Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Pages
Richard A. Crowe
Ph.D.,University of Toronto, 1984
Research
SynergisticActivities
Dr. Crowe's main research interests (with some 35+ publications) are in the areas of pulsating stars, stellar evolution and spectroscopy. In the course of this research, he has made use of the Gemini 8-meter, CFHT 3.6-meter, UH 2.2-meter and UH 0.6-meter telescopes on Mauna Kea, as well as other 1.4-1.9-meter telescopes in Chile, France and Canada. In 1991, Dr. Crowe was selected as a Fujio Matsuda Fellow of the University of Hawai`i for his scholarly work. He was Chair of the UHH Physics and Astronomy Department from 1992-2002. He was Principal Investigator on the New Opportunities through Minority Initiatives in Space Science (NOMISS) grant ($675,000) funded by NASA, and a Co- Investigator on the Keaholoa grant ($2,413,000) funded by the National Science Foundation. These grant programs were designed to encourage local and Hawaiian students from K-16 to enter careers in space science by integrating astronomy with Polynesian skylore, voyaging, and Hawaiian culture. He has worked personally with a network of 30 local K-12 teachers committed to astronomy, and has delivered over 50 StarLab presentations in both public and private schools over the last 5 years. He has participated in formal voyaging canoe (the Wa`a Makali`i) training, and is always actively involved in encouraging the building of bridges between Hawaiian cultural specialists and local Mauna Kea astronomers. Dr. Crowe also regularly trained UHH student observers with the UH 24- inch telescope on Mauna Kea, and conducted many research programs on that telescope. In 2002, he completed a new revised version of Ed Bryan's original “Stars Over Hawai`i” a popular book that integrates modern astronomy with Hawaiian skylore and navigation. He is Past President (2007-08) of the Rotary Club of Hilo Bay, the UHH Chapter of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, and has played clarinet in the Hawai`i County Band since 1986. In 2001, Dr. Crowe and Dr. Alice Kawakami won City Bank's TIGR Award in Astronomy for NOMISS community outreach efforts. He has been the Astronomer-in-Residence at the `Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai`i since 2006.
Grant Activities
- Principal Investigator on"New Opportunities through Minority Initiatives in Space Science". Total funding for this NASA-funded project (2001-04) was $675,000. This astronomy outreach and curriculum development program targeted students of Hawaiian ancestry and their teachers in bringing the significance of the astronomy research conducted on Mauna Kea to the wider community. The program also included observational astronomy research training for undergraduate students.
- Co-investigator on "Hawaiian Values, Science and Technology: Advancing a New Paradigm for STEM Education". Total budget for this NSF-funded project (2003-07) was 2,413,120. This grant program was designed to encourage Hawaiian students to enter careers in science by integrating astronomy with Polynesian skylore, voyaging, and culture (Principal Investigator: Sonia Juvik, UH Hilo).
- Co-investigator on "Acquisition of a Small Astronomical Observatory on MaunaKea". Total budget for this NSF- funded project (2003-05) was $465,000 (2003-08). This project aimed to place a 0.9-meter telescope, in 2008, which will be remotely-operable from the UH Hilo campus, on Mauna Kea, to replace the UH 0.6-m telescope (Principal Investigator: William Heacox, UH Hilo).
- Co- Team Leader on "Journey Through the Universe" (originally NASA Challenger Center for Space Science Education), Hawaii Island. The program had no formal budget. This NASA outreach program (2005-2009) builds on local school and community interest in astronomy and space science, and involves a team of professionals to deliver K-12 astronomy curriculum and training to schools (Team Leader: Janice Harvey).