Dr. Linda French received her A.B. in astronomy from Indiana University and a Ph. D. in planetary astronomy from Cornell University.  Her scientific research has expanded from the reflectance properties of meteorites to the study of the shapes and surfaces of small solar system bodies--asteroids, comets, and satellites.  She is a frequent guest observer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona and at Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory in Chile, and is often accompanied by students on these research trips.  Prior to coming to Illinois Wesleyan, Dr. French was an Associate Professor of Natural Sciences at Wheelock College (Boston, MA) where she was the Principal Investigator on several projects focusing on the education of future teachers.  Here at IWU, Dr. French serves on the Teacher Education Committee and she is especially interested in increasing the number of teachers coming through the department.Dr. French has been named a Visiting Professor of Physics at the University of York, England, for her sabbatical in 2009-2010.  She will be doing research into the life of York astronomer John Goodricke (1764-1786).  She will begin her collaboration with York scientists by giving an invited Goodricke Lecture at the University in May.In January, Prof. French presented "An Early Astronomical Observation by John Goodricke" to the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society at their annual meeting in Long Beach, California.Closer to her usual scientific interests, Dr. French has been awarded two weeks of telescope time at Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory in May and July.  In 2009-2010, Dr. French has been invited to co-edit a book, along with Prof. Paul Kalas of the University of California, Berkeley, on "Solar and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems."  The book is part of a series updating the historic  and prestigious "Stars and Stellar Systems" volumes published in the 1960's.