Scientists: Their Science and Geologic Time

Here we highlight some career fields associated with geologic time: geology, paleontology, astronomy, and cosmology. However, these resources do more than just list what each career requires in terms of education. Geology, for example, is presented in an ask-an-expert format, astronomy considers the experience of early female astronomers, and cosmology is discussed in a biographical sketch of Edwin Hubble, all connecting to the History and Nature of Science Content Standard.

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USGS and Science Education http://education.usgs.gov/

In its science education resources, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides information about geology-related careers. Click on Careers in Science to find a link to Scientists in Action! The latter contains several links, including Geologists in the Park with photographs of college geology students and recent graduates, accompanied by a short narrative of their work and quotes from the persons featured. MSP full record

Frequently Asked Questions: What is Paleontology? http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/faq.php

This site asks and answers questions about paleontology, fossils, and dinosaurs. Paleontology questions are: What is paleontology? How does paleontology differ from anthropology and archaeology? What are the practical uses of paleontology? How do paleontologists know how old their fossils are? What training is necessary to become a paleontologist? What organizations exist for paleontologists? MSP full record

Looking at the Sky Through a Glass Ceiling: Women in Astronomy http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/hubble/people/supernovas.html

This article looks at the involvement and acceptance of women in astronomy, including three significant female astronomers from the 1900s and three from the present day. Statistics are also provided concerning contemporary women's participation in astronomy. The three astronomers featured from the 1900s are Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, and Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Each woman's most notable contribution to astronomy is described. The three featured contemporary astronomers participate in the Hubble Space Telescope project. They each supplied paragraph-long answers to the question: What is it like to be a woman in astronomy today? For five of the six featured astronomers, a link connects to a fuller description of the astronomer's work. MSP full record

Edwin Hubble: The Great Synthesizer: Revealing the Breadth and Birth of the Universe http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/hubble/people/edwin.html

This biographical article explains why Edwin Hubble is the appropriate namesake for the Hubble Space Telescope. The article recounts how Hubble made two extraordinary discoveries in the early 1900s that revolutionized science's understanding of the universe. Hubble first discovered that our galaxy, the Milky Way, is not the whole of the universe. He then discerned that the universe is expanding. This expansion is now known as Hubble's law, and the discovery paved the way for the development of the Big Bang theory and modern cosmology. MSP full record

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Copyright September 2007 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.