Alan Cook

Alan with his 10-inch Meade LX-50

Alan Cook,   Assoc. Prof. of Architecture Auburn, AL e-mail:  cookala@mail.auburn.edu Special Interests: archeoastronomy, sundials, stereoptic imaging (terrestrial; i.e., not on the astronomical scale)

AAS:  Are you a seasoned amateur astronomer or just getting into the hobby?

AC:  New-comer

AAS:  What was your first experience that attracted you to astronomy?

AC:  Visiting a planetarium as a young boy, and growing-up with NASA's space program beginnings (Echo, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, etc...)

AAS:  How about your family members; spouse? kids? siblings? significant other?

AC:  Divorced, one 10 year old son - Max; father and sister live in Nebraska, mother lives in Marseille, France.

AAS:  Can you tell us a little about your formal education?

AC:   B.Architecture, 1971; M. Architecture, 1976; both from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln

AAS:  Do you have any pets?

AC:   None at present

AAS:  Where do you work? If you're retired, what was your occupation?

AC:  Auburn University, School of Architecture; Associate Professor

AAS:  What are your other hobbies?

AC:  Stereo-photography; furniture design and fabrication (woodworking & (a little) welding); drawing, painting, and sculpting, graphic design; studying geometry and the behavior of light ; spatial illusions; 3-D computer modeling

AAS:  What was your first or favorite car?

AC:  First owned - 1966 Plymouth Valiant; favorite owned - 1995 Ford Explorer

AAS:  What was your first "real" job?

AC:  First interesting job - beach guard at a swimming pool; most interesting - my present teaching job

AAS:  Tell us about your favorite vacation.

AC:  Visiting le Mont ST. Michel off the Britiany coast of France and watching the fluctuation of the tides around that midieval monastic island village

AAS:  Have you ever lived in some other part of the country or another country?

AC:  Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska; other places of temporary residence include: Phoenix, AZ; Fargo, ND,. Some contries visited: England, Scotland, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Mexico

I am a former Nebraska State High School gymnastic champion on the still rings; I also worked the high bar and the parallel bars and dabbled in all-around competition. I also earned three letters as a competitor on the University of Nebraska gymnastics team.
I am a registered architect in the state of Alabama.
My middle name is Roger making my initials "ARC" which has affinities with architecture and with celestial measurements. My mother is french and I speak fluent french.
As a member of the AU architecture faculty, I have helped to lead architecture student european study abroad groups on three occasions (ten weeks each: 1981, 1986, 1997).
I have entered several major design competitions (including the Astronauts Memorial for Cape Canaveral) but have yet to be selected as a winner.