FOR HEAVENS' SAKE; ASTRONOMY PROFESSOR A STAR IN STUDENTS' EYES.

Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Staff Writer

Moorpark College professor Ron Wallingford likes to challenge his students to think about academia's tough questions, such as what would happen if space aliens landed on the White House lawn.

Wallingford, 41, teaches astronomy, a subject that has won his heart not just for the sheer wonder of exploring the heavens, but because of the intellectual breadth of the subject matter.

``It's neat, you get to cover a whole gamut of subjects: stars, galaxies, the possibility of other life in the universe,'' said Wallingford, a professor of physics and astronomy.

``You don't have to concentrate on physics and chemistry, you can talk about the impact on society of life in space and what would happen if an alien landed on the White House lawn,'' he said.

Wallingford's enthusiasm rubs off on students at the community college that has the county's only public observatory, where he leads stargazing sessions on weekends.

``He's very patient and willing to help students, and he's really enthusiastic about his subject matter, and that helps a lot,'' said Arianne Rosencranz, a former astronomy student of Wallingford's at Moorpark College who is now working on a master's degree at California State University, Northridge.

``He's so enthusiastic about what he teaches that he inspires students,'' Rosencranz said.

Several students said that Wallingford's enthusiasm, good humor, energy and style kept them interested during lectures that in other hands could be pretty dry.

For example, he moves around a lot, waves his arms when he speaks, and cracks jokes, they said.

Simi Valley resident Brian Cox, 22, recalled that the first time he saw Wallingford in action, the professor arrived a little late but went straight to the stage, grabbing students' attention and laughter with his antics.

``He had a young-looking face, and he was wearing a backpack and was messing around, and we thought he was another student messing around,'' said Cox, with a laugh.

``It was a really cool class,'' said Cox, who hopes to transfer this year to film school at USC or UCLA. ``Wallingford was really interested, and it was obvious that he was very intelligent. I think he's one of the best teachers on campus.''

Native of Monrovia

Wallingford was brought up in Monrovia, what he calls the quintessential American town, and said Moorpark often reminds him of the city of his childhood.

``Every Friday night they close up the boulevard, and they also have a state fair,'' said Wallingford, who now lives in Northridge. ``It reminds me of Moorpark, because Moorpark has that same sort of quaint feel to it.''

His mathematician father triggered an interest in astronomy during stargazing trips to the nearby Angeles National Forest and at Big Sur up the coast. That interest was galvanized after a high school teacher pointed him to a weekly free astronomy seminar at the California Institute of Technology.

But while he was drawn to astronomy, he concentrated on physics, thinking that astronomy jobs were few and far between. So at California State University, Los Angeles, he earned a bachelor's in physics, followed by a master's in physics at UCLA.

``At school, I never pursued it because I thought, man you can't get a job in astronomy,'' he said. ``People say go for what you love, and I didn't, and then I got the job out here in Moorpark, which is kind of lucky.''

But the journey wasn't without its struggles.

After graduating from UCLA, Wallingford taught part-time at three community colleges, shuttling between Orange County, the San Gabriel Valley and the San Fernando Valley.

``I was what they call a freeway flier,'' he said with a laugh. ``You have to drive like a maniac to get from one place to the next. I taught at all three places for one semester, but I thought that was psychotic.''

So in 1987, while teaching part-time at CSUN, he landed a part-time physics position at Moorpark College before eventually landing a full-time job.

Heads up observatory

At Moorpark he heads the Charles Temple Observatory, where he holds laboratories during the week and on Friday and Saturday nights when students - from teens to retirees - come to study the heavens through 25 telescopes.

And recently he has enlisted students to participate in an Internet-based project in which students' home computers crunch statistics while their owners sleep, as part of a project to investigate the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

``I really enjoy Moorpark. It's just a great institute,'' said the professor, who will be giving a talk on the possibility of life in outer space on Wednesday as part of a regular faculty lecture series that is open to the public.

Rosencranz said she enjoyed those sessions at the observatory because they allowed her to see through the telescopes what she had learned in class.

``It's different when you actually see something like Saturn and Jupiter, and it's right there. It always seems like a hand's length away, and it is really far,'' she said.

Wallingford's patience and desire to help students explore stood out.

``I thought it was really good because he interacts with the students,'' Rosencranz said. ``He makes you feel part of it, in that you set out to search for something and you find it, and it feels so really good to find something in the vast (heavens) above.''

Cox said Wallingford gets students' interested because he has novel ideas, such as giving extra credit for those who show enthusiasm for their studies - be that bringing in old ``Star Wars'' posters or spending time after classes using the telescopes.

For Wallingford, his teaching philosophy is simple.

``I try to be really energetic. I don't want students to come into class and me to have to go, H-E-L-L-O,'' he said. ``If I was like that, I could make a cure for insomnia.''

He said, ``People that take physics are very science-inclined, whereas in astronomy you get a really nice cross-section of people.

``But oftentimes they've been turned off by science. A lot of them are really gun shy, and I try to make it as interesting and enjoyable as possible because I think it is, and it's the way you present it.''

LECTURE

Moorpark College astronomy professor Ron Wallingford will speak on the possibility of life in outer space as part of a regular lecture series by faculty members from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday in the science building, Room 202. For information, call [phone].

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