Search results
Displaying 1 - 10 of total 18 results:
Childhood; early interest in science (astronomy). Member of Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1928. Special student at University of California at Berkeley, 1931, with Donald H. Menzel’s help. Regular student from 1932; comments on teachers and fellow students at Berkeley Student Observatory. Summer assistantship at Lick Observatory (Nicholas Mayall, Arthur B. Wyse), life at Lick Observatory. To Harvard University in 1937 for graduate studies; comparison between Harvard and Berkeley/Lick; teaching assistant at Radcliffe; 3-year membership in Harvard Society of Fellows, from 1939, of enormous importance for his development; works with Menzel and James G. Baker on the Theory of Physical Processes in Gaseous Nebulae, 1937; Analysis of the Atmospheres of the A-type Dwarfs Gamma Geminorum and Sirius based on data from Louis Berman; Jesse Greenstein. Comments on Harvard Summer Schools, Harlow Shapley’ s Square.” Volunteer teacher of elementary physics courses from 1942 at Harvard. Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, 1943-1945; work involved evaluation of the chemists and the Counting Group’s output from the electromagnetic separation process. Job offer from University of Indiana (Frank Edmunson) accepted due to cutback at Radiation Laboratory. Indiana years, 1945-1948, very productive (drafts for two astrophysics books); problems getting telescope time at Yerkes Observatory and unsatisfactory living conditions leads to acceptance of a promising tenured position at Michigan, a center with very active research due to Leo Goldberg; Robert McMath’s influence in the department; Keith Pierce and Aller’s work on infrared solar spectrum. Work performed at Mt. Wilson Observatory and Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. Goldberg resigns in 1959; comments on Aller’s decision to leave Michigan; discussions of funding; “over-head” (Aller’s talk at an AAS Meeting); comparison of Lick Observatory and Kitt Peak Observatory policies. Work at Mt. Stromio Observatory, Australia on sabbatical visits, 1960, 1968-1969, 1977-1978. Overview of opinions of the present state of astronomy. Comments on personal life, wife and children.
In this interview, Geoffrey Burbidge discusses his life and career. Topics discussed include: his family and childhood; Bristol University; Nevill Mott; University College, London; Harrie Massey; David Robert Bates; theoretical physics seminars at Cambridge University; Richard Feymnan; Freeman Dyson; Dick Dalitz; Abdus Salam; Nicholas Kemmer; becoming interested in astronomy and astrophysics via Margaret Burbidge; Royal Astronomical Society; Clive Gregory; research into stellar parallax, stellar atmospheres; Herbert Dingle; Auger effect; Otto Struve; Harvard University; Bart Bok; Donald Menzel; Harlow Shapley; Yerkes Observatory; development of radio astronomy; I. I. Rabi and big bang skepticism; Chandrasekhar; Gerard Kuiper; Enrico Fermi; Cavendish Laboratory, Martin Ryle; nucleosynthesis; Kapitza Club; Willie Fowler; Fred Hoyle; stellar evolution; steady state cosmology; red shift; Erwin Finlay-Freundlich; Max Born; Mount Wilson Observatory; Allan Sandage; Milt Humason; Ira Bowen; status at women at Hale observatories and at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech); Edwin Hubble; Walter Baade; synchrotron radiation; Rudolph Minkowski; Californium and supernovae; Halton Arp; Hans Suess; Vera Rubin's work on anisotropy; quasars; galaxy formation.
Childhood in New York; high school experience at Horace Mann; Harvard undergraduate at the age of 15. Impressions of ordeal with Harlow Shapley. Depression years in the family business, return to a very changed Harvard in 1934. Thesis work on Interstellar Absorption (Bart Bok), Ph.D. 1937. Postdoc at Yerkes Observatory (Otto Struve) working on Upsilon Sagittarius. Develops the 140-degree camera (the Greenstein-Louis G. Henyey camera); work with Fred Whipple on radio signals from space (Karl Jansky, Grote Reber), Greenstein and Reber’s review article on classified radio detection work during World War II. Founding of the Astrophysics Department at Caltech. Radio astronomy in the mid-1950s. Work on white dwarfs from 1957 on. Own accomplishments as scientist and in personal life. Impressions of Martin Schwarzschild, Shapley, Reber, Fred Hoyle. Also prominently mentioned are: Walter Sydney Adams, Lloyd Viel Berkner, John Bolton, Leverett Davis, William Alfred Fowler, Leo Goldberg, Louis Henyey, Fred Hoyle, Edwin Powell Hubble, Milton Lasell Humason, Robert Hutchins, Karl Jansky, Gerard Peter Kuiper, Tom R. Matthews, Robert Reynolds McMath, Donald Howard Menzel, Paul Merrill, Rudolph Leo Bernhard Minkowski, William Wilson Morgan, Guido Munch, Beverly Oke, Donald Osterbrock, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, Harry Hemley Plaskett, Robert Richardson, Allan Sandage, Jan Scheldt, Shklovsky, Charlotte Moore Sitterly, Lyman Spitzer, Edward Teller, Richard Chace Tolman, Robert Julius Trumpler, Merle Antony Tuve, Albrecht Otto Johannes Unsold, Immanuel Velikofsky, Frederick Whipple; Carnegie Institution of Washington, Hale Observatories, Harvard College Observatory, Lick Observatory, McDonald Observatory, McDonald Observatory Nebular spectrograph, National Science Foundation (U.S.), 100-inch Telescope, University of Chicago, and Vista Project.
Childhood in New York City; studying astronomy and literature at Harvard (1925-1929, M.A. 1930); work during the Depression in real estate and at Columbia; graduate-education in the new astrophysics at Harvard (1934-1937), contacts with H. Shapley, C. Payne, H.N. Russell; work at Yerkes from 1937: nebula spectroscopy, stellar composition, stellar atmospheres; contacts with 0. Struve, S. Chandrasekhar, B. Stromgren; optical design work during World War II. Move to Cal Tech, 1947, contacts with W. Baade, I. Bowen, F. Zwicky, N. Schmidt, L. Dubridge, etc.; organization, administration, research conditions, and allocation of observing time at Mt. Wilson and Palomar Observatories; work in building up astronomy department at Cal Tech, character of staff relations, and fund-raising. Postwar work oil, abundances of elements, white dwarf stars, high-dispersion spectroscopy, radio astronomy, and quasars; ideas about cosmology and other topics. Involvement with military advising at Cal Tech from 1950, satellite reconnaissance, and industrial advising; early work on rocket astronomy and as senior adviser to NASA (ca. 1957-1977). Editor of “Stellar Atmospheres” series; work with National Academy of Sciences and author of its 1972 astronomy survey; efforts to popularize astronomy. Ideas about large space -- and ground-based telescopes. Particular attention is given to the organizational strengths and weaknesses of important astronomy organizations.
Childhood in New York City; studying astronomy and literature at Harvard (1925-1929, M.A. 1930); work during the Depression in real estate and at Columbia; graduate-education in the new astrophysics at Harvard (1934-1937), contacts with H. Shapