Martin Griffiths' profile
What I do
Martin Griffiths is an outstanding communicator with a background in amateur and professional astronomy. Between 1990 and 2001 he was coordinator of a successful worldwide amateur based research project to detect supernovae in bright galaxies within 50 million light years of Earth. Over the last 25 years Martin has travelled the UK, Europe and America utilizing astronomy as a tool to encourage a greater public understanding of science. Between 1996 and 2002, he was Director of the University of Glamorgan mobile planetarium, visiting localities across Wales to address key stage elements in astronomy and related sciences at primary and secondary school level. During this time over 60,000 children experienced the wonders of the universe via this initiative. To promote and advance public interest in astronomy, he has written Alien Worlds, a book enabling complete novices to enjoy the wonders of the night sky.
Affiliations
Current affiliations
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- Position
- Senior Lecturer, Centre for Astronomy and Science Education
- Company
- University of Glamorgan
- Further information
Location
- City:
- None chosen
- Hub:
- None chosen
Interests
Martin is a member of the astrobiology society of Great Britain, and is a founder member of the prestigious Science Communication Committee for NASA’s Astrobiology Institute. He has been consulted on several museum projects such as the Star Trek exhibition at the National Museums and Galleries of Wales and the Science of Aliens exhibit at the Science Museum London.
Martin is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a member of the British Astronomical Association, a member of the Planetary Society and has a first class honours degree in Science and Science Fiction. He has appeared on astronomy programmes for Einstein TV, debated the existence of extraterrestrials for Granada TV, and broadcasts regularly on BBC Wales Radio and has a monthly astronomy programme on GTFM radio. He is currently reading for an MSc in Science Communication
Projects
Martin is currently engaged in widening access to higher education in addition to teaching astronomy on campus or through invited lectures to public groups. Since 2003, he has been manager of a European Social Fund project utilizing CASE’s community outreach programs to teach astrobiology and astronomy across south Wales. Over the last three years, he has also been the UK coordinator for educational lecture tours by Russian cosmonauts.
Publications
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Alien Worlds: Astrobiology and Public Outreach International Journal of Astrobiology (2006)
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Alien Worlds – an introduction to observing the wonders of the universe University of Glamorgan Press (2004)
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Astronomy, science fiction and access Journal of Active Learning in Higher Education. (2004)
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Broad Horizons : SETI, Science Fiction, and Education The International Journal of Astrobiology, (2004)
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Digital Photography Astronomy Now (2004)
Contact
- email:
- mgriffi8 [ at ] glam.ac.uk
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