Matthew is the Assistant Vice President of Technology, Great American Insurance – Crop Insurance Division, Cincinnati, OH

He holds a BS in Computer and Information Science and an MS in Geographic Information Systems. In his professional role, he leads the development of mobile and web applications, along with spatial analysis and geospatial development initiatives.

Role within the Cincinnati Astronomical Society (CAS):

An active amateur astronomer and variable star enthusiast, Matthew is a member of the Cincinnati Astronomical Society (CAS), where he contributes to the Exoplanet Team. He is also a member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), providing magnitude estimates for variable stars.

He participates in major exoplanet follow-up efforts, including the TESS Follow-up Observing Program (TFOP) Working Group, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Transients and Variable Stars (TVS) Science Collaboration, and citizen science platforms supporting upcoming missions.

Using the Moeller Observatory's PlaneWave CDK1000 telescope and his personal equipment, Matthew conducts observations and analyzes transit timing variations (ephemerides) for transiting exoplanets. He has completed over 160 such analyses and regularly submits data to the AAVSO, ExoClock (supporting the ESA ARIEL mission), and ExoFOP (TFOP/NASA TESS). His contributions also support the NASA Pandora mission by helping refine exoplanet ephemerides and characterize host star activity for atmospheric studies.

Topic: Matthew will be presenting about CAS citizen science progams.