CV

Page

Kelly Lepo

Education and Outreach Scientist
Office of Public Outreach
Space Telescope Science Institute

3700 San Martin Drive
Baltimore, MD 21218

klepo@stsci.edu

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Education

Aug 2008 – June 2015 PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
A search for supernova type Ia progenitors in the Magellanic Clouds
Advisor: Marten van Kerkwijk
Sept 2003 – June 2007 B.A. with honors in Physics, with a specialization in Astrophysics
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Professional Experience

June 2020 – Present Education and Outreach Scientist
Office of Public Outreach, Space Telescope Science Institute
Led the development of outreach products for the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope. Helped to create resources and provide science review to support informal learning institutions through NASA’s Universe of Learning.
Sept 2019 – June 2020 Undergraduate Advisor
Department of Physics, McGill University
Provided guidance on course selection, navigating bureaucracy, undergraduate research and applying to graduate school.
May 2018 – June 2020 Undergraduate Optics Lab Designer
Department of Physics, McGill University
Designed inquiry-based laboratory activities for an upper-level undergraduate optics course using research-grade optics components, in what was previously a lecture-only course.
May 2015 – March 2018 Coordinator
McGill Space Institute, McGill University
Coordinated education and outreach efforts of the McGill Space Institute,
facilitated interdisciplinary collaborations between researchers
Aug 2014 – May 2015 Lecturer
Department of Physics, Gonzaga University
Aug 2008 – Aug 2014 Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto
Advisor: Marten van Kerkwijk
Dec 2012 – Dec 2013 Research Assistant – Planetarium Education Research Project
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto
Advisor: Michael Reid
June 2007 – June 2008 Technician
CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
Advisor: Jim Pilcher, University of Chicago
Sept 2005 –  June 2007 Research Assistant
Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago
Advisor: Bruce Winstein

Teaching Experience

2018- June 2020 Lab Designer, Optics (PHYS 434)
McGill University
Design inquiry-based laboratory activities for an upper-level optics course that was previously entirely lecture-based. Updating existing optics-related experiments to emphasize student-led inquiry, incorporating best practices from education research. Supervised teaching assistants.
2014- 2015 Instructor, General Physics I, Scientific Physics I (PHYS101, PHSY103)
Gonzaga University
Algebra and calculus-based first-semester mechanics courses
2013 Instructor
West African International Summer School for Young Astronomers, Abuja, Nigeria
Week-long summer school in Astronomy for West African undergraduate science students.
2013 – 2014 Teaching Assistant, The End of the World as We Know It (BIG100),
University of Toronto
A multidisciplinary first-year course on the idea of “Apocalypse,” taught by faculty from the Astronomy, Sociology and English Literature Departments.
Fall 2008,
Fall 2010,
Fall 2011
Teaching Assistant, The Sun and Its Neighbours (AST101)
University of Toronto
A large (~1300 student) introductory astronomy class for humanities majors.
Spring 2011, Summer 2011,
Spring 2012, Summer 2013
Teaching Assistant, Stars and Galaxies (AST201)
University of Toronto
A large (~1300 student) introductory astronomy class for humanities majors.
Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 Teaching Assistant, Life on Other Worlds (AST251)
University of Toronto
Astrobiology course for science majors
Fall 2009 Teaching Assistant, Great Moments in Astronomy (AST210)
University of Toronto
Introductory astronomy course for science students
Spring 2009 Teaching Assistant, Stars and Galaxies (AST201)
University of Toronto Mississauga

Mentoring Experience

Winter 2021 Mentor, Major’s Research Project, Department of Physics, McGill University
Informal Educational Videos: Designing Effective Multimedia Techniques in Astrophysics Education, Student: Lewis Mackay
Winter 2019 Mentor, Major’s Research Project, Department of Physics, McGill University
Understanding Wavefront Optics through Adaptive Optics: A Senior Undergraduate Laboratory Experiment, Student: Robyn Rugenius
2016 – Present Organizer, McGill Space Institute Summer Student Program
Led professional development, science communication workshops for undergraduate summer students
Summer 2016 Mentor and Admin, Google Summer of Code, McGill Space Institute
Google-sponsored program for undergraduate students for open source software development projects
Fall 2013 –
Summer 2014
Mentor, Fourth Year Undergraduate Research Project, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto
Student: Nick Fantin
Spring 2012 Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators Professional Development Program, UC Santa Cruz
Developed an inquiry activity for summer undergraduate research students, to teach research skills to help students with their summer research projects. Received in-depth training in designing inquiry-based laboratory activities, the pedagogy of inquiry, and equity and inclusion issues.

