Tom Calderwood (Council member: 2016-2018)
"I am a retired software engineer with a lifelong enthusiasm for astronomy. Having taken up residence in the comparatively clear and dark skies of Central Oregon, I am finally able to practice photometry with my photoelectric equipment. My career projects encompassed parallel processing computers, satellite and terrestrial communication networks, video games, and remote sensing. But more to the point, I spent nine years at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, working on the data system for the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Education-wise, I have a BS in mathematics from MIT. I've built two reflecting telescopes, one of which earned an optical 2nd prize at Stellafane.
I have been involved in outreach for many years. I participated in Project Astro, and twice served as an “Astronomy VIP” at Acadia National Park, where I helped the staff ramp up a public viewing program. I've lost count of the star parties I organized or supported. I presently help with outreach at Pine Mountain Observatory near Bend, where I assist with public programs and lead high school students during the annual week-long astronomy workshop. Last year's workshop produced the JAAVSO paper, “Simultaneous Collocated Photometry”.
My interests in serving on the Council are two-fold. First, I want to address the sustainability of the association's computing infrastructure (“CI”). This includes the main database, the web presence, data reduction pipelines, and the embedded systems at remote sites. Second, I want to address the quality of our photometric data (inter-observer consistency is presently the main thrust of my own observing program). I believe both of these areas are crucial as the AAVSO accumulates ever more electronic measurements."