Justin J McCollum is a graduate of Portland State University with a B.Sci. and M. Sci in Physics specializing in Optical Microscopy. He moved to Texas in January 2005 to work as the Physics Laboratory Coordinator for the Dept of Physics, where he currently resides in Beaumont, TX. His achievements include developing the Astronomy course in the Dept. of Physics and developing classes in Orbital and Celestial Mechanics for the Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences at Lamar. He has earned several awarded recognitions as the Physics and Astronomy educator for the Texas Governor School for the College of Education and Human Development at Lamar University from 2007 – 2021.
He is a member of several Astronomy clubs in the Greater Houston area and a former 15-year member of the Beaumont ASSET club. His service includes several officer positions amongst the clubs, including; FBAC Vice President, Novice and General Meeting Program Director at HAS, and former WebMaster for the NHAC club. From time to time, publishing online reports on the current state of comets, and his friends and fellow astronomers refer to him as Professor Comet. He is a former employee of ArielPartners working on a USAF project with the Aerospace giant Liedos as their Orbital Mechanics Data Specialist. He has an associate certification in Data Science and is working on a PGP certification in AIML with the University of Texas in Austin through the Great Learning platform. He works as a Part-Time, Senior education instructor at Space Center Houston, a senior volunteer at the George Observatory, and a part-time volunteer with the Insperity Observatory in Humble, TX.
Justin is currently pursuing a PhD.