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Dr. Jeffrey Bennett is a writer, an astronomer, an all around wonderful scientist and a great teacher! He specializes in mathematics and science education, spending most of his time as a writer, and speaking to audiences from elementary students to college faculty (and everyone in between). His books are read on earth and in space! He is the creator and author of the children’s series “Science Adventures with Max the Dog,” which includes Max Goes to the Space Station, Max Goes to the Moon, Max Goes to Mars, and Max Goes to Jupiter; and of the Earth science focused book The Wizard Who Saved the World.
These five children’s titles were selected by the Story Time From Space program as the first set of books to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS); launched on Jan. 9, 2014, they are being read by astronauts in multiple languages for children around the world.
Through his “Max Goes to Schools” donation program, he has donated more than 23,000 copies of his children’s books to elementary school libraries in more than 60 countries. Dr. Bennett and his book Max Goes to the Moon were recognized with the 2013 AIP Science Communication Award.
He holds a B.A. in Biophysics from the University of California at San Diego and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Jeff has taught extensively at all levels, including having founded and run a private science summer school for elementary and middle school children. He has also written five critically acclaimed books for the general public: On the Cosmic Horizon (Addison Wesley, 2001); Beyond UFOs (Princeton University Press, 2008/2011); Math for Life (Big Kid Science, 2013); What is Relativity? (Columbia University Press, 2014); and On Teaching Science (Big Kid Science, 2014). For more information on the books, please see his website: http://www.jeffreybennett.com.
Among his other major projects, Dr. Bennett served two years as a Visiting Senior Scientist at NASA Headquarters, where he was the first scientist hired within a science division specifically to use science mission information and data for education. Working closely with NASA’s Education Division and teams working with the Hubble Space Telescope and other science missions, Dr. Bennett was credited with helping bridge the cultural divide between education and science so more people can understand the science of earth and space. In addition, he created the Initiative to Develop Education through Astronomy (originally IDEA, later called IDEAS), developed the Perspectives From Space concept (and creating its poster set) that was ultimately adopted as the global theme for International Space Year, and he helped start the program known as Flight Opportunities for Science Teachers Enrichment (FOSTER), which flew teachers on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory and evolved to become the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program that now flies teachers on the SOFIA airborne observatory.
Some of the coolest work he has done is develop educational scale models of the solar system. He proposed the idea for and helped develop both the Colorado Scale Model Solar System (on the University of Colorado campus) and the Voyage Scale Model Solar System on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
Among his current projects, Dr. Bennett is the founder of Big Kid Science, a company dedicated to educating and inspiring children with the wonders of science. When not working, he enjoys participating in masters swimming and the daily adventures of life with his wife Lisa, children Grant and Brooke, and dog Cosmo.
Ben S, Loved these books
These books are cool! Max adventures on other planets are amazing! Wish there were more than 5.
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