By Cynthia Marshall Schuman

Wonderfest 2002 and Annual Reviews named Foothill College astronomy instructor Andrew Fraknoi recipient of the Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization. Underwritten by Annual Reviews as a tribute to their president and editor-in-chief, Samuel Gubins, the prize, including a cash gift of $5,000, was presented to Fraknoi Nov. 2, at the the Bay Area Festival of Science at Stanford University.

“The award celebrates Mr. Fraknoi’s outstanding devotion to bringing the wonders of scientific inquiry to the public,” Wonderfest Director Tucker Hiatt said. Wonderfest is an annual teacher and public education program in science.

Fraknoi of San Francisco is an award-winning educator and scientist nationally known for his skill in translating astronomical discoveries and ideas into everyday language.

Chairman of the Astronomy Program at Foothill College, he teaches courses on introductory astronomy and “physics for poets.” More than 900 students enroll in his courses each year. For 14 years, Fraknoi served as executive director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, edited its magazine and its newsletter for teachers.

Fraknoi is the lead author of “Voyages through the Universe” (1997, 2000, Harcourt Brace). He is also editor of a two-volume teaching guide called “The Universe at Your Fingertips.”

Fraknoi appeared regularly as science consultant for more than 20 years on the Jim Eason show on KGO and KSFO. Recently, he has become a regular on the Pete Wilson show on KGO.

Fraknoi serves on the board of trustees of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, a scientific and educational organization involved in identifying possible radio signals from civilizations around other stars. He is also a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, specializing in debunking astrology. Recently, he was reappointed to the American Astronomical Society Education Board.

Educated at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley, he has taught astronomy and physics at San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco, Canada College and several campuses of the University of California Extension Division.

In 1994 Fraknoi received the Annenberg Foundation Prize of the American Astronomical Society, the highest honor in the field of astronomy education, as well as the Klumpke-Roberts Prize of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, which is given for a lifetime of contributions to popularizing astronomy.

The International Astronomical Union has renamed Asteroid 4859, Asteroid Fraknoi.