Chile.

Eastwood will be teaching a stellar astronomy seminar course for the fall semester and continuing her work measuring the masses of massive stars, a project led by Phil Massey of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. Massive stars are rare and not visible to the naked eye.

"I plan to meet Chilean people and students and learn some 'astronomical' Spanish," Eastwood said of her teaching plans. She is pleased to have received this award and looks forward to the chance to study South American traditions and language. "I really like learning about other cultures."

Chile and the Southern Hemisphere also provide a better astronomical viewing point for Eastwood's research: Most of the massive stars Eastwood and her colleagues study are only visible from the Southern Hemisphere.

The town of La Serena is home to the headquarters of several major international observatories and, consequently, home to many astronomers.

Eastwood's research determines the mass of these stars by measuring the orbit of the stars around one another. The orbit depends on the mutual gravitational force between the two stars, and the force depends on their masses.

The masses of the stars are then compared to theoretical models to determine whether the models are correct. "A theoretical understanding of these unusual stars is important to understanding the evolution of our galaxy and of the universe as a whole," Eastwood said.

Eastwood has been committed to both undergraduate education and research since 1989 when she was appointed director of the National Undergraduate Research Observatory at NAU and Lowell Observatory. She has written numerous research articles and presentations.

Eastwood is one of about 800 U.S. faculty, including NAU professor Eugene Cruz-Uribe, and professionals who will travel abroad to some 150 countries for the 2006-07 academic year through the Fulbright Scholar program.