Russ Glenn, MSc

Russ Glenn, MSc is an Indie-folk Music Artist, Astronomer, and Educator passionate about planetary science. He is a career educator with 25 years of experience and is currently teaching 6th-grade life science and 7th-grade coding and robotics at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, TX.

Russ has been the Owner and Director at Lore Adventures since 2012, where he offers Summer Camps that engage kids in an active, creative environment.

In 2018 he was selected to attend the National Science Foundation HET-DEX workshop at the McDonald Observatory. In the summer of 2019, he attended the prestigious Texas Space Grant Consortium LiftOff Summer Institute 2019: Legacy of Apollo in Houston, Texas.

Russ is also NASA’s Solar System Exploration Ambassador since 2020. Ambassadors promote Science and Space Education and host events on the subject. He hosted the Dripping Springs City Star Party, S.T.E.A.M. Night at Steiner Ranch Elementary School, and Night Skies over the LBJ Ranch. In 2023, Russ was an invited Speaker and Performer at the STEAMSPACE Education Outreach Cities in Space 2023 Conference.

Russ earned his Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Environmental Geology from The College of William & Mary in 1996. After graduating, he began working in education by teaching at outdoor facilities that include The Barrier Island Environmental Education Program in South Carolina and Astrocamp in California.

He later transitioned into the classroom but never forgot the importance of bringing the outdoor education principle of experiential learning to his students. In 2001, and until 2004, he started as Teacher at Horace Mann School, and later returned as the Assistant Director in 2007. For almost five years he was the Environmental Program Director and Science Teacher at the University Liggett School until 2014 when he became the Science Department Chair for Astronomy and the Environmental Sciences Instructor at St. Michael’s Catholic Academy until 2020. He taught Physics, Environmental Science, and Astronomy, and was the STEM Chair and Strategic Planner.

In 2020, he became the Director of Education at Slooh, which offers a gamified approach to astronomy education. Students utilize sophisticated robotic telescopes to capture images of celestial objects and then use those images to complete astronomy-related Quests.

In February 2019, he completed his MSc in Space Studies with a concentration in Planetary Science from American Public University.

In addition to his teaching work, Russ is a singer-songwriter who performs both solo and with his band. When he isn’t teaching or playing shows, he enjoys hiking and paddle boarding around Austin with his wife and daughters.

Russ picked up the guitar at age 15 and recorded his first album of original songs just 5 years later. He has released 4 albums since his debut album Starshell. His latest, released in 2022 is entitled Pale Blue Dot and was called a “must-listen album” by Neufutur.com.

Pale Blue Dot’s 10 original tracks range from the yearning and longing of Don’t Turn Me Away and The Cantaloupe Terrain to the bubbly fun of Dead All Day and Your Plastic Heart. The title track of the album is inspired by, and an homage to, the late astronomer, Carl Sagan.

Listen to Pale Blue Dot, written by Russ to honor Carl Sagan.

Follow his Music at Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and ReverbNation.

Visit his LinkedIn profile, Do512 profile, and his Homepage. Follow him on his Personal Facebook, his Facebook Music page, Instagram, and Twitter.