Public Outreach

Spring/Summer 2021 Speaker, What to expect from the James Webb Space Telescope,
Public talk
Night Sky Network (March 2021, ~400 people)
North Houston Astronomy Club (June 2021, ~ 25 people)
Astronomical Society of Long Island (June 2021, ~50 people)
Jan 2017 – June 2020 Master of Ceremonies / Game Master, Astronomy on Tap MTL
Short accessible, presentations given in local bars
June 2019 Speaker, Novas, Supernovas and Star Trek,  Public talk (~100 people)
Astronomy on Tap MTL
May 2018 Speaker, Infinity and Beyond: Stories of imagination, the future, and boundless possibilities, Science storytelling slam
Confabulation Montreal
Monthly event and bi-monthly podcast that features curated true stories
July 2016 – March 2018 Organiser, AstroMcGill Public AstroNight
Free public talks given by a professional astronomer, usually a McGill student or professor, aimed at a broad audience.
Jan 2018 Speaker, That’s not Tatooine!: Planets around binary stars,
Public talk (~100 people)
Astronomy on Tap MTL
August 2017 Organiser, Solar Eclipse Watch MTL, Public partial solar eclipse viewing event  (~10,000 people)
McGill University, Lower Field
August 2017 Speaker, Everything You Need to Know About the Great North American Solar Eclipse, Public talk (~300 people)
AstroMcGill Public AstroNight
July 2017 Speaker, No, Planet Nibiru will not kill us all, Public talk (~100 people)
Astronomy on Tap MTL
May 2017 Speaker, Tycho, Zwicky and exploding stars: What Supernovas taught us about the Universe, Public talk (~20 people)
Pint of Science
Part of an international science outreach festival, held in bars
May 2016,  June 2017 Activity designer and volunteer, McGill Teacher Inquiry Institute
Led primary school teachers through McGill-designed, hands-on, inquiry-based lesson plans to use in their classrooms. 2016: phases of the Moon. 2017: seasons.
April 2016 Speaker, Comets: From Harbingers of Doom to the Scientific Revolution,
Public talk (~300 people)
AstroMcGill Public AstroNight
2016 – 2017 Classroom volunteer and designer, McGill Space Explorers program
International Astronomical Union Office of Astronomy for Development funded program to send astronomers to grade 4-6 students in underprivileged areas
Aug 2015 Speaker, Pluto Palooza, Public talk (~500 people)
AstroMcGill Public AstroNight
Celebrating the New Horizons flyby of Pluto
March 2014 Speaker, The Harvard Computers: Women who catalogued the stars and helped us understand the Universe, Public talk (~200 people)
University of Toronto Astro Tours
Feb 2014 Speaker, The AstroTour Supernova Extravaganza,
Public Panel Discussion, (~300 people)
University of Toronto Astro Tours
Dec 2013 Speaker, Comets: Icy Visitors, Public talk (~200 people)
University of Toronto Astro Tours
July 2013 Presenter, Welcome to the neighborhood: the nearest stars to the Sun, Planetarium Show (~80 people)
University of Toronto Astro Tours
Dec 2012 Speaker, 2012: From Garbled Science to Death from the Skies!,
Public Talk  (~400 people)
University of Toronto Astro Tours
The astronomy behind 2012 Mayan apocalypse theories, including the solar cycle, the Earth’s magnetic field and the black hole at the center of the milky way.
Oct 2012 Speaker, 2012: From Garbled Science to Death from the Skies!
Science Teachers Association of Ontario, invited speaker 
Fall 2012 Speaker, Small stars, big explosions and vast distances: Using supernovae to understand the Universe, Public Talk (2 branches, ~20 people per talk)
Toronto public library 
Fall 2011 Speaker, 2012: From Garbled Science to Death from the Skies!
Toronto public library (8 branches, ~20 people per talk)

Media Appearances

Jan. 2020 Betelgeuse is unusually faint. Will it explode as a supernova?
CTV Montreal News, Television
Jan. 2020 Just a Fainting Spell? Or Is Betelgeuse About to Blow?
CBC Daybreak Montreal, Radio
Jan. 2020 Aliens definitely exist and they could be living among us on Earth, says Britain’s first astronaut
CJAD 800 – The Natasha Hall Show, Radio
Jan. 2019 Super Full Moon
CJAD 800 – The Andrew Carter Morning Show, Radio
Jan. 2019 CHIME Fast Radio Burst detections
CJAD 800 – The Natasha Hall Show, Radio
Dec. 2018 Geminid Meteor Shower
CJAD 800 – The Andrew Carter Morning Show, Radio
Sep. 2018 Breakthrough Listen discovers new Fast Radio Bursts
CJAD 800 – The Natasha Hall Show, Radio
July 2018 How to see Mars at its closest approach
Radio: CJAD 800 – The Natasha Hall Show, CBC Daybreak Montreal
Television: CTV Montreal News
Feb 2018 Unveiling the mystery behind the “Super Blue Blood Moon”

