Students who attend her 9 a.m. astronomy lectures, gaze at the stars from Madison-Macdonald Observatory or participate in one of Northern Colorado’s various astronomy clubs get the opportunity to learn from and be led by associate professor Emily Hardegree-Ullman.
Hardegree-Ullman has taught for the department of physics at Colorado State University for over 10 years and is the sole professor teaching astronomy classes in the department. She said she first acquired an interest in space at a young age.
“I used to stay up after my bedtime to watch ‘Star Trek’ with my dad when I was little,” Hardegree-Ullman said.
She carried that love of space with her to college, where she pursued an undergraduate astrobiology degree from the University of Arizona. Afterward, she earned her Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. It was during her time at Rensselaer when she got the idea to eventually teach astronomy.
“I was (a) TA for my professor,” Hardegree-Ullman said. “He had a student who was really struggling and needed to pass the class. (The professor) asked if I would tutor the student. I agreed, and the student went from failing to passing with flying colors.”
Beyond the lecture hall, Hardegree-Ullman does outreach to interested students, particularly at the Madison-Macdonald Observatory, a campus observatory on CSU’s Fort Collins campus. The observatory has been a space for people to observe the night sky and attend astronomy events since its opening in 1965. The observatory hosts free public observation nights on the second and fourth Friday of each month from April to November — as long as there are no impeding weather conditions.
“I think (the observatory is) everyone’s favorite thing to visit,” Hardegree-Ullman said. “We had our 60th anniversary open house recently.”
Hardegree-Ullman’s outreach extends beyond the observatory. She also provides outreach to campus partners such as the Little Shop of Physics and to Fort Collins and Northern Colorado communities.
“In November, we’re going to have some telescopes over at the Old Town Public Library,” Hardegree-Ullman said. “They’re celebrating the Voyager missions from many decades ago. It’s things like that where the community says, ‘We’d like to see (through) some telescopes. Do you want to come visit?’ We’ve done things like that over the years.”
Much of her outreach attracts her own students, many of whom attend her astronomy lectures. All students and faculty are welcome to attend public observing nights at the observatory, but Emily Briggs, a Madison-Macdonald Observatory telescope operator, said the observatory mainly attracts interested students.
“It’s a variety of different people,” Briggs said. “Mostly students, of course, because we’re located on campus. (Hardegree-Ullman) brings in a lot of students from her classes, whether it’s for extra credit or homework assignments.”
Hardegree-Ullman said the astronomy program’s small size enables her to handle her teaching responsibilities along with operating the observatory. While she receives the help of others, most of the CSU astronomy program enjoys her assistance in one way or another.
“(Hardegree-Ullman) runs the whole show,” Briggs said. “She’ll tell us if the weather is too bad, (and) we’re not allowed to show up. She’ll tell us that her students are coming, (and) she’ll show up. She really drives the whole operation.”
While Hardegree-Ullman is the department’s sole astronomist, she does enjoy the aid of the CSU Astronomy Club and students like Briggs who help her operate the telescope at the observatory.
“I help her with so many different things,” Briggs said. “I help her move telescopes, and I help her manage how many people are coming to the observatory. She can’t talk to everyone, so she hires me and other telescope operators to help mitigate that.”
Reach Robert Sides at science@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
