Meet the SunSketchers

Hugh Hudson

Science Advisor & Eclipse Guru

UC Berkeley, U of Glasgow, & WKU

Hugh has broad experience in various aspects of solar physics and helped with related eclipse observations in 2017 and 2019 in association with Eclipse Megamovie.

Gordon Emslie

Principal Investigator

WKU

Gordon has been conducting research in various aspects of solar physics for over four decades and has also witnessed a number of solar eclipses (partial, annular, and total), with varying degrees of success. He is proud to lead such a dedicated team in the SunSketcher effort, which combines his passions for research and for the eclipse experience.

Greg Arbuckle

Co-Investigator

WKU School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Manufacturing Engineering Technology • WKU XR Lab

Greg is committed to providing students with opportunities to build a lifelong learning philosophy in an applied learning environment working with a group of dedicated faculty and staff.

Michael Galloway

Co-Investigator

WKU School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Computer Science • WKU XR Lab

Michael's research focus is distributed computing, specifically cloud computing. Other research focuses include network protocols, distributed resource provisioning, autonomous robotics, smart things/automation, and computer science education.

Travis Peden

Lead Android Developer

WKU XR Lab

Travis is a Computer Science major at WKU with a focus on backend software and game development. Formerly an independent contractor, he's been with the SunSketcher team since the beginning and worked on the Android app side of development, including aspects such as eclipse timing calculations and hardware/camera control implementations.

Tameka Ferguson

Lead iOS Developer

WKU XR Lab

Tameka is a Computer Science major at WKU with an interest in mobile app development. She is also an international student from The Bahamas. She is a recent addition to the SunSketcher team and her main focus is on developing the app for iOS.

Starr May

Networking & Database Developer, UX Designer

WKU XR Lab

Starr is a Computer Science and English double major at WKU. She worked at WKU's student-led advertising agency, ImageWest, as a copywriter before moving to the XR lab. At SunSketcher, she worked to develop the database and network connections supporting the app, as well as collaborated on user experience design for the app.

Kelly Miller

Image Processing Developer, Test Engineer

WKU XR Lab

Kelly studies computer science, computer animation, and game design at WKU. For the SunSketcher project, she works on image processing and testing documentation.

Joey Jackson

Android Developer

WKU XR Lab

Joey was a Computer Science major at WKU. His focus was in software development and he had a profound interest in machine learning. He joined in on the SunSketcher team and worked on the camera functionality of the application during the early development process.

Lance Warfel

Android Developer

WKU XR Lab

Lance was on board with the project from the start until his graduation in May of 2023. He helped create the camera functions and early versions of the User Interface.

Shikha Sawant

iOS Developer

WKU XR Lab

Shikha is a Western student with a major in Computer Science. She has an interest in software development and her main role on the Sunsketcher team is iOS develpoment.

Andrea Florence

Test Engineer

WKU XR Lab

Andrea is a Computer Science major at WKU. She is hard of hearing and loves being outdoors. For SunSketcher, she handles testing and test documentation for each aspect of development.

Kelcee Gabbard

Test Engineer

WKU XR Lab

Kelcee is a double major in Computer Science with a concentration in Systems and Scientific Applications and Dance. Kelcee hopes to connect her education in both dance and in the future and handles testing and documentation for SunSketcher.

Yegor Lushpin

IOS Developer

WKU XR Lab

Yegor is an undergraduate student passionate about Computer Science and Engineering. He helps on developing the IOS app and his main focus is on developing algorithms for post analytics of the images taken on April 8th.

Mark Simpson

Faculty Lead: UX/UI Development

WKU Department of Art & Design • WKU XR Lab

Leah Moss

Faculty Lead: UX Analysis and Testing

WKU Department of Art & Design

Nessa Unseld

Web Designer & Developer, Graphic Designer, UX/UI Designer

WKU XR Lab

Nessa is a student of psychology, user experience (UX) design, and nonprofit administration at Western Kentucky University. Her research, work, and other projects center on education. Utilizing HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP coding languages, she designed and built the SunSketcher website from scratch.

Tabby Cline

Animator, Social Media Manager, UX/UI Designer

WKU XR Lab

Tabby is a Graphic Design major at Western Kentucky University. In her design work, she favors simplicity. She has worked in the past as a page designer for the College Heights Herald and has also worked on brand development and website design projects.

Madison Whittle

UX/UI Designer

WKU XR Lab

Madison specializes in interaction design for digital systems, including apps, websites, video games, and extended reality (VR/AR) programs. She contributed to marketing ideas, user experience strategy, interactive prototypes, and visual mock-ups during SunSketcher's early-stage development.

Jay Pasachoff

(1943 - 2022)

Williams College

Prof. Pasachoff, with vast eclipse experience, enthusiastically supported the SunSketcher concept. We miss his wisdom and counsel and will remember him as our project evolves through the total eclipse in April 2024. Wikipedia Page.

Kristina Arnold

Design

WKU Department of Art & Design

Clinton Lewis

Photographer

WKU