Lynn Ruth Cominsky
Physics & Astronomy (Department), EdEon STEM Learning (group), Sonoma State University
Research Focus
Research Interests
About Lynn
Lynn Cominsky is a Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at Sonoma State University (SSU), where she has been on the faculty for over 35 years. She is an author on over 225 research papers in refereed journals, and the Principal or Co-Investigator on over $35 million of grants to SSU. Prof. Cominsky is the founder and director of SSU’s EdEon STEM Learning (formerly known as the Education and Public Outreach Group), which develops educational materials for NASA, NSF and the US Department of Education. The group excels at K-12 teacher training, curriculum development, and the development of interactive web activities for students that teach math and science. Current projects include NASA’s Neurodiversity Network and the ED-funded Learning by Making CSTEM curriculum for ninth-grade students. On a personal note, she lives at the Little H-bar Ranch in Petaluma, CA, where she is the servant to 3 horses, 2 miniature horses, 3 cats, 6 chickens, a three-legged goat and a dog.
Honors
2023 - Distinguished Lecturer, Sigma Xi
2019 - Legacy Fellow, American Astronomical Society
2017 - Frank J. Malina Education Medal, International Astronautical Federation
2016 - Education Prize, American Astronomical Society
2016 - Wang Family Excellence Award, California State University
2013 - Fellow, American Association for Advancement of Science
2009 - Fellow, American Physical Society
2007 - Fellow, California Council on Science and Technology
1993 - CASE California Professor of the Year
Education
Postdoc
Space Sciences Lab, University of California, Berkeley, 09/1981 - 08/1984
Ph.D.
Physics/Astrophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 09/1981
Bachelor's
Physics and Chemistry, Brandeis University, 01/1975
