Inge Heyer, Ph.D., teaching professor of physics, passed away last week at the age of 65. 

Heyer joined the Loyola faculty in 2012 as a senior lecturer and was promoted to teaching professor in 2023. She will be remembered for her passion for teaching, her knowledge of astronomy, and her expertise in science fiction.

“Inge absolutely loved to teach, and her students loved her,” said Joseph W. Ganem, Ph.D., chair and professor of physics. “She had a passion for science education and believed that learning science should be fun and interactive. Her classes were filled with creative and engaging activities that all had a carefully thought-out pedagogical point. Her breadth of science outreach at Loyola was unparalleled. The number of students she taught in the Introduction to the Universe course has added up to well over a thousand through the years, and she enthusiastically accepted private study requests from students interested in astronomy topics. Inge will be greatly missed by students and colleagues from many departments and programs.”

Passion for Student Wellbeing

 

Carving out a unique expertise in astronomy and science communication over decades in academia and scientific journalism, Heyer taught in the Messina program, the Honors program, and the Elementary Education program.

“Inge was deeply valued by her students and highly respected by her colleagues,” said Bahram Roughani, Ph.D., associate dean of natural and applied sciences. “She had a genuine passion for student success and wellbeing, and her impact extended far beyond the physics department. Through her involvement in programs such as Messina and Honors, she touched many parts of our University community. Inge was also a dedicated scholar who organized numerous conferences, often bringing together perspectives from science, the arts, and the humanities. Her passing is a tremendous loss for our University, and she will be remembered with great respect and missed by all who had the privilege of knowing and working with her.”

Mary Lowe, Ph.D., professor of physics, recalled Heyer’s love of teaching and her frequent utilization of experiential learning to engage students.

“She was a dedicated teacher, and she always liked activity-based learning. I would frequently see her in the hallway, carting her props from one place to another.”

In April 2024, Heyer—working with Lowe and students in the astronomy and physics clubs—helped the Loyola community experience the Great North American Eclipse by providing 2,000 pairs of viewing glasses, six solar scopes for more detailed viewing, and information on the celestial event.

“That was Inge—she tried to broaden knowledge about astronomy,” said Lowe.

A Life in Astronomy and Education

 

A native of Berlin, Germany, Heyer completed her secondary education there before spending two years at Tenri University in Japan, where she fulfilled a lifelong dream of studying martial arts and the Japanese language. She was known for enthusiastically supporting Loyola students studying German.

“My fondest memory of Inge was getting to eavesdrop on her evening German study group in the Hug Lounge,” said Frank D. Golom, Ph.D., ’04. “It took me some time to understand what a physics professor was doing speaking German with a group of Loyola students. I think that very much encapsulates who she was as a person and an educator. She was a beloved member of the community whose impact went far beyond teaching physics.”

Heyer received her bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from Smith College in Massachusetts. After completing her undergraduate studies, she participated in the summer student program at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico, where she analyzed data from pulsars. She went on to earn her master’s degree in astronomy from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu and later earned her Ph.D. in science education from the University of Wyoming in Laramie. 

While pursuing her master’s degree in Hawaii, Heyer conducted research on pre-main sequence binary stars, which often took her to the Maunakea Observatories. A group of 10 independent, nonprofit institutions with telescopes atop Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaiʻi, the Maunakea Observatories are recognized as “the most scientifically productive and impactful site in ground-based astronomy.”

Leader in Science Outreach

 

From 1992 to 2005, Heyer served as a senior data analyst at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, working on images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. During this time, she also taught a graduate astronomy class at The Johns Hopkins University for middle and high school science teachers pursuing their master’s degrees in science education.

In 2006, Heyer returned to Hawaii to lead science outreach efforts for the Joint Astronomy Center in Hilo, where she visited many Big Island schools and community groups to talk about the exciting astronomy work on Mauna Kea. She also conducted numerous K–12 science workshops. 

Even after returning to the U.S. mainland in 2011, Heyer was known for proudly representing Hawaii through her colorful shirts.

“I don't think I ever saw Inge without a Hawaiian shirt,” recalled Molly Robey, assistant teaching professor of communication and media, who also remembered Heyer’s love for astronomy. “One thing you could always get her talking about was astronomy. Her mission was to educate and empower youth about space. She loved teaching at Loyola, and she will be missed.”

Science Communicator, Community Builder

 

A prolific science communicator and educator, Heyer was the author of many books, including Investigating Astronomy—which was used in courses at Loyola—as well as Insights into the Universe: Effective Ways to Teach Astronomy, Galileo’s Classroom: Astronomy Learning Activities, and Discipline-Based Education Research: A Guide for Scientists, among others. In 2018, she was featured in a Loyola magazine article in which she offered insight into space exploration.

Heyer’s passion for astronomy was fueled in part by her lifelong fandom of Star Trek, which she began watching at 10 years old. She was an active member of the Baltimore-Washington science fiction communities, serving as the co-chair of Shore Leave, a long-running fan convention held each summer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to celebrate all things geeky and nerdy. She was also a frequent speaker at the Farpoint Foundation’s Farpoint Convention and received the foundation’s 2019 Volker/McChesney Award (now the Contact Award) for Service to Fandom.

A tribute in Shore Leave’s newsletter remembers Heyer as “someone who helped make fandom a welcoming place for people who loved science, stories, and creativity.”

Arrangements

 

Details about arrangements will be shared with the community as they are finalized.

Heyer will be remembered in a Memorial Mass at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in the Chapel in Ignatius House, the residence of Loyola’s Jesuit Community. All are welcome.