Alumnus: Astronomy Ph.D. 1980 | dduncan@colorado.edu
Director, Fiske Planetarium; Faculty, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at University of Colorado
Dr. Douglas Duncan is an astronomer at the University of Colorado, where he directs Fiske Planetarium, the most advanced planetarium in the US. Duncan earned degrees at Caltech and the Univ. of California. He was part of the project that first found sunspot cycles on other stars. Subsequently he joined the staff of the Hubble Space Telescope, and he currently serves on the NASA Advisory Committee Science Committee. Dr. Duncan is the author of “Clickers in the Classroom,” a guide to the powerful new technology that enables teachers to know what all of their students are thinking – not just the ones that raise their hands. He has served as National Education Coordinator for the American Astronomical Society, representing the 7000 professional astronomers in the US and leading efforts for better teaching and public communication for astronomers throughout the country. Dr. Duncan leads educational trips throughout the world to watch total eclipses of the sun and to see the northern lights. He will lead one in spring 2015 to a beautiful, isolated lodge in Canada that has hosted Prince William and Kate. In 2017, for the best US Total Eclipse in 40 years he will host an event at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. In 1991 Duncan travelled to the North Pole and was elected to The Explorer’s Club of New York City. In 2014 he began regular science commentary on the Colorado Public Radio program “Colorado Matters.”
