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Dr Francisco Diego

Born in Mexico City, where he got his first degree in Mechanical Engineering. His career in Astronomy started at the Sociedad Astronomica de Mexico and the Planetario Luis E. Erro. He worked for several years at the Instituto de Astronomia, UNAM and then came to University College London where he got a PhD in Astronomy. Currently, he is a Lecturer at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCL, vice president of the UK Association for Astronomy Education and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He is a keen populariser of environmental sciences and extensive experience as a planetarium producer/presenter, lecturer, author and broadcaster.

Francisco has appeared on TV series like Stephen Hawking's Universe, BBC's The Planets and more recently, Genius by Stephen Hawking (PBS), the world-wide version of BBC's Wonders of the Universe, The Seven Ages of Starlight and The Secret Life of the Sun. He is a regular contributor to BBC, Sky, Euronews and Aljazeera News channels. Veteran of 20 solar eclipse expeditions. Founder and director of Your Universe, the UCL festival of Astronomy. Producing and delivering The Mind of the Universe, a collection of public and school lectures and teacher workshops on astrophysics, cosmology and life in the Universe. His most recent educational project is called Think Universe!, a novel and ambitious idea to bring fundamental science to the primary and secondary classroom with initial support from the Royal Society and the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

 

Earth Model 1:12 millionth scale

Think Universe! has become the foundation of a wider venture called Paradise Planet Earth: A human responsibility, in response to the severe environmental and humanitarian crises, which demand immediate implementation of resources for school curricula and public awareness (a separate website is under construction).

 

The core of Paradise Planet Earth is summarised in Francisco's Earth Day Westminster speech.