The McGill Tribune, Print

Jan. 2018 Super Blood Moon (Lunar Eclipse)
CBC Daybreak Montreal, Radio
CBC News, Print
Dec. 2017 Pentagon’s UFO program (probably not aliens)
CJAD 800 – The Natasha Hall Show, Radio
Nov. 2017 Newly Discovered Plant Ross 128b: The closest temperate planet to Earth
CJAD 800 – The Natasha Hall Show, Radio
Oct. 2017 Asteroid 2012 TC4 flies by of Earth
CJAD 800 -The Natasha Hall Show, Radio
Sept. 2017 Tempête solaire en vue (Solar Storm In Sight)
La Presse, Print
Aug. 2017 2017 Partial Solar Eclipse
Print: Montreal Gazette, McGill Reporter
Television: Global News (National), CTV News, CBC News
Radio: CJAD 800 – The Natasha Hall Show, CBC Radio Noon Montreal, CBC Daybreak Radio
April 2017 NASA captures images of large asteroid set to fly by Earth
CJAD 800 – The Natasha Hall Show, Radio
Nov. 2016 Supermoon not so super after all
CBC News Montreal, Television
Aug. 2016 Perseid meteor shower
CBC Daybreak Montreal, Radio
Dec. 2015 Geminid meteor shower: How to catch the cosmic light show
CBC Daybreak Montreal, Radio
Sept. 2015 Super Blood Moon (Lunar Eclipse)
CBC Daybreak Montreal, Radio
July 2015 The discovery of Kepler 452b — an Earth-like planet around a Sun-like Star
CBC Daybreak Montreal, Radio
June 2015 The Science Behind the Leap Second
CBC News Montreal, Television
Feb. 2014 InnerSpace
An entertainment talk show on the Canadian Space network
Dec. 2012 The 2012 Mayan Apocalypse
Print: UofT News, Toronto Star, The Grid TO
Television: CBC News Toronto, Global TV Toronto, Omni News, Al Jazeera English
Radio: Newstalk 1010 Toronto, Newstalk 1290 London, Ontario

Professional Service

2019- 2020 Co-Chair, Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE) Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Working Group
2019 Member, Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) Annual General Meeting – Montreal 2019: Local Organizing Committee and Science Organizing Committee
2017 – 2020 Member, Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) Outreach committee
Chair of the social media sub-committee, Contributed to the Future of Education and Public Outreach white paper for the CASCA 2020 Long Range Plan
2016 – 2018 Chair, AstroMcGill Steering Committee
2016- 2018 Organizer, McGill Space Institute Lunch talk series
Two informal, internal presentations by MSI members on their research, given every other week.
2015 – 2018 Chair, McGill Space Institute Seminar Committee
2015 – 2018 Organizer, McGill Space Institute Education, Public Outreach and Diversity Discussion
Weekly discussion group on a variety of topics related to Diversity and Inclusion, education research and improving public outreach.
Nov. 2016 Member, Organizing committee, Frontiers: Cosmos, Curiosity, Creativity – Centre for Research on Religion (CREOR) 2016 conference
An interdisciplinary conference with McGill’s School of Religious Studies on how cosmologies inform culture and vice versa.
2011-2012 President, Graduate Astronomy Students Association (GASA)
University of Toronto
Referee, Nature

Awards

2014 Fieldus Award
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto
Awarded to one graduate student per year for excellence in leadership, teaching and research.

Publications

Canadian Long Range Plan 2020: CASCA’s EPO Committee White Paper: Proposed National EPO Projects For CASCA
P. Langill, F. Baron, J. Bolduc-Duval, P. Chastenay, M. Chen, R. Cockcroft, K. Lepo, S. Morsink, L. Nelson, N. Ouellette, N. van der Marel
Increasing Engagement and Understanding Using Interactive Planetarium Shows, M. Reid,  M. Williams, J. Percy, D. Hoeg, K. Lepo, J. Nazir, & G. Paciga, (2014). The Role of New Planetariums in Promoting Engagement and Learning. Toronto: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.
A search for rapidly accreting white dwarfs in the Small Magellanic Cloud, K. Lepo, M.H. van Kerkwijk, 2013, ApJ, 771, 13
Ultra-soft sources as supernova type Ia progenitors, K. Lepo, M.H. van Kerkwijk, Proceedings of IAU Symp. 281, Binary Paths to Type Ia Supernovae Explosions, 2011, arXiv: 109.4394

Skills

Language English: Native Speaker
French: Intermediate
Spanish: Intermediate
Astronomy Experience working with spectroscopic and photometric data at X-ray, UV, optical and IR wavelengths. Used astronomical pipelines to reduce data. Spectroscopically classified about 1000 stars by eye and identified emission and absorption lines in their spectra.
Programming Languages Familiar with Unix and Linux based operating systems, Python, Fortran, C++, IDL, HTM and Mathematica. Wrote original code and modified existing software.
Graphic Design Designed posters, reports, and websites, using the Adobe Suite, including InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver.
Social Media Currently manage Twitter and Facebook accounts for: The McGill Space Institute, AstroMcGill, the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA)
Communication Strong science communication skills, experience with education and public outreach efforts, using astronomy in international development efforts, discussing scientific results with television, radio and print media.