Douglas Isbell

Doug Isbell has more than 20 years of experience in science writing and public affairs management for astronomical observatories and science laboratories.

He is also the U.S. national single-point-of-contact for the United Nations-endorsed "Beyond the International Year of Astronomy 2009" a task that includes continuing work to promote major projects in dark-skies awareness, public exhibits of large astronomical images, and the development and use of a new, inexpensive, high-quality telescope kit with more than 100,000 units in production.

Previously, he was a public information officer and outreach programs director for the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (National Science Foundation) and NASA, where he was part of the public affairs team for the Mars Pathfinder landing, the arrival of Galileo at Jupiter, and the launch of Cassini to Saturn. He is a former aerospace journalist who earned degrees in astronautical engineering and journalism from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.