Science Technology & Society
Edmund Douglass
Prof. Douglass received his PhD in Astronomy from Boston University, where he studied the galaxy cluster environment of double-lobed radio sources. Following the completion of his dissertation, he worked from 2011-2013 at the American University in Cairo (Egypt) as a post-doctoral teaching fellow, teaching courses in scientific thinking and physics. In 2014 he joined the physics faculty at Farmingdale State College as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associated Professor in 2021.
Since 2017 he has served as the chair of the Science, Technology, & Society (STS) Department. One of the largest programs on campus, STS is a highly customizable interdisciplinary curriculum. Students in the STS program learn to apply methods of scientific thinking and creative problem solving to confront unstructured, real-world problems faced by individuals, organizations, industries, and societies in ways which cut across traditional boundaries of disciplinary thought.
Prof. Douglass's research focuses on the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters, the largest gravitationally bound systems in the Universe, with particular emphasis placed on the dynamical conditions that lead to the destruction of cool cores.
Since 2017 he has served as the chair of the Science, Technology, & Society (STS) Department. One of the largest programs on campus, STS is a highly customizable interdisciplinary curriculum. Students in the STS program learn to apply methods of scientific thinking and creative problem solving to confront unstructured, real-world problems faced by individuals, organizations, industries, and societies in ways which cut across traditional boundaries of disciplinary thought.
Prof. Douglass's research focuses on the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters, the largest gravitationally bound systems in the Universe, with particular emphasis placed on the dynamical conditions that lead to the destruction of cool cores.
Courses Taught
PHY 117 - Solar AstronomyPHY 118 - Stellar Astronomy
PHY 135 - College Physics I
PHY 136 - College Physics II
STS 401W - Internship
Education
- PhD, Astronomy, Boston University, 2012
- B.S., Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, 2003
Publications
- Edmund Douglass, The Megaparsec-Scale Gas Sloshing Spiral in the Remnant Cool Core Cluster Abell 1763, The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics, 868(2) 2018, 20.
- Edmund Douglass, Elizabeth Blanton, Tracy Clarke, Scott Randall and Joshua Wing, The Merger Environment of the Wide Angle Tail Hosting Cluster A562, The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics, 732(2) 2011, 12.
- Elizabeth Blanton, Elizabeth Blanton, Scott Randall, Scott Randall, Tracy Clarke, Tracy Clarke, Craig Sarazin, Craig Sarazin, Brian McNamara, Brian McNamara and Edmund Douglass, A Very Deep Chandra Observation of A2052: Bubbles, Shocks, and Sloshing, The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics, 737(2) 2011.
- Elizabeth Blanton, Scott Randall, Edmund Douglass, Craig Sarazin, Tracy Clarke and Brian McNamara, Shocks and Bubbles in a Deep Chandra Observation of the Cooling Flow Cluster Abell 2052, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 697(2) 2009, 4.
- Tracy Clarke, Elizabeth Blanton, Craig Sarazin, Loren Anderson, Gopal-Krishna, Edmund Douglass and Namir Kassim, Tracing Multiple Generations of Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback in the Core of Abell 262, The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics, 697(2,2) 2009, 12.
- Edmund Douglass, Elizabeth Blanton, Tracy Clarke, Craig Sarazin and Michael Wise, Chandra Observation of the Cluster Environment of a WAT Radio Source in Abell 1446, The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics, 673(2) 2008, 15.
- Courtney Watson, Elizabeth Blanton, Scott Randall, Craig Sarazin, John ZuHone and Edmund Douglass, Chandra X-ray Observations of Abell 119: Shocks and Cold Fronts in an Evolved Off-Axis Merger, The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics, 955(2), 14.
Presentations
- Edmund Douglass, “The Ongoing Off-Axis Merger in the Disrupted Cool Core Cluster Abell 1763.” Paper presented to the HEAD20 - 20th Divisional Meeting of the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society, Waikoloa, Hawaii on March 26, 2023.
- Edmund Douglass, “Cool Core Disruption Via High Angular Momentum Subcluster Infall.” Presentation to the The 235th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Honolulu, HI on January 5, 2020.
- Edmund Douglass, “Off-Axis Mergers and Cool Core Disruption in Galaxy Clusters.” Presentation to the 20 Years of Science with Chandra Symposium, Boston,MA on December 3, 2019.
- Edmund Douglass, “Off-Axis Mergers, Gas Sloshing Spirals, & Cool Core Disruption in Galaxy Clusters.” Presentation to the Astrofest - NYC, NYU on September 28, 2018.
- Bazit Bisiolu and Edmund Douglass, “Multi-wavelength Analysis of Galaxy Cluster Assembly.” Presentation to the 2018 CSTEP Statewide Student Conference, on April 13, 2018.
- Maxine Harris and Edmund Douglass, “On the Origin of Non-Cool Core Galaxy Cluster.” Presentation to the 2018 CSTEP Statewide Student Conference, Lake George, NY on April 13, 2018.
- Edmund Douglass, “Gas Sloshing Spirals in Non-Cool Core Galaxy Clusters.” Poster presented at the SnowCluster - The Physics of Galaxy Clusters, Salt Lake City, Utah on March 19, 2018.
