Directory of Department Contacts

UAS has been involved in the attempt to get a lot of the information that normally passes by word of mouth within the department condensed into accessable resources. That being said, talking to people within the department is still one of the best ways of getting information, particularly when it comes to things concerning you specifically. Additionally, if you have concerns, ideas, or comments about the department climate, curriculum, etc., these are good people to talk to.

Faculty and Staff

Dexter Stewart

Dexter Stewart is the department advisor for astronomy majors, and is the first person to talk to when it comes to making sure you've fulfilled the university requirements, requirements of the double major, etc. She is also great to talk to in general, and you should stop by and see how she's doing if you get the chance.

Mariska Kriek

Mariska is the undergraduate faculty advisor for the department. She is also the professor of the astro 7A class. If you have questions about classes, etc., she is a good person to talk to. She is planning on having public Office Hours for undergrade advising, but for now, feel free to email her at mkriek@berkeley.edu if you want to set up a meeting to discuss your classes in the major.

Rayna Helgens

Rayna is responsible for handling building access, room reservations, keycard issues, etc.

Undergraduate/Graduate Contact Points

Diana Kossakowski - Undergraduate Representative

Diana is a third year Physics and Astrophysics Major and is the current undergraduate representative. The undergraduate representative serves as the voice of communication on the general committee of representatives in the department. Representatives from the graduate students, postdocs, and faculty regularly meet with the chair to discuss present issues and to create constant communication within the department. The undergraduate representative is the person you should talk to if you need general information on what is going on in the department in terms of events, changes, curriculum, and such. Additionally, if there is an issue that you would like to be addressed, contact the representative. If you need to talk about harassment or discrimination issues, please talk to the undergrad climate advisor, Sara. You can contact Diana at dkossakowski@berkeley.edu.

Sara Gutierrez - Undergraduate Climate Adviser

Sara serves as a pointer within the Berkeley Astronomy Department to on-campus resources. She can also help to devise solutions to climate problems within the Department that do not necessarily involve formal investigations. Please note that if you share details of an incident that violates University policy under Title IX, Climate Advisors are subject to "responsible employee" rules and do not have confidential status. That said, like the other non-confidental resources linked here, she are committed to keeping information private to the extent possible. Sara is a point of contact specifically dedicated to undergraduate concerns, so if you have a complaint or issue, or even if things are going well or you have ideas about the future, feel free to contact her at s.gutierrez@berkeley.edu.

Joe Zalesky, Will Shultz, & Austin McDowell

Joe, Will, and Austin are the current instructors of the IDL decal, an introductory programming course in the department. Programming is an essential skill, and some astronomers work in this language (which is other wise rare), so it can be a valuable class to take. If you have any questions about the class feel free to contact them. (see also: python/idl page)

Imad Pasha and Chris Agostino

Imad and Chris teach the Python class, the sister class to the IDL decal. Python is becoming one of the most widely used programming languages in research (particularly physics and astro). You can contact Imad and Chris for any information about signing up, taking the class, why you should take it, etc. (see also: python/idl page)

Malena Rice, Sara, Imad, Cee, & Goni

We are the current organizing comittee of UAS. IF you have ideas, or want to help keep the organization going, or have concerns, feel free to contact us!