University Dark Sky Astronomy Consortium
ABOUT US
VISION:
To establish a world-class organization featuring mentors to provide hands-on experience for young astronomers to conduct collaborative observatory based research under pristine Dark Sky.
MISSION:
To reach out to universities and colleges offering degrees and courses in astronomy to offer them membership in the University Dark Sky Astronomy Consortium (UDSAC). Establish the Consortium as a student centric organization were they can meet, network, collaborate, participate in, present findings, and publish their inter-institutional astronomy research projects.
OUR EXPERIENCE:
For over a decade, amateur astronomy observatories have been built in the high desert region of southwestern New Mexico. For the past six years, members of our team have been building and operating solar powered remotely controlled astronomy observatories in this Dark Sky region. The construction designs, as well as, the mechanical and electrical systems have been proven to withstand the harsh desert conditions, e.g. extreme temperatures from -3 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit and high winds over 60 mph. These observatories have been remotely operated reliably from as far away as Puerto Rico, Thailand and India. Through the Consortium, each member institution will have exclusive use of an observatory that features our best construction design and operating systems.
THE COMPANY:
The University Dark Sky Astronomy Consortium (UDSAC) is a division of the Center for Quantitative Cytometry (CQC), established in 1994. CQC was granted 501(c)3 non-profit status from the Internal Revenue Service in 1996 to engage in education, scientific and data gathering activities. The first program of the CQC addressed the quantitative measurement of fluorescence intensity of antibodies that labeled blood cells relevant in AIDS. CQC provided Quantitative Flow Cytometry Workshops throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Australia. Pfizer, Inc. sponsored the second CQC program where a methodology and standards were developed to quantitatively measure the degree of Macular De-generation in the human eye as a function of fluorescence. The third project of CQC, the Consortium, was inspired by six years of observation and astro-imaging under the dark skies of New Mexico . Establishing UDSAC as a non-profit division of CQC provides an opportunity for Institutions of Higher Learning to better serve their students and faculty.
UDSAC solar and wind powered remote controlled observatory
Abe Schwartz
Founder and President of the Center for Quantitative Cytometry, a non-profit 501(c)3 (1996-present); Flow Cytometry Standards Corporation (1984-2000); Caribbean MicroParticles Corporation, an IRS 936 subsidiary of Flow Cytometry Standards Corp. (1986-2000); Magnetic Activated Particle Sorting, Inc. (1984-1990). Inventor of over 30 US and International patents. Interested in developing the next generation of astronomers who can experience a real dark sky. Retired in 2000.
Martin Cohn
Mr. Cohn is the founder and President of Company Seven, a resource for the international amateur and professional astronomy community, and a registered U.S. Department of Defense contractor. Company 7 is located in Laurel, MD. A hub of the regional amateur astronomy community, it also provides consultant services to a number of organizations including for and not for profit media. Their credentials include support of mission critical aspects of: NASA Hubble Space Telescope Repair Mission, the NASA International Comet Halley Watch, the NASA James Webb Space Telescope, and a variety of defense and law enforcement projects.
Emma Fernández-Repollet
Director and Principal Investigator of the Research Centers for Minority Institutions Program at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus since 1986. Served as Vice President for Research and Technology at the University of Puerto Rico from 2003-2009. Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Center for Quantitative Cytometry, and member the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust and the Alliance for the Economic Development of Puerto Rico.
Peter Ingram
Forty years of experience in studying the physics of biological tissues and cells. Particular fields of expertise include optical, x-ray and electron optics and microscopy, x-ray and electron diffraction, x-ray fluorescence and ion/laser microprobe analysis. Current areas of interest include all forms of analytical microscopy as applied to pathology and physiology, especially the analysis of micron and submicron cellular inclusions, intracellular elemental and molecular distributions, analytical and novel spectral imaging techniques in its broadest sense.
Francis Mandy
Chief of the National HIV Immunology Laboratory, Health Canada System. He ran a large national quality assessment (QA) scheme for CD4 T-cell enumeration coast to coast. Based on the Canadian QA success, by the early 2000’s, he was managing an international multi-lingual program that included over 50 developing countries with 500 laboratories participating in CD4 T-cell QA/QC program. Organizations supporting the program included NIH, CDC, WHO, MSF, Clinton Foundation. Have conducted international work in Europe and Africa. Former Editor, Clinical Cytometry journal. Retired in 2007.
Sidney McNairy, Jr.
Former Director of the Division of Research Infrastructure, National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health. In this position, he developed and oversaw the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI), Institutional Development Award (IDeA) and Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions programs. Worked with over 300 academic institutions. He also directed the Animal and Research Facilities Improvement programs and the Science Education Partnership Awards. In early 2012, after NCRR was dissolved, McNairy joined NIGMS, where he continued to manage the IDeA program as well as two other NIGMS-supported capacity-building programs. Retired in 2013.
Phil Sherman
Founder and president of Philip Sherman Inc., a for profit schedule C corporation (2000-2005) specializing in information technology consulting. This corporation performed contract consulting involving database design and performance tuning, application design and implementation, and networking support for multiple clients, including corporations on the Fortune 500 list. Worked as IBM Advisory Systems Engineer, a member of IBM's contract consulting group. Work assignments included contracts involving application systems analysis, application development, application tuning, database design, systems support, and networking. In 2011, he started astroimaging activities. Have designed and installed the DC wiring for the observatory building and the computer system that controls all of the DC power and the roof motor system. Retired in 2005.
Our Team