Douglas O'Neal, Ph.D

Douglas O'Neal, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department or Division: Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Email: douglas.oneal@keystone.edu
Phone Number: (570) 945-8145

Education

Dr. Douglas O’Neal received his B. S. in Astronomy and Physics from Penn State in 1990, and his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Penn State in 1997.  After postdoctoral research and teaching at other colleges, he joined the Keystone College faculty in 2007. 

Teaching

At Keystone, Dr. O’Neal teaches the Astronomy I and II courses, which include significant components of observing the night sky from Cupillari Observatory; the Physics I and II courses; and Life in the Universe, an interdisciplinary course examining the issue of life beyond Earth from the perspectives of several different sciences and from a cultural standpoint.  He is also advisor to the Keystone Astronomy Club.

Research

Dr. O’Neal is a stellar astronomer whose research deals with magnetic activity (starspots, flares, and hot chromospheres and coronae) on highly magnetically active, cool stars.  He regularly observes these stars from McDonald Observatory in Texas, and students have accompanied him on these observing trips.  He is currently the co-P.I. on a National Science Foundation Research at Undergraduate Institutions grant to investigate magnetically active stars and to incorporate synthetic stellar spectra into modeling them