Jonathan Cohn, Ph.D.
Jonathan Cohn is an extragalactic astrophysicist with experience researching ethics, multidimensional poverty, and the worldwide history of astronomy.
Jonathan Cohn, Ph.D., is an extragalactic astrophysicist with experience researching ethics, multidimensional poverty, and the worldwide history of astronomy. He is the lead data analyst in the Poverty in Astronomy Collective, researching the impacts of poverty on people pursuing careers in astronomy and academia. He is also a leader in the Choir Collaboration, with whom he organized a conference on science and ethics, as well as a mutual aid fund for astronomers whose livelihoods have been affected by governmental budget cuts. He is also a writer, a classically-trained violinist, and was a competitive figure skater for about 10 years.
Q&A with Jonathan Cohn
Where did you grow up? Can you tell us a little about your educational journey?
I was born and raised in St Louis before moving to Dallas as a teenager. I got my bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Texas at Dallas and my Ph.D. in astronomy at Texas A&M University. I was then a postdoctoral researcher for one year at Texas A&M, before I accepted the Guarini Dean's Postdoctoral Fellowship in physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College. There, I continued my research, supervising three undergraduate researchers and co-mentoring two Ph.D. students. As part of that fellowship, I also developed a new graduate-level course on the ethics and history of astronomy. I then transitioned into a lecturer position at Dartmouth.
When did you first fall in love with your field of study? What made you decide to work in academia?
It felt inevitable for me to fall in love with the night sky. There is so much about our universe that we don't know, and those myriad open questions have called to me since I took my first astronomy class in high school. Later, as an undergraduate, I began working in the UT Dallas Student Success Center where I fell in love with teaching, setting my path toward working in academia.
Can you talk a little about your teaching philosophy? What do you most like about teaching?
At the core of my teaching philosophy is the idea that education's purpose is to serve the students. In my experience, academics have a tendency to fall back on unexamined conventions in the classroom, when we should be applying more evidence-based pedagogy. My favorite part about teaching is getting to see the universe again for the first time through the eyes of students. I love feeling their excitement when new, challenging ideas click, and it brings me great joy to cultivate in others the passion and wonder for astronomy that I feel.
What attracted you to VCU? What are you most excited about in regards to VCU and Richmond?
During my first campus visit, the students and faculty with whom I met were extraordinarily welcoming and immediately made me feel valued and at home. I am thrilled at the opportunity to work as an educator in an environment dedicated to creating a supportive and uplifting community.
Can you tell us either a quirky fact about yourself or some of your hobbies?
I love running around outside, reading, writing, playing tabletop games and role-playing games, watching soccer, eating spicy food, and listening to all sorts of music.