J.A. Secker

Author & Scientist. Math, Music & Nature Lover.

About Me

I was born in northern Ontario and grew up in Parry Sound, Ontario, on the shore of Georgian Bay. I completed an Honours B.Sc. degree in Applied Physics from the University of Waterloo. I have M. Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics and Astronomy from McMaster University, for which my research focussed on globular cluster systems, galaxy formation and the cosmological distance scale. I was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Washington State University for three academic years, where I conducted research into galaxy formation using the ARC 3.5-m telescope at Apache Point Observatory, taught courses in astronomy and astrophysics, supervised undergraduate and graduate students, and was in charge of the campus observatory (the Jewett Observatory). Among other courses, I developed and taught ASTRONOMY 450, ‘The Search for Extraterrestrial Life’, an upper-year capstone course that synthesised information from the areas of astronomy, biology and physics. I have worked as a research scientist in Ottawa, Ontario, since the summer of 1998. I have published the results of my astronomy, astrophysics and remote sensing research in scientific journals, conference proceedings and books. In addition to writing and science, I am a music lover, stereo enthusiast and vinyl record collector. I live in Ottawa with his spouse, scientist (Ph.D.) Julie, their three daughters and Labrador Retriever. Emily Jayne and the Kairos Codex is my first novel.

The image below shows my academic family tree, courtesy of the Astronomy Genealogy Project (AstroGen). Dr. William E. Harris was the advisor for my M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies at McMaster University. Dr. Rene Racine was the advisor for Dr. Harris’s Ph.D studies at the University of Toronto, and Dr. Sidney van den Bergh was the advisor for Dr. Racine’s Ph.D. studies at the University of Toronto.

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORC ID)

My ORC ID record and publication listing is given here: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2796-8170

Copyright statements

The following copyright statements apply to the website https://sevenstarsover.ca/jasecker/ and all sub pages and posts.

  • All photographs are © 2023-25Jeff Secker. All rights reserved.
  • All images and graphics are © 2023-25 Jeff Secker. All rights reserved.
  • All text (including novel summaries and excerpts) are © 2023-25 Jeff Secker. All rights reserved.