Guy Consolmagno, Jesuit Brother, Wins Carl Sagan Medal For Achievements In Astronomy

[hrmjustin]

Yasmine Hafiz

Jesuit brother Guy Consolmagno is living proof that science and religion need not be at odds with one another.

The papal astronomer was just awarded the prestigious Carl Sagan Medal for “outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist" by the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) Division for Planetary Sciences, according to the Catholic Sun.

Consolmagno was honored because he “occupies a unique position within our profession as a credible spokesperson for scientific honesty within the context of religious belief," reports the website for the Jesuit order, which is known for its emphasis on social justice, focus on education, and free-thinking attitude. Pope Francis became the first Jesuit pope upon his election in 2013.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/guy-consolmagno-carl-sagan-medal-astronomy_n_5588687.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

[Trajan]

1. He sounds like one swell fella

Now ... what astronomical achievement did he proffer?

[hrmjustin]

2. the article does not list them in detail.

[rug]

3. Here:

Carl Sagan Medal for outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public: Br. Guy Consolmagno has a decades-long track record of communicating planetary science to the public while maintaining an active science career. In addition, he occupies a unique position within our profession as a credible spokesperson for scientific honesty within the context of religious belief. Br. Guy uses multiple media to reach his audience. He has authored or edited six books, with “Turn Left at Orion” in its fourth edition of publication. This book alone has had an enormous impact on the amateur astronomy community, engendering public support for astronomy. In addition to writing books, he is a dynamic popular speaker, giving 40 to 50 public lectures every year across both Europe and the United States, reaching thousands of people. He regularly gives interviews on BBC radio shows on planetary science topics and hosted his own BBC radio show discussing the origins of the universe (“A Brief History of the End of Everything”). These appearances address both pure science subjects and science-with-religion subjects. As a Jesuit Brother, Guy has become the voice of the juxtaposition of planetary science and astronomy with Christian belief, a rational spokesperson who can convey exceptionally well how religion and science can co-exist for believers.

http://dps.aas.org/news/aas-division-planetary-sciences-announces-2014-prize-winners

[hrmjustin]

4. thank you.

[rug]

5. You're welcome.

This is a really interesting guy (pun intended).

For the next 10 years, Consolmagno continued to play in the scientific big leagues, doing a doctorate in Arizona before returning to the east coast, to Harvard and MIT, where he was employed as a research post-doc. By the time he reached 30, he decided astronomy wasn't enough - "I couldn't see the point of studying the stars when so many people were dying elsewhere in the world of hunger." So he joined the Peace Corps.

"I was all ready to go wherever they sent me and to do whatever they wanted," he says. "So I was initially mortified to be sent to the University of Nairobi to teach astronomy. But my experiences taught me that poor people have as much interest in the stars as those of us living in the west, and this reconciled me to the idea that astronomy belongs to us all."

He returned to the US and continued teaching and writing until he hit another milestone. "At 40, I was happy but not content," he says. "I had a good job, but I was lurching from one unsatisfactory relationship to the next without ever believing I was going to find the person with whom I wanted to settle down and have kids. And then it just seemed right for me to become a Jesuit. It wasn't a decision I took lightly, but it was one that everyone who was close to me supported. Even my ex-sweethearts rather insultingly told me they always knew I'd end up a priest."

It's a journey that is not yet complete- he will take his final vows in September -but he has had no doubts along the way. And he has also got to do some exciting science. "Some projects have gone wrong and fizzled out," he admits, "but I've also had the opportunity to do things that no one else had ever bothered with.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2006/may/09/highereducationprofile.academicexperts/print

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

6. Br. Guy is far from being the only religious figure with credentials as an astronomer.

Another example is Monsignor Georges Lemaitre (1894 – 1966), the first astronomer to describe the expansion of the universe (he beat Edwin Hubble to it by two years). He also was one of the first to propose the Big Bang Theory.