Web Home for Dr. Carol Christian

Dr. Carol Christian is an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD. Her position as the Hubble Space Telescope Outreach Project Scientist is to ensure that accurate scientific information is distributed through STScI's products for the media, educators and the general public. She has held diverse positions at STScI, and served as a Science and Technology Policy Advisor at the US Department of State, for 3 years, promoting pervasive use of Geographic Information Systems and satellite remote sensing data to Department bureaus and posts.

She has invented and teamed on a number of education and outreach programs and currently is the lead of 3D Astronomy, a project bringing Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope data, as well as data from other sources as well as relevant information to visually impaired individuals through the use of 3D prints. This project also is aimed at stimulating student interest in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Technology) and career opportunities in STEM fields. She received her PhD in Astrophysics from Boston University.

Former positions held:

• Deputy of the Community Missions Office (CMO), the division of STScI that finds creative solutions and applies expertise from Hubble to new scientific missions and programs.
• Head, Office of Public Outreach at STScI
• Head, Guest Observer Program for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer

Memberships

• American Astronomical Society 
• Technical committees of the Internatiomal Aeronautical Federation (Space Astronomy, Space Outreach and Education, Vice Chair; Technical Committe for Cultural Utilization of Space; Co-organizer and mentor for Next Generation Space Leaders program).
• Internatiomal Astronomical Union

Service to Science and Public Communities

• Astronomical Society of the Pacific Board
• NASA Langley Earth Science Data User Group.
• Zooniverse Advisory Committee
• Co-Host on “SkyWatch” the  WYPR, (Baltimore NPR radio station) astronomy vignette 
• Co-Host "This Week in Space Telescopes" –TWIST podcast

Projects Initiated

• 3D Astronomy: A current program to provide Hubble and other data printed with a 3D printer outfitted with specific textures aimed to share astronomical research especially with individuals with blindness and visual impairment [Team lead]. This project is also associated with the Career Exploration Lab (CEL), a program that supports educators with tools to engage students with BVI which also includes a summer camp experience for the students [Co-I].
• Hubble Hangouts, and formerly Afternoon Astronomy Coffee weekly series to discuss the latest astronomical research with the teams who study the cosmos. Note since these were initiated over ~2010, many other YouTube, Podcast, and Webinars have arisen covering Physics and Astronomy, sometimes copying our best practice of moderators interviewing scientists with audience participation.
• Amazing Space: a program to create educational resources for supporting pre-college curricula and teacher training (50 states, > 250 school districts). [initial creator 1996]
• Tour the Cosmos: radio/internet simulcasts on hot topics in HST research [co-creator 1997]
• Hubble Heritage: A former project to create a library of iconic Hubble images [Team member]
• Innovation in the SharkCage - an intensive workshop for STScI personnel to apply their accumulated expertise to challenges in providing exemplary service to the science community at an optimum cost. [Creator 2001]