Col Topasna joined the faculty at VMI in 2000. He has taught a variety of introductory and upper-level courses in physics and astronomy. He has worked with many cadets on research projects from thin films to optical polarization of starlight. His current research focuses on measuring the polarization of starlight in open cluster to better understand both cluster stars and the intervening interstellar medium. He obtains polarization data using the 0.5-meter Cassegrain telescope at the VMI observatory located at McKethan Park. Analyzing the polarized radiation, can inform us about the nature of the polarizing dust grains foreground to the cluster as well as dust within the cluster itself. Polarization can also help to reveal peculiar stars within the cluster as well.