The American Astronomical Society (AAS) has named solar physicist Ryan French, a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), a 2026 Shapley Visiting Lecturer.
Founded in 1958, the visiting lecturer program pairs scientists with hosts looking to present public science lectures, bringing astronomers to schools and communities across North America to “share the wonder of the Universe and inspire people to bring science into their lives.” The program, which is dedicated to the memory of former AAS President Harlow Shapley, supports 2- to 3-day visits in which Shapley Lecturers deliver a public astronomy talk and engage with students, educators, and local communities. This year, 21 astronomers will visit destinations in 17 states.
French has been paired with the Cedar Amateur Astronomers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and will present at a joint gathering of the North Central Region of the Astronomical League Conference and the Eastern Iowa Cosmic Conference, which will take place May 15-17, 2026.
“A big part of the program is to foster unexpected scientific connections,” French said, “pairing up people in one place with people in another place where you wouldn’t ordinarily have such geographical diversity.”
The conference has both a scientific track, with additional technical talks for amateur astronomers, and a public track, in which he will deliver the event’s Free Shapley Public Lecture.
French’s lecture will focus on how solar activity affects modern society, including space weather impacts on power grids, satellites, and agriculture, which is particularly relevant given how active the Sun has been lately, with Solar Cycle 25 reaching its maximum in late 2024. (The current 11-year cycle of solar activity is the 25th since 1755, when historical record-keeping of sunspot activity began.)
“The public lecture is all about how the Sun can influence our society and over the last two or three years, I’ve had more things to add to the talk,” French said. “It’s not just talking about things that happened 20 years ago anymore—it’s been happening this year.”
He noted that the May 2024 solar storm caused significant disruptions to automated farming systems by disrupting GPS navigation that guides tractors and other farm equipment. “There was a half‑billion‑dollar disruption to the U.S. agricultural industry over just three days,” French said. “Solar science affects everyone.”
French joined LASP in 2025 as a Research Scientist II, moving from the National Solar Observatory where he was a post-doctoral researcher. French received his Ph.D. in 2022 from University College London where he worked on reconnection dynamics in solar flares, which he continues to study at LASP.
He is also an active science communicator, sharing the science of the Sun and space with the public through social media—where he has more than 85,000 followers—as well as through museums, observatories, and appearances on television and radio.
In 2024, French won the AAS Solar Physics Division’s Popular Media Award, which recognizes outstanding public communication about the Sun and its effects on Earth. He received the award for his work on TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms, as well as his widely read Space.com article, “That giant sunspot that supercharged auroras on Earth? It’s back and may amp up the northern lights with June solar storms.” His second book, Space Hazards, was published worldwide in 2025.
French’s commitment to public engagement began early in his career. One of his first outreach jobs was working at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, home of Greenwich Mean Time and the world-famous Prime Meridian Line. “I’ve been doing outreach basically my entire academic career,” he said. “I’ve never seen science and outreach as two separate things.”
He also emphasized the growing importance of scientists engaging directly with the public. “Science is publicly funded,” he said, “so I feel like scientists have an obligation to give back to communities in whatever way they can.”
-By Sara Pratt, LASP Senior Communications Specialist
Founded a decade before NASA, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder (LASP) is revolutionizing human understanding of the cosmos. LASP is deeply committed to inspiring and educating the next generation of space explorers. From the first exploratory rocket measurements of Earth’s upper atmosphere to trailblazing observations of every planet in the solar system, LASP continues to build on its remarkable history with a nearly $1 billion portfolio of new research and engineering programs.
