Dr. Wes Ryle, who served as professor of physics and director of the Thomas More University Observatory, has been named astronomer of the Cincinnati Observatory.
A veteran astronomer with 16 years of public outreach and education experience, Ryle served at Thomas More since 2008. He is currently working part-time and will assume full-time duties on June 17.
“Wes brings to this key role experience, enthusiasm that goes perfectly with the Observatory’s mission to engage, inspire and educate the community about astronomy and space science,” said Anna Hehman, executive director at the Cincinnati Observatory. “We’re beyond thrilled to have him join our team.”
Ryle is extremely familiar with the Cincinnati Observatory; he has served as a regular presenter and volunteer for public outreach nights and occasional special events since 2014.
“When I first went to the Observatory more than nine years ago, I immediately fell in love with the place and wanted to be a part of it,” Ryle said. “Very quickly, I realized that if I were ever to leave Thomas More for any job, this would be the job, this would be a great opportunity. So I am thrilled to be here.”
He also has extensive outreach experience through media interviews; visits to schools and local libraries; organizing and participating in STEM camps; and Girl/Boy Scout badge fulfillment activities.
“I have lots of ideas for events, programs and classes, and I am really looking forward to presenting on a breadth of topics,” Ryle said. “I gave over 140 talks during my time at Thomas More, and I actively worked to not repeat the same presentation twice. That’s what I love about astronomy – there is so much to talk about!”
“I love public outreach,” he said. “Astronomy is perfect for engaging all age groups, all backgrounds. Just about everyone loves talking about space. Knowing that there is such a huge public interest, it provides a great opportunity for education. I hope to improve public science literacy, using the hook of astronomy.”
The Cincinnati Observatory’s historic telescopes provide a tremendous opportunity for the general public to experience astronomy and science in a very hands-on way.
“When people come up to the Cincinnati Observatory, they really want to come up and look through the telescopes,” Ryle said. “That idea of having someone look at the moon for the first time, Jupiter for the first time, Saturn for the first time, and hearing those gasps. It does not matter if it is a small child or an adult; it’s great to be a part of that.”
Ryle is a Boone County native, where he graduated from Conner High School, and a Kenton County resident. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from Western Kentucky University as well as a master’s degree in physics and a doctoral degree in astronomy from Georgia State University.
Ryle discovered his passion for astronomy and science through a National Geographic book, “Our Universe,” that he read as a child.
“My parents had bought the book for my older sisters, but I would pull it off the bookshelf and read it over and over and over again,” he said. “That really got me interested in the sciences in general.”
After enrolling at Western Kentucky University, Ryle’s interest in astronomy was further stoked at The Bell Observatory, the school’s astronomical observatory.
“The idea of taking my own data, going to the observatory and knowing that I’m probably the only person looking at an object through a telescope,” he said. “The observation got me hooked.”
The Cincinnati Observatory is known as ‘The Birthplace of American Astronomy.’ It houses one of the oldest working telescopes in the world and was the first public observatory in the western hemisphere.
“As the nation’s oldest public Observatory committed to sharing information about all things astronomy, having a PhD Astronomer on our staff is an exciting step for our organization,” said Hehman.
The Cincinnati Observatory is hosting a ‘meet our astronomer’ event where the public is invited to come to the Cincinnati Observatory to meet Ryle on June 8 from 6-9 p.m.
Visit www.cincinnatiobservatory.org for more information.
Cincinnati Observatory
Hello Dr. Ryle, My name is Jim Neggerman & I am associated with the University of Cincinnati’s Continuing Education Program also called OLLI. I am contacting you to ascertain whether you would be interested in presenting a class to our students? You may already have an established presentation either about astronomy or the Cincinnati Observatory. If I can suggest a topic it would perhaps be interesting to learn a brief history of astronomy leading up to the current findings, but we are flexible about any topic you would choose. It would be a one-time class on a Wednesday from 9:30-12 with a 10-15 minute break & allowing for questions it would be closer to 2 hours. It would be for our fall quarter which runs from the last week of September for 8 weeks. If a later quarter would work better for you that is fine. I thank you for your time & consideration.