We’re so excited to welcome our newest staff member, Dr. Amanda Bauer, to Yerkes!

Amanda packed up her car and moved from Arizona to Wisconsin… not such a shocker, we hope, since she grew up in Ohio. And this is just one of many moves she’s made… she was an astronomer in Australia earlier in her career!

Her first few weeks are going to be spent learning the ropes…from sorting out how to operate our historic refractor and modern reflecting telescopes to meeting our trustees and donors, learning the history of Yerkes and all the amazing women and men who walked its halls to starting to think about astronomy and education partnerships.

Amanda is known in the astronomy world as an astronomer and science communicator particularly interested in engaging diverse communities and inclusion, which are values we very much hope our programs at Yerkes will come to represent as we grow.

At Yerkes she is Deputy Director + Head of Science and Education. A bit of a mouthful (!!!) but it means she’s not only Yerkes’ #2 head honcho but is leading bringing our science and education efforts back to life, too.

When you meet her ask her about her work on one of the biggest of “big science” projects underway in the world right now—the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, which is under construction.

Fun facts about Amanda:
She has a thing for potted plants. Especially succulents. Let’s hope they can survive a Wisconsin winter.
She got her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin
Her daughter’s middle name is Luna

You can find Amanda on Twitter: @astropixie