Professor Raja GuhaThakurta (UC Santa Cruz) will share his efforts related to education and public outreach. He is the CrEST (Creating Equity in STEAM) Faculty Director/Founder and the founder of the CrEST programs Shadow the Scientists, Python and Research, Science Internship Program, and the Global STEM Programs for High Schoolers Engaging in Research Early (SPHERE) Network. Beyond the CrEST programs, he has served as an instructor for the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) program for many years and currently serves as an instructor for the Project for Inmate Education at Santa Cruz County Jail.
Raja GuhaThakurta is a Distinguished Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California Santa Cruz. He received the AAS Education Prize in 2025.