Associate Professor of Physics Aileen O'Donoghue made her presence known at the
Vatican Observatory at the University of Arizona, where she spent a
year on sabbatical -- she's on the cover of the Observatory's 2001 Annual Report.
In addition, next fall she will receive an alumni award from Colorado Mountain
College.
The caption for the 2001 Annual Report of the Vatican Observatory, titled "Last
Sunset, September 10, 2001," states: "Vatican Observatory astronomer
Christopher Corbally, S.J., (lower level) and visiting scholar Aileen O'Donoghue (upper
level) admire the beauty and serenity of the 10 September sunset before beginning their
night's observing run at the University of Arizona's Bok Telescope on Kitt Peak outside
of Tucson. Horrific events transpiring the next morning on the other side of the
continent would change the United States and the world forever." The photo was taken by
David Harvey.
Of O'Donoghue's work at the Observatory, the report states, "Her astronomical research has
been almost entirely in the radio band, and she has used the Very Large Array Radio
Telescope in Socorro, New Mexico, to image extended radio galaxies and analyze the flow
dynamics of the extended structure. Realizing that optical astronomy is more amenable to the
involvement of undergraduates in research, she has come to the Vatican Observatory to gain
expertise in optical observations and analysis. O'Donoghue is also interested in the
science-religion interface and has been involved in the Science and the Spiritual Quest II
program of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, California."
Next fall, O'Donoghue will be presented as Colorado Mountain College's system-wide Outstanding
Alumna of the Year. Presentation of the award will also put her in nomination for
the 2003 Outstanding Alumni Award from the American Association of Community Colleges; only
10 people are selected to receive the award nationally. O'Donoghue earned her associate's
degree from Colorado Mountain College in 1978. She's been a member of the St. Lawrence
faculty since 1988.