Biography

John Blackwell has taught astronomy and physics to 9th-12th graders at Phillips Exeter Academy since 2004. In prior years, John spent one year as an educator at the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium and one year as a teacher's aid at Mark’s Meadow School. As an observatory director, John manages the curriculum and instrument needs of the astronomy program, in addition to teaching courses in astronomy and physics. John focuses on student-centered, experiential learning, using data collection at the observatory for student research and mastery of the material at the college level. From 2011 to 2015, John served as the school’s science department chair, a rotating position managing 25 fellow teachers, the program offerings, and budgetary needs. John has given numerous presentations and presented papers on science education and astronomy. John’s most recent projects involve working with students and the University of New Hampshire in the building and implementation of magnetometers to study minute changes in the Earth’s magnetic field due to solar activity. John also continues to work with NASA in the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program to foster new ways for educators to access the plethora of NASA archival data to do science research in the classroom. In 2010, John was awarded the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Thomas J. Brennan Award for excellence in teaching of astronomy at the high school level. In 2007, John was a team member of the Spitzer Space Telescope Observing Program for Students and Teachers which was given a NASA Group Achievement Award. John has a B.S. in aviation management and flight operations from Daniel Webster College, and an M.S. in astronomy from James Cook University.