Richard's Bio 
Richard had an
interest in astronomy at a very young age but couldn't do anything about it
until he was 8 years old, since he had poor vision. Then he got a
haircut. Richard graduated from the
Department of Astronomy at the University of South Florida/University of
Florida in 1979 with a B.S. and M.S. in Astronomy, specializing in positional astronomy. His
graduate work was with the world renowned astronomer and astrometrist
Heinrich K. Eichhorn. Professor Eichhorn
is known for numerous original contributions to astronomy including
his superior work in the early 1970's (along with astronomer
George Gatewood) disproving Peter van de Kamp's theory claiming the existence of a planetary companion of
Barnard's Star,
the 2nd nearest star to our solar system. Professor Eichhorn's
philosophy has made a lasting impression on Richard.
Positional astronomy deals with the
precise determination of stellar positions and motions of stars, star
clusters and other objects in the Universe. Since the motions of stars
are so small, it takes years to accurately measure them using
highly sophisticated techniques and equipment. Richard worked at
NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in
Houston, Texas specializing in image processing and analysis of
images from the LANDSAT satellites to determine world
crop inventories from space. He then moved into the Space Shuttle
Program's GNC division (Guidance, Navigation and Control) performing
critical real time calculations of Space Shuttle orbits and rendezvous
maneuvers including instrument pointing to celestial objects. Richard has over
60 publications in both
professional journals and
astronomy newsletters
and is a contributing author to Guy Ottewell's yearly
Astronomical Calendar. He is the author and Editor in Chief
of
IOTA's new comprehensive book on lunar and asteroid occultations.
Richard is the Head Judge, Division of Astronomy of the
Science and
Engineering Fair of Houston, one of the largest Science Fairs in
the Country and has judged projects since 1993.
Richard left the
space program to start his own real estate investment business and has
successfully bought and sold over 250 single family homes and apartments. He has
traveled worldwide on over 120 scientific expeditions collecting scientific
data on solar eclipses
plus stellar eclipses by asteroids. Richard is also an devoted
athlete, competing in adventure races and other endurance events , some
25-30 miles and longer, and is a Senior
member of
Instructor Jack Walston's
Navy SEAL Physical Training
Alpha Team.
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