Joel Weisberg

Education & Professional History

Professional Preparation

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Earth and Planetary Sciences
B.S., 1972

University of Iowa
Astronomy
M.S., 1975

University of Iowa
Physics
Ph.D., 1978

University of Massachusetts
Postdoctoral Research
Associate (Radio Astronomy) 1979-81

Academic Appointments

Princeton University
Assistant Professor of Physics 1981–84

Carleton College:
Asst., Assoc., Prof., and (occas.) Chair of Physics & Astronomy 1984–2019
Emeritus Status: 2019-

Stark Prof. of Physics & Astronomy and the Natural Sciences 2003–2019
Emeritus Status: 2019-

Highlights & Recent Activity

Left: Joel outside Carleton’s Goodsell Observatory.Center Top: Joel in front of his (late) Goodsell office door, which was surreptitiously given an astronomical theme by students. Center Bottom:  Joel and (now former) Carleton students at the giant Arecibo Observatory radiotelescope, where they were observing pulsars. Right:  Joel at the Brashear 16-inch refractor of Goodsell Observatory.

Photos from a few of the ~10 astronomically-themed Carleton Alumni Tours he has led:

• Baja California Total Solar Eclipse: Alum group photo pre-totality
• New Mexico Anasazi Cultural Astronomy and Stargazing: Several trips to Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins Nat. Monument
• 1996 Arizona Dine Cultural Astronomy and Stargazing:  Canyon de Chelly star ceiling
• 2009 Utah Rafting, Hiking and Stars:
  . . . Alumni group photos on land and in the raft
  . . . Link to Utah Alumni Adventures page
• 2016 Hawaii Observatories (co-led with Dr. Sidney Wolff, ’62) [link to Alumni Adventures page]
• 2017 Oregon Total Solar Eclipse: Alum group watching eclipse
• 2019 Chile Observatories and Observing (co-led by Dr. Sydney Wolff ’62) [link to Alumni Adventures page]
• 2024 Mazatlan Total Solar Eclipse: Alum group watching the eclipse.
• 2025 Chile Astronomy Alumni Adventure [Link to Alumni Adventures page]

Organizations & Scholarly Affiliations

American Astronomical Society, 1976–present

1. American Association of Physics Teachers, 1978–present
2. International Astronomical Union, 1985–present
3. International Dark Sky Organization (recently renamed “DarkSky International”), 1989-2019; 2023–present
4. Starry Skies North (Midwest Affiliate of DarkSky Int’l), 2023–present

Joel studies pulsars, relativistic gravitation, and the interstellar medium with the Arecibo (PR [RIP]), Green Bank (WV), and Murriyang (Parkes, Australia) radio telescopes.  Carleton student collaborators were involved with most of these projects until he retired.  He also has strong interests in the field of science and public policy.  In retirement, he continues his work on all of these topics.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the principal funder of his and his Carleton students’ astrophysical research, with eight major RUI Grants from 1987-2018.  Other major funders include NASA (one contract); and to support off-campus research at national observatories and universities for periods ranging from two months to a year, four Carleton College Faculty Development Awards; three NSF ROA Grants; two Australia Telescope National Facility Distinguished Visiting Astronomer Grants;  a University of Sydney School of Physics Visiting Scholar Grant; and a National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center Visiting Scientist Grant.

Joel taught a wide variety of physics and astronomy classes, and also taught science and public policy courses in the Environmental and Technology Studies Program at Carleton.

Since his retirement, he has taught a college-level cosmology course four times to persons over 50, served as Astronomer-In-Residence at an Idaho Dark Sky Reserve for a month, and presented talks on astronomy, the night sky, and light pollution in a wide variety of  venues. His public outreach work is  a continuation of activities begun when he was in high school.

Joel is the coauthor  of 72 articles on various  astronomy and astrophysics topics in refereed scientific journals (Astronomical Journal, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Astrophysical Journal, General Relativity & Gravitation, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,  Nature, Physical Review Letters, Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Science). He has also created numerous oral and writtten presentations for scientific meetings. Much of this work was created in conjunction with Carleton students, some of whom are coauthors.

Download a bibliography of Joel Weisberg’s Publications as of 20250704