Dr Stacy Palen grew up in New Jersey, and earned a bachelor's of physics from Rutgers University. From there she headed west to Iowa, where she picked up a master's in astronomy and a PhD in physics from the University of Iowa. Since she already had some momentum, she continued west to Seattle, where she served as a lecturer/post-doc at the University of Washington for 4 years. Geographically, it would have been difficult to continue moving west without leaving the country, so instead, she continued moving culturally west, arriving in Ogden, UT in 2002. Now at Weber State University, she is an award-winning University Professor, and Director of the Ott Planetarium, which is internationally known for its fun and educational productions about the night sky. Dr. Palen's research specialty is the death of Sun-like stars, and she will discuss the life and death of the Sun at ASTROCON. Dr. Stacy Palen Professor, Physics Director, Ott Planetarium Weber State University Ogden, UT, 84408