RYAN WYATT	“Kitchen Sink” Vitae 601 Van Ness Avenue · Unit 18 · San Francisco, CA 94102 IMDb: Ryan Wyatt (I) · ryan.j.wyatt@gmail.com
EMPLOYMENT	Senior Director of Morrison Planetarium and Science Visualization (April 2007–present) California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California Served on Academy’s Senior Leadership Team, 2015–2020 (until disbanded) Wrote and directed the Academy’s nine award-winning planetarium shows: Fragile Planet (2008), Life: A Cosmic Story (2010), Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet (2012), Habitat Earth (2015), Incoming! (2016), Expedition Reef (2018), Big Astronomy (2020), Living Worlds (2021), and Spark: The Universe in Us (2023) Supervise creation of visualizations for the planetarium, stereoscopic theater, and exhibits Serve as lead for Evolving San Francisco project as part of the Academy’s Thriving California strategic initiative Served on 2020 Strategic Task Force, developing purpose, mission, and vision for the institution Supervised presenter team for planetarium, stereoscopic theater, and astronomical programming in various venues around the Academy, 2008–2024 Interface with technology and visual effects communities in the Bay Area Serving on CENIC Program Committee Act as a resource for digital planetarium technology and production Served on 2017 jury for the Fulldome Festival Brno Served on advisory panel for AMNH space shows, Journey to the Stars (2009) and Dark Universe (2013) Served on the 2007 awards committee and 2008, 2009, and 2012 juries for DomeFest Lead institutional XR strategic planning group Curate monthly Benjamin Dean Astronomy Lecture Series Interface with astronomical community and interpret research, including managing content for the Morrison Planetarium Facebook page and Universe Update news site Supervised implementation of audio-visual hardware and software and non-enterprise information technology during the reopening of the Academy Science Visualizer, Rose Center for Earth and Space (March 2001–April 2007) American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York Interfaced with astronomical community and interpreted research Provided visualizations for space-show production Worked with researchers and technical directors to produce visualizations for Cosmic Collisions (2006) Wrote and directed “Cosmic Collisions” pre-show high-definition video that loops Q&A, then introduces the show to all visitors Assisted in integrating more than a dozen researchers’ work into The Search for Life (2002) Integrated visualizations into educational programs Wrote and advised for “Astro-Viz” segments featured in NASA-supported AstroBulletins program, distributed to several dozen science centers and museums worldwide Wrote and directed regular “Mars Update” high-definition video loop—used as walk-in for all Hayden Planetarium space shows and played on NASA TV Wrote and directed “Sunscapes” high-definition video segment Brought expertise and production skills to education programs Organizing Committee member, “Seeing the Universe” NASA Explorer Institute held at the American Museum of Natural History in February 2005 Worked with exhibition design on the “Discovering the Universe” Moveable Museum program Curatorial Consultant, Educators Guide for the “Discovering the Universe” Moveable Museum Project Team member, Educators Guide for the “The Search for Life” space show Taught Hayden Planetarium courses and programs Regular presenter at monthly “Virtual Universe” program Instructor for “Relativity 101” (Fall 2005), “Scientific Revolution” (Spring 2005, Winter 2004, and Fall 2002), “Astronomy, Art, and Perception” (Winter 2005), and “Stars, Constellations, and Legends” (Fall 2004) Co-instructor for “Galaxies and Cosmology” (Spring 2005), “Hidden in Plain Sight” (Winter 2005), “Envisioning the Virtual Universe” (Fall 2003 and Fall 2002), and “From Einstein to Hawking” (Spring 2003) Acted as a resource for digital planetarium technology and production Science Organizing Committee member, Astro-Viz ’06 workshop held in Pasadena, California Co-chair for 2004 Fulldome Standards Summit held in Valencia, Spain, to coincide with the International Planetarium Society meeting Fostered relationships within the planetarium community, helped establish show distribution Director of Theaters, LodeStar Astronomy Center (November 1999–February 2001) LodeStar Project, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico Performed duties of director of astronomy-oriented science center Oversaw day-to-day operation of 6,000 square feet of exhibits, planetarium, motion simulator, and gift shop Directly supervised four area managers, with two additional full-time and approximately fifteen part-time co-workers Acted as liaison between New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (host institution) and the University of New