Ronald Melvin Blake

Mel Blake is the director of the UNA Planetarium and Observatory at the University of North Alabama. He has been the SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma chapter adviser since 2009. After a few years of learning about the SPS and its programs, the UNA SPS chapter has received various chapter awards from the national organization, including grants for chapter research projects, outreach and attendance at Zone 6 and national congresses. The Sigma Pi Sigma Chapter has also held inductions regularly when there are qualified students. He served as Zone 6 councilor during the covid lockdowns and served a several committees as part of national council, including the 100 th anniversary committee and the Sigma Pi Sigma member ship committee. He takes an active part in the UNA SPS and attends club meetings to act as an adviser. He enjoyed seeing students who are normally quiet and shy develop their leadership skills as part of the chapter executive. He is currently volunteering with the SPS to conduct outreach and
initiate more chapters in Canada.

As the Planetarium and Observatory director, Blake is involved in outreach activities every week and has placed special focus on Black History Month and Women’s History month programming. He is currently the chair of the UNA Infrastructure committee advocating for better campus light, is a charter board member of Starry Skies South, the newly forming International Dark Sky association. He currently serves on the UNA Institutional review board, is past and now current member of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and the UNA Academic affairs committee. Outside UNA for the Alabama Academy of Sciences, (AAS), he serves on the Alabama Science Trail Committee, and is the associate chair of the junior academy of Sciences. He has also served on the Local Organizing Committee for the annual meeting of the AAS held at UNA in 2016. He has been the associate chair and chair of the AAS Physics and Math Sections, and the AAS Education and Outreach section and has volunteered as a judge for the poster competitions at the annual meetings as well as the Junior Academy of Sciences and Gorgas competitions. Most recently has organized an SPS session at the AAS 100 th anniversary held in March of 2023, at Samford University. Blake was named the outstanding faculty member in the College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering in 2018, and for his work with the AAS he has been named a fellow of the Alabama Academy of sciences. What he most proud of is that his students have won paper and poster competitions at UNA, state and national conferences. It is great to be the first research adviser for an undergraduate student and see them succeed.