member of
- (1) Physics and Astronomy planetarium director (McCallion and portable planetariums) – 7-14 hrs per week (1a) Portable visits – I continued to train graduate students and work with Indigenous communities, including personally participating in nine off-campus visits to Indigenous communities and downtown Hamilton schools/charities. (1b) Planetarium website migration and new ticket booking process - I oversaw the complete update that has streamlined our processes. (1c) New McCallion projector. We petitioned the Dean for funding, received the projector in fall 2023, and installed over the winter break 2023. (1d) Indigenous school groups. I organized multi-day visits from several Indigenous school groups (including the Celestial Bear planetarium shows, We Are Stardust Indigenous exhibit at the MMA, and Indigenous Student Services) (1e) MePLUS. I supported the creation and of this 10 month-long free program that offers science workshops, mentorship, and personal and professional opportunities to youth from equity-deserving groups, including Black, Indigenous, and LatinX high school students in Hamilton catchment and surrounding areas. Blake Ledger and I offered the first workshop. (1f) New Indigenous planetarium shows. I continued to develop new shows with several Indigenous scholars (Tom Deer, Vicki Monague, Bonita Bohnet, and Sam Doxtator). Sam's show is heading to the Hayden Planetarium in New York in 2024. (1g) SWA. I supported telescope training sessions with the Sidewalk Astronomy group. (1h) HWDSB Indigenous consultants. I hosted a full-day (7th December) event for HWDSB Indigenous consultants - that included an Indigenous guest speaker, a workshop, and a planetarium show. (1i) I cover the planetarium managers’ responsibilities while they are away., 2023
- (2) Faculty eclipse coordinator (2a) I worked with Maggie Cockburn on early eclipse preparation planning, which included a successful proposal to the Dean and Provost for $492,000 - including for the purchase of 600,000 eclipse glasses and the hiring of one full-time and one part-time eclipse coordinator. (2b) I worked through the hiring process for both the full-time and the part-time eclipse coordinators (2c) I helped coordinate the purchase and delivery of 600,000 eclipse glasses (2d) I trained 15 undergraduate students as "eclipse ambassadors" during 2 x 2-hour training sessions (2e) I participate in monthly meetings of the Ontario eclipse task force, and contribute to the workload (mainly developing education materials and distributing to local school boards), 2023
- (3) Physics and Astronomy EDI committee (chair from Jan-Jun; past-chair from Jul-Dec) (3a) 1-hour weekly meetings and associated action items (3b) Research Experience Award and USRA coordinating / administering (3c) Preparing and hosting EDI-related colloquia and workshops (3d) Supporting students with EDI-related issues in the department (3e) Representing the department in the Faculty of Science EDII EDII meetings and in the Science Indigenous Council (SIC), 2023
- (4) General P&A departmental involvement (4a) 1 faculty interview, including associated colloquium and meeting (4b) Attending departmental/Faculty of Science (4c) Participating in department-wide activities (4th-year thesis poster session, and “What to do in level 2”) (4d) Supporting students with mental health-related issues in the department (4e) Organizing and hosting colloquium speaker Sarah Johnson, 2023
- (5) General iSci involvement (5a) Reviewing iSci supplemental applications – 8 hours, 2023
- (6) Presentations of our outreach work at various conferences: COCKCROFT, R. “Furthering decolonization and reconciliation via a portable planetarium”, Western Conference on Science Education, 2023, London, Ontario. Ledger, B., COCKCROFT, R., Karam, J., & Laing, J. “Traveling with the stars: Extending our reach with the new portable planetarium”, Astronomy Education Conference 2023, Toronto, Ontario. Ledger, B. & COCKCROFT, R. “Total Eclipse of the Hammer”, Ontario Association of Physics Teachers Conference 2023, Perimeter Institute, Waterloo, Ontario. Ledger, B. & COCKCROFT, R. “A search for the extraordinary: Leading a scavenger hunt in Stellarium”, Ontario Association of Physics Teachers Conference 2023, Perimeter Institute, Waterloo, Ontario., 2023
- (7) Indigenous Astronomy Workshop I organized and hosted the second IAW in summer 2023. There were six invited guest speakers from around Canada and the States, with 30-40 participants, over a two-day event. Collaborations with Indigenous scholars were strengthened (positively impacting the new Astronomy 2A03 and our Indigenous astronomy outreach program), and new connections between scholars and participants were made., 2023