Mexico (administrating institution) Developed media for fulldome video in new planetarium Wrote and produced debut program, which opened in March 2000 Manager, Dorrance Planetarium (November 1996–November 1999) Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, Arizona Managed two full-time and three part-time people, plus one volunteer Focus on developing creative team, giving each member performance, problem-solving, and production roles Wrote and produced all planetarium shows—including five original feature shows from October 1997 through July 1999 Reviewed content with science center planetarium committee and outside advisors Developed imagery with in-house production staff, supervising and creating still graphics and animations Oversaw audio production, including work with narrators Hugh Downs and Michael York Commissioned and advised on original musical scores Streamlined final multimedia programming, including Spice, Interactive, and Digistar software components Integrated live and interactive portions to differentiate experience from large-format film venue Co-wrote and -produced portions of “Destination Moon” with Houston Museum of Natural Science Took de facto lead in all planetarium troubleshooting, including Evans & Sutherland and Sky-Skan hardware and software Media contact (radio, TV, and print) for astronomical events and planetarium-related activities Produced televised public-service announcements for planetarium shows Prepared and administrated annual planetarium budget Served on science center’s grants-review committee Organized 1999 DesertSkies regional planetarium conference and 1999 Digistar Users Group meeting Manager, Burke Baker Planetarium (August 1993–November 1996) Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, Texas Managed planetarium staff of six part-time operators and laserists Wrote and produced all planetarium shows—including five original feature shows Developed “Destination Mars” planetarium show, exhibit, and curriculum with NASA’s Johnson Space Center Co-investigator on “Creating the Public Connection” NASA grant NAG5-2689 Prepared and administrated annual planetarium budget Developed and maintained Museum’s website and electronic mail server Maintained MicroVAX, SPARCstation 1, and Digistar I Graphics Processor and Projector Operated Museum’s 16–inch telescope (Brown Observatory) Planetarium Instructor (August 1995–May 1996) Houston Independent School District, Houston, Texas Taught daily 4th– and 7th–grade classes in planetarium Interim, part-time position alternating with managerial duties at planetarium Planetarium Operator / Lecturer (March 1991–July 1993) Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, Texas Performed live and taped planetarium shows—including weekly “Stars of the Season” night-sky talk Programmed Digistar laser-show and astronomy effects and acquired traditional production techniques Edited and wrote scripts for astronomy features Research / Teaching Assistant (August 1990–July 1993) Rice University, Houston, Texas Reduced and analyzed wide-band Hubble Space Telescope data System manager of SPARCstation 2 (pre-Solaris) used for image-processing Teaching assistant for 300–level class in observational astronomy techniques—from small telescopes to IRAF Teacher Mentor (Summers 1991–92) Rice University, Houston, Texas Introduced junior- and senior-high-school instructors to astronomy research, data reduction and analysis Scheduled and assisted in wide-band CCD observations at local 36–inch telescope (George Observatory) Research Assistant (Summer / Winter Breaks 1987–89) Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona Infrared data reduction and analysis for SIRTF / NICMOS groups Performed detector testing, electronics construction and repair Art Director (October 1986–June 1990) Visions Magazine, Ithaca, New York Selected artwork, executed drawings, and designed layout for independent college magazine Worked with artists, graphic designers, marketing staff, and print shops Writer / Cartoonist (August 1986–June 1990) Cornell Daily Sun, Ithaca, New York Wrote approximately 70 reviews, features, and news articles—as well as a daily comic strip for one year
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION	2023 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 2020 Fellow of the International Planetarium Society 2013 Scholar Fellow of the Aspen Ideas Festival
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS	American Association for the Advancement of Science American Astronomical Society (WorldWide Telescope Advisory Board, 2015–present) American Geophysical Union Association for Computing Machinery and ACM SIGGRAPH Association of Science-Technology Centers (Conference Program Planning Committee, 2012–2017) Astronomical Society of the Pacific (2008 Meeting Program Committee) Immersive Media Education, Research, Science & Arts (IMERSA) professional organization “advancing the art and technology of immersive digital experiences” (Co-founder and Vice President, 2008–present) International Planetarium Society (Member, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, 2019–present; Member, Centennial Committee, 2018–present; Chair, Fulldome Video Committee, 2007–2010) National Science Teaching Association Visual Effects Society
SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES	Participant and report editor, Cosmovisions of the Pacific Phase 1 work on Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons interested in networking, collaboration, and co-creation Writer and consultant, One Sky Project, ʻImiloa Collaborative planetarium “shorts” on cultural and Indigenous astronomy Program Committee member, CENIC conferences Co-chair, 2017 and 2019 Gordon Research Conference on Visualization in Science and Education Science Organizing Committee member, VISUALISE: Visualization for Informal Science Education conference, , sponsored by “Advancing the Design of Visualizations for Informal Science Engagement” grant, NSF DSL-1811163 Invited speaker and Master Class instructor, 2018 Domo Lleno Festival Science Organizing Committee member, NASA-funded Astro-Viz ’18 workshop Invited speaker, 2018 Data Visualization Summit, San Francisco Invited speaker, 2017 Data Visualization Summit, Boston Jury member, 2017 Fulldome Festival Brno Organizing Committee member, 2017 IPS “Data to Dome” Workshop Stanford University d.school Design Thinking Bootcamp (2018) Conference Program Planning Committee, Association of Science-Technology Centers (2010–2016) Keynote speaker, Rio de Janeiro Planetarium Workshop in Fulldome Production (2014) Writer, Google Lunar XPRIZE show, Back to the Moon—For Good (2013) Writer and consultant for Chabot Observatory’s NSF-funded Maya Skies (2009) Host, Astro-Viz ’09 workshop at the California Academy of Sciences Science Organizing Committee member, Astro-Viz ’06 workshop Organizing Committee member, “Seeing the Universe” 2005 NASA Explorer Institute Visual Advisor, Space University Book Club (2005), Scholastic Books, Inc. Director, artist, and animator, “Card Game” (2004) and “Dome Sketch” (2005) fulldome shorts; “Dome Sketch” was awarded the 2005 DomeFest “Experimentation Domie” Co-chair for 2004 Fulldome Standards Summit, supported by NSF ESI-0337286 Moderator, Fulldome Mailing List (1999–2019)
WRITING AND PUBLICATIONS	“Bringing Worlds to Life,” with the Academy production team, The Planetarian (March 2023), 52(1), pp. 10–16, 35 “Making the Case for Visualization,” with Robert Hurt, Mark SubbaRao, and others, Astro2020 white paper “IDEAS: Immersive Dome Experiences for Accelerating Science,” with Jacqueline K. Faherty, Mark SubbaRao, and others, Astro2020 white paper “Academy Style: An Institutional Approach to Fulldome Storytelling,” The Planetarian (June 2019), 48(2), pp. 24–30, 67 “Filmmaking for Fulldome: Best Practices and Guidelines for Immersive Cinema (Part 2),” with Ka Chun Yu and Dan Neafus, The Planetarian (March 2017), 46(1), pp. 24–36 “Filmmaking for Fulldome: Best Practices and Guidelines for Immersive Cinema (Part 1),” with Ka Chun Yu and Dan Neafus, The Planetarian (December 2016), 45(4), pp. 27–39 “Planetariums as 21st Century Digital Dioramas,” Informal Learning Review (May/June 2014), 126, pp. 3–8 “The Making of Life: A Cosmic Story,” with Tom Kennedy, Jeroen Lapre, and Michael Schmitt, The Planetarian (March 2012), 41(1), pp. 16–20 Regular contributor of “Visualising Astronomy” column to Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal “Exploring the Invisible Frontier: Why Astronomers Observe in Infrared,” fourth place winner in the 2005 Boeing Writing Contest, appeared in Griffith Observer (February 2006), Vol.70, No. 2, pp. 2–9 “Planetarium Paradigm Shift,” The Planetarian (September 2005), 34(3), pp. 15–19 “Virtual Universe,” with Brian Abbott and Carter Emmart, Natural History (April 2004), pp. 44–49 “The Big Picture: Planetariums, Education, and Space Science,” NASA Office of Space Science Education and Public Outreach Conference, A.S.P. Conference Series, No. 319, pp. 169–173 Various reviews and brief opinion pieces for The Planetarian Other writing samples available online “Visualizing Science” blog
EDUCATION	Master of Science Program, Space Physics and Astronomy (August 1990–July 1993) Rice University, Houston, Texas Bachelor of Arts, Astronomy (August 1986–August 1990) Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
COMPUTER SKILLS	Fluency on Macintosh, Unix, and Linux systems Virtuoso pilot on OpenSpace, Uniview, Partiview, and DigitalSky interfaces to Hayden Planetarium’s Digital Universe Expertise in 2D design software, including Adobe Photoshop and and Adobe Illustrator HTML authoring and web page design and maintenance
REFERENCES	Available upon request.