AAVSO Board Officers and Members - Martina Arndt

 

Martina B. Arndt

(Board member 2022-2024)

Professional title at time of instatement: Associate Dean, Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics, Bridgewater State University (BSU)

I first got involved with the AAVSO when I was an undergraduate at Wellesley College back in the 1990s. I did a research project using RX AND data, and that ultimately segued into an internship at the AAVSO when Janet Mattei was the director. I then went on to work on solar data from Skylab with Dr. Shadia Habbal at the Center for Astrophysics, right up the street from the AAVSO. I am still a member of Dr. Habbal’s solar observing team, the Solar Wind Sherpas, and have been on 12 total solar eclipse expeditions which have brought us all over the world, spanning countries on 6 continents.

I earned my Ph.D. in Physics (solar, specifically) at the University of New Hampshire (2000) and started my teaching career at BSU that same year. One my great joys at BSU has been working with undergraduates on research projects in and out of the classroom. Many of these projects have involved accessing AAVSO data, or making observations of variable objects with our own research-grade telescopes with the goal of contributing to the AAVSO database. My students and I have benefited greatly from the organization’s generous resources and support.

Given my history with the AAVSO, I look forward to serving the board and supporting an organization that has had such an impact on not just me, but my students as well.