Raj Pandya
Raj Pandya earned a B.S. in applied Physics from RPI in 2006 and an M.S. in Astronomy from SDSU in 2008. He became the Director of the John R. Kirk Planetarium and a full-time Lecturer in the department of Physics and Astronomy at SUNY New Paltz in fall 2011 and was promoted to Instructor in 2024. He teaches introductory and upper-level courses in astronomy and physics labs. As Planetarium Director, he develops, organizes, promotes, and presents live planetarium shows for the campus community and the regional public. He is also the faculty advisor of the student astronomy club at New Paltz, the “Cosmic Club”. Raj is originally from Westchester, New York, and currently lives in New Paltz.
“This is such an amazing honor to be recognized by the Alumni Association! It is always such a pleasure to interact with New Paltz Alumni and share with them the ongoings in the cosmos.”
