Astronomy Professor Dr. Michael Rutkowski Honored as 2025 AAS Lecturer

In April 2025, Dr. Michael Rutkowski, Associate Professor of Astronomy at Minnesota State University, Mankato, brought his passion for space science and education to hundreds of students and faculty across five community colleges in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

As part of the prestigious Shapley Lecture Program, Dr. Rutkowski presented his talk, “The First 100 Years of Astrophysics: Where We’ve Come From and Where We’re Going,” while also engaging in classroom visits, faculty workshops, and public outreach events over three impactful days.

Highlights of Dr. Rutkowski’s visit included, engaging classroom discussions at Weatherford and Hill Colleges, where students explored careers in science and learned about opportunities in undergraduate research. He also led interactive sessions with high school robotics students at Harmony Science Academy, sparking interest in STEM pathways. At Dallas College’s Richland Campus, he participated in evening programs featuring lectures, a planetarium show, and a star party, which were attended both in person and via livestream. The visit concluded with faculty collaboration at Cedar Valley Campus, where Dr. Rutkowski shared strategies for integrating coding and data analysis into STEM education.

Through this visit, Dr. Rutkowski traveled over 260 miles to connect with learners from all backgrounds, promoting the importance of mentorship, and community-engaged scholarship.

Lecture Testimonials: 

 

Many students stayed for both his talks and received business cards from Michael for possible future undergraduate research. I am looking forward to more collaboration with Dr. Rutkowski and among us.”
— Sagar Paudel, Professor at Hill College, Dallas

 

“His visit made a permanent change in how my classes will be taught in the sense that ‘honors’ projects will be available for ambitious students. I intend to keep in touch with him for several years to come, which is a big impact for our present and future students.”
— Astronomy instructor James Espinosa, Weatherford College

 

The College of Science, Engineering, and Technology at Minnesota State University, Mankato is proud to have Dr. Rutkowski as a faculty member and applauds his continued efforts to inspire the next generation of scientists across the country.