Associate Earth Science/Astronomy Professor Joseph DalSanto has spent the last 40 years developing an in-depth knowledge and familiarity with the night sky due to hundreds of evening observations.
“I’ve used and built numerous telescopes and observed thousands of objects from my home observatories as well as from locations in such places as Florida, New Mexico, Indiana, Wisconsin and California,” he said.
DalSanto first worked as an IT support professional for Hewlett Packard, where he worked on onsite and remote system hardware support for 15 years and then moved into IT project management.
But it was his love of the sky that eventually led DalSanto to the classroom. He began making presentations to astronomy clubs and groups and was invited to perform public outreach and oversee the observatory at Waubonsee Community College. His growing love for teaching led to the pursuit of a master’s degree in astronomy, and he began teaching credit classes part-time at Waubonsee.
When a full-time astronomy position opened up at College of DuPage in 2012, he left HP to pursue his passion. He teaches two rigorous courses on planetary astronomy and stars and galaxies as well as honors versions of each.
“I’ve been told repeatedly that my passion for astronomy shows. I want to share that passion and so I take great interest in my students’ success. I’m especially proud of the quality of the research projects done by my honors students, with several going on to pursue careers in astronomy.”
Contact DalSanto at dalsantoj228@cod.edu or (630) 942-2163.
I have never lost my love for standing under a truly clear, dark sky and experiencing the universe first hand personally. I am thrilled with new discoveries but also in how we discover things and how new knowledge either fits into what we know or forces us to adjust what we know.
- Joseph DalSanto, Astronomy Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Astronomy- Solar Systems
- Stars and Galaxies