2024 Spring Student Symposium Keynote Speaker

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STEM or STEAM?

Dr. Randall L. Milstein has been a faculty member at Oregon State University since 1990 and currently teaches in both the Physics Department and the OSU Honors College. Courses taught by Dr. Milstein include Descriptive Astronomy, Energy Alternatives, Comparative Planetology, The Science of Science Fiction, The Art of Science/The Science of Art, The Astronomy of Sacred Places, Crises, Catastrophes, and Cataclysms in Earth History, and Science Fiction as Mirror. He is the recipient of the OSU College of Science Distinguished Service Award for his outreach engagements, and in 2022 was named the Sanders Eminent Professor of the OSU Honors College. From 2016-2022 Dr. Milstein served as an Astronomer-in-Residence to the Oregon NASA Space Grant Consortium (OSGC) and currently represents OSU as its Affiliate Representative to OSGC. Dr. Milstein is also a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassador.

Dr. Milstein’s research interests include astrogeology, impact-cratering dynamics, and archaeo-astronomy. He is a regular outreach speaker and enjoys engaging with the public on topics of science, astronomy, and the roll of science fiction in popular culture. Dr. Milstein co-hosts the annual OSU TrekWars celebration and is a frequent contributor to video and podcasts from the OSU Annares Project for Alternative Futures.

Before his career as a professional scientist, Dr. Milstein was educated and trained as a photographer. Most noted for his dance photography, more recently he began photographing portraits of cosplayers at popular culture conventions and interviewing them about their creative process, costume choices, and commitment to their cosplay personas. His photographs appear in solo and group exhibitions; are represented in government, corporate, and private collections; and appear in numerous publications, books, posters, and advertisements.