Lamar Community College: Staff

Auger North staff

Brad Thompson Brad Thompson began his position as Lamar Community College's Pierre Auger Education Outreach Coordinator in January, 2007. In this role, he will be informing and engaging area communities in the amazing and complex physics behind the future Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory in Southeast Colorado. Although much of his time will be spent working with area middle school and high school students and teachers, he will also act as a resource for younger students and the community as a whole. He will be responsible for coordinating educational opportunities, in example, talks, workshops, and short courses, utilizing visiting scientists. His role within the college community will be to teach science courses and to form an associate degree honors science program to give talented students an opportunity to share in research opportunities created by the project.

Thompson earned a Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics, a Bachelor of Arts in Physics, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota in 1988. While there, he performed undergraduate research in astronomy, studying star formation regions. He also worked as a physics/mathematics tutor to returning adult students, college students and at risk high school students while in college. He earned a Masters of Science in Physics from Mankato State University (now University of Minnesota - Mankato) in 1994. At Mankato State he carried out graduate research in astronomy, this time studying gamma rays bursts. While completing his master's, he helped set up and run a local physics outreach program in and around Mankato.

After teaching a year in Moorestown, NJ and yearning for adventure, Brad and his wife decided to teach overseas. Depending on the assignment, he taught computers, science, physics and math in The Philippines (Manila), Turkey (Izmir), Japan (Yokohama), and Latvia (Riga) over a period of eleven years.

Brad and his family are very excited about the Pierre Auger Outreach position. They look forward to making many friends in Lamar and becoming an integral part of the community.

Brad's hobbies include astronomy, photography, guitar, cooking, traveling, and crafts.

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