John C. Barentine

John is the the Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, LLC, and was formerly the Director of Public Policy for the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). He earned a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin, and previously held staff positions at the National Solar Observatory, Apache Point Observatory and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Throughout his career, he has been involved in education and outreach efforts to help increase the public understanding of science. He is a founding member of the University of Utah Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, serves on light pollution committees of both the American Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union, and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. The asteroid (14505) Barentine is named in his honor. John is the author of three books on the history of astronomy, and he researches and publishes on various aspects of light pollution. His other interests include history, art and architecture, politics, law and current events.