On a crisp December evening, the constellation Orion can be seen in the still Commerce sky, his belt and sword brightly gleaming, miles away from the atmospheric distortion that a major city’s pollution and glow emit.
“Orion is my favorite constellation,” Kent Montgomery, Planetarium director and adjunct professor of Astronomy at Texas A&M University-Commerce said. “There are just a lot of cool things to be seen in it.”
Montgomery, a professor at the University for the past four years, consistently encourages his students to be as fascinated by outer space as he is, while making sure that they learn the rudiments of Astronomy.
“He’s a great teacher,” Paul Barree, a senior Business Administration/Spanish major and Astronomy 101 student said. “He seems genuinely excited about the subject and I think that he works hard to pass on his knowledge to us students.”
Originally born in South Dakota, Montgomery grew up in the city of Bozeman, Montana and has actively fostered his keen interest in the stars since childhood.
“I built my first telescope at the age of 14,” Montgomery said. “I’ve always loved Astronomy. My grandfather lived on a farm in North Dakota out in the middle of nowhere and had his own telescope and observatory thing so, I always thought that was really cool.”
After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Mathematics at Montana State University, Montgomery taught at a high school for a year in Terry, Montana, yet found it lacked the excitement and hands on interaction he was looking for. Montgomery subsequently obtained both his Master’s degree and PhD. in Astronomy. He later taught and ran a planetarium at Young Harris College in Georgia for 10 years.
“I liked the place, it was nice and fun but it was also time for a change,” Montgomery said. “When I heard about Commerce and the brand new planetarium, I thought that it sounded neat so I came and started teaching here.”
Montgomery’s enthusiastic lectures are often accompanied by elaborate slideshows and engaging demonstrations aimed to help his student’s gain a better understanding of the subject.
“What the students don’t see behind the scenes is that it may take 45 minutes or an hour to get a two minute demo going,” Cheri Davis said, assistant director of the Planetarium. “He puts forth the extra effort to make that happen.”
Prior to Montgomery joining the A&M-Commerce faculty, the only Astronomy equivalent offered was Physics 162. According to Davis, Montgomery is now pushing for the addition of an Astronomy minor along with supplementary classes for those interested in pursuing the subject.
“He’s just an excellent instructor,” Davis said. “He’s not just a professor, he’s an astronomer too. He really cares about his students and what they are fundamentally learning about Astronomy. His inner drive to teach is part of what makes him so good.”
Over the years, Montgomery’s pursuit of astronomical endeavors has taken him to Chile, Alaska, and Arizona for research purposes. Married with three children, he currently resides in Commerce and enjoys rock climbing, biking, and working on his airplane.
“I’m building an airplane in my garage and I want to get that flying,” Montgomery said. “I’ve been working on it for four years and I hope to get it off the ground sometime next summer.”
Montgomery is passionate about our all-encompassing galaxy, future scientific discoveries and shedding starlight on the mystery that is the universe.
“Knowledge for knowledge’s sake is good in itself,” Montgomery said. “Our understanding of Astronomy as a whole is getting supremely better all the time and I think it’s important to understand our place and our role in the universe.”