Anthony Crider

Tony Crider is a Professor of Astrophysics at Elon University in North Carolina. He received his Ph.D. in space physics and astronomy from Rice University in 1999 and continued his research of gamma-ray bursts as a National Research Council associate at the Naval Research Laboratory. Before moving to Elon, Dr. Crider taught at American University where he coordinated the Multimedia Design and Development program. His interest in science visualization led him to create virtual planetariums, telescopes, and lunar landscapes within the 3D online world of Second Life. In 2006, he co-founded the SciLands, an archipelago of Second Life islands dedicated to science education and outreach. Shortly after that, he began using Reacting to the Past role-playing games in his astronomy classes and subsequently invented the chapter-length reacting game. His own game, The Pluto Debate: The International Union Defines a Planet was the first of many science reacting games to receive funding from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Crider has written on visual literacy in astronomy, the morphologies of active galaxies seen with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and "Epic Finales" in higher education. In recent years, he has taught classes on astrophysics, virtual reality, technological revolutions, and the pageantry of protests.