Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 00:57:14 -0500 From: Harald Schenk Subject: Fill:Bio (Part 2) Coming to America I saw the most beautiful sunset as our ship approached New York harbor. At the time, we thought it represented things yet to come. In retrospect, I now realize that the colors were due to the vast amount of pollution emitted from factories. What would I find in the New World? My only experience with Americans had been from viewing movies, and watching GI's. Were the streets of my new country filled with Cowboys and Indians, or with gum-chewing soldiers in khakie clothes who put their feet up on desks? As we traveled toward a place called Sheboygan, Wisconsin I was pleasantly surprized that Americans were neither. The people we encountered were friendly, and had a simple manner which made it easy to like them. We marveled at the huge quantities of food, and were astounded that people used the automobile for the simplest of errants. America's greatest treasure, in my opinion, was the information that I found in libraries. As soon as I developed a command of the English language, I read every astronomy book that I could find. My interest in this topic had developed during the black-outs of post-war Berlin. As my family and I walked to nearby coal yards to get fuel, I could see the beauty of the heavens in full splendor. The stars appeared close enough to touch. Now that we were in the States, I wanted more than anything to get a telescope, but I realized that my parents could not afford the expense. So - at night, after they were asleep, I would sneak into their bedroom. The lenses from my Mother's wire-rimmed glasses were a perfect fit for an empty wax-paper tube. A hollowed-out yarn spool made a great eyepiece after inserting two lenses. Together, the contraption allowed me to observe the heavens for many nights. My first telescope, a 4-1/4 inch Newtonian, was completed for the ninth grade Science Fair. But I would have to wait another eight years to get access to larger telescopes. These I found on the roof of Sterling Hall at UW-Madison. It became a semester that I would never forget. But it would also start a 25 year long break in my studies. Within months, I would be a member of Uncle Sam's forces. During that time, Sterling Hall would become the target of bombers during the 60's. After serving overseas, and returning to the "World", I decided it was time to get married. Six children later, I finally returned to school under the Extended Degree Program at UW-Green Bay, and completed my Bachelors Degree. During my last class at UW-Green Bay, I decided to enter the "Competition for Amateur use of the Hubble Space Telescope". The professor told me to prepare two observing proposals in the form of papers. He would select the most promising of the two, and I would prepare this for submission. To my pleasure, I was selected a finalist. I used the HST five times during 1993 to search for evidence that some asteroids may be the nuclei of extinct comets. The experience had two advantages for me. First, a local college asked if I would teach a semester of astronomy to the students. Even though I was lacking a Master's Degree, the staff was willing to consider my experience in it's place. Second, the experience helped me get into Graduate School. I'm currently a student in the distance-learning program at the University of North Dakota. We receive all lectures on video tape, and meet online once each week for "chats" and exams. It's a great experience. The program leads toward a 32 credit MS in Space Studies. I hope to use the degree for additional opportunities to teach astronomy on the college level, and to write on the topic of space. Harald Schenk Sheboygan, WI hschenk@excel.net