Stoker K. Stoker
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
- Born in Pasadena, California and grew up within walking distance of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Began college education at Pasadena City College before transferring to the State University of New York at New Paltz in Fall 2020
- Took the Planetarium Operations class in Fall 2021 and afterwards was given a job as a planetarium presenter in the John R. Kirk Planetarium at SUNY New Paltz, remains employed there to this day
- Completed the Observational Astronomy class in Fall 2022 and began helping during Public Nights at the Smolen Observatory on SUNY New Paltz’s campus
- Did long-term research at Smolen Observatory from May to December 2023 on a supernova in the M101 galaxy with a classmate; used the results of this to present a poster at CUWiP 2024 and is giving a talk at the Mid-Hudson Astronomical Association meeting in February 2024. Currently in the process of getting this research published in the Journal of Undergraduate Reports in Physics
- Attended the Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics (CUWiP) put on by the American Physical Society in January 2024 which led to becoming an inaugural member of the APS Gender Inclusive Physics Community
- Employed as a Learning Assistant for the Spring 2024 section of Observational Astronomy
- Current member of the International Planetarium Society, American Astronomical Society, Society of Physics Students, American Physical Society, and American Association of Physics Teachers
- Receiving Bachelor of Arts in Astronomy in August 2024 from SUNY New Paltz