The Dean is pleased to recognize Ryan Bennett as a recipient of this month's COS Excellence in Mastering Challenges Continuously (E=mc²) Award! This award was recently established by Dean Quintanilla to recognize outstanding efforts among full-time staff members within the College of Science and its departments.

"It feels great to be recognized for all the hard work I put in each day," said Ryan. "I'm standing on the shoulders of the great team we have built and any award I get is as much theirs as it is mine."

Ryan has been the Director of the Astronomy Program for almost two years and has been teaching astronomy classes at UNT as an adjunct lecturer for seven. Before being promoted to his current position he was also the Planetarium Manager for five years. Over the eight years that he completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees here, he worked under the Physics department serving as a lab assistant, teaching assistant, and planetarium operator.

"Ryan is very dedicated to the Astronomy Program," said Dr. Jingbiao Cui, chair of UNT Physics department. "He works hard to get things done and goes above and beyond often. Ryan is willing to take on challenging tasks and always tries to find ways to work them out. His performance is outstanding, and he has the passion to further develop our Astronomy Program and make a big impact on UNT and the community."

The UNT Physics' Astronomy Program manages three unique facilities: the Sky Theater Planetarium, the Rafes Urban Astronomy Center, and the Monroe Robotic Observatory. These facilities serve the academic and research needs of students and faculty and are also involved in public outreach via events such as Star Parties and planetarium shows. Besides the full-time planetarium manager (James Bader), over a dozen graduate students are also employed with the program.

"Overall, our facilities serve 25,000-30,000 students and guests each year," said Ryan. "We maintain over a hundred pieces of scientific equipment, including a state-of-the-art planetarium system and telescopic equipment. My primary day-to-day role is to keep this all afloat and motivate the team by example. I have also been managing and developing our online astronomy courses and teaching."

Ryan built his career at UNT, starting with earning his BS and MS degrees from the Physics Department while working for the same program he now manages. "Most of my astronomy education skills were developed and inspired right here, through this wonderful program and the faculty and staff that supported and mentored me," he said.

One of Ryan's favorite things about his job is witnessing student employees graduate and move into fulfilling careers.

"I really enjoy helping our students find a path to successfully reach their goals," he said. "There is something special about how our program brings people together and inspires them. I love seeing students become invested in it and care about it the same way I did when I was a student employee - owning it and taking pride in our work and the program overall. This program has a little bit of all of us sprinkled within it and that remains even after they move on to the next stage in their careers."

Martha Frantz of UNT's BioDiscovery Institute was also a recipient of July's E=mc² Award. Dean Quintanilla plans to continue giving this award to two outstanding COS staff members every month. If you'd like a deserving staff member to receive the E=mc² award and a free meal at Avesta courtesy of the college, please complete this nomination form.