Russell Merle Genet

Russell Merle Genet (b. 1940) is an American research scholar and astronomer, who specializes in photometric observations and analysis of very short-period eclipsing binary stars. [ cite web | title= Orion Observatory: about Russell Genet| url= http://www.orionobservatory.org/About%20Russ.html | accessdate=2007-08-10]

Between 1964 and 1968 he worked as a rocket scientist for Space and Missile Systems, San Bernardino, California. Between 1969 and 1975 he worked as a mathematical analyst for Aerospace Guidance System Center, Newark, Ohio. Since then until 1990 he worked as a research supervisor for Air Force Human Resources Laboratory, Dayton, Ohio, and Mesa, Arizona. cite web | url= http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Richerson/genetcv.pdf | title=Russell M. Genet: Curriculum Vitae | date=August 8, 2001 | accessdate=2007-08-10]

In 1979 he founded the Fairborn Observatory, which he later moved to Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and worked there until 1993. He was also its first director, until 1989. Genet and his colleagues developed robotic telescopes there. It became the first totally automatic robotic observatory in the world. It appeared in the documentary of the Public Broadcasting Service "The Perfect Stargazer". cite web | title= Fairborn - the Orion Predecessor| url= http://www.orionobservatory.org/Fairborn%20Predessesor.html | accessdate=2007-08-10] He also established the magazine "IAPPP Communications", the first international astronomical photometry journal. In 1983 he received the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for his photometric studies [ cite web | title= Amateur Achievement winners| url= http://www.astrosociety.org/membership/awards/pastamateur.html | accessdate=2007-08-10] and in 1986 the Leslie Peltier Award of the Astronomical League. [ cite web | title= The Leslie C. Peltier Award| url= http://www.astroleague.org/al/awards/peltier/peltiers.html | accessdate=2007-08-13] After Genet left this observatory, he founded the Orion Observatory in Santa Margarita, California. [ cite web | title= Orion Observatory: description| url= http://www.orionobservatory.org/Description%20of%20OO.html | accessdate=2007-08-10]

In 1993 Genet was elected the 51st president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and served in this position for two years. [ cite web | title= Presidents of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific | url= http://www.astrosociety.org/about/presidents.html | accessdate=2007-08-10] Throughout his career, he taught at Central Arizona College, California Polytechnic State University's Osher Institute and Cuesta College. In 2007 he published the book "Humanity: The Chimpanzees Who Would Be Ants". [ cite web | title= Orion Observatory: Russel Genet's Curriculum Vitae| url= http://www.orionobservatory.org/CV.html | accessdate=2007-08-10]

On 17 November 2001 Genet married Cheryl Linda Davidson. [ cite web | title= Russ and Cheryl Story | url= http://www.orionobservatory.org/Cheryl%20and%20Russ%20Story.html | accessdate=2007-08-10]

Publications

Books as author or co-author: [ cite web | title= Publications | url= http://www.orionobservatory.org/Publications.html | accessdate=2007-08-10]

*Real-Time Control With the TRS-80, 1982, Howard W. Sams, Indianapolis. Photoelectric Photometry of Variable Stars, first edition 1982, second, enlarged edition 1988, Willmann-Bell, Richmond.
*Microcomputer Control of Telescopes, 1985, Willmann-Bell, Richmond.
*Supernova 1987A: Astronomy’s Explosive Enigma, 1987, Fairborn Press, Mesa.
*Robotic Observatories, 1989, AutoScope, Mesa.
*Telescope Control Handbook, 1997, Willmann-Bell, Richmond.
*The Chimpanzees Who Would Be Ants: The Evolutionary Epic of Humanity, 1998, Nova Scientific, Huntington (NY).
*Humanity: The Chimpanzees Who Would Be Ants, 2007, Collins Foundation Press, Santa Margarita.

References

Persondata
NAME = Genet, Russell Merle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = American astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH = 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH =
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =