Christopher Palma

Christopher Palma is a Teaching Professor and Associate Department Head for Outreach in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State University. He previously served as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Students in the Eberly College of Science. His roles include academic advising for undergraduate majors, mentoring graduate students in outreach and teaching-focused careers, and overseeing teaching mentoring committees.

Education:

• B.S. in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Penn State (1994)
• B.S. in Physics, Penn State (1994)
• M.A. in Astronomy, University of Virginia (1997)
• Ph.D. in Astronomy, University of Virginia (2001)

Research & Teaching Interests: Palma focuses on science pedagogy, astronomy education research, and K-12 teacher professional development. His work includes developing learning progressions for Solar System concepts and addressing student misconceptions about astronomical practices. He also studies Galactic structure and stellar populations in earlier research phases.

Outreach Contributions: He manages the Davey Lab Planetarium, directs Penn State In-Service Workshops in Astronomy, and co-organizes AstroFest. His efforts emphasize light pollution awareness and dark skies preservation through courses like Astronomy 150 (Spring 2025).

Grants & Collaborations: Co-PI of the NSF-funded Earth and Space Science Partnership (ESSP), and collaborator on NASA-funded teacher workshops. Advisory roles include the West Virginia University Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with Penn State Astronomy Club, Pulsar Search Collaboratory, and the CAPER team for astronomy lab development. Active in teacher training programs with Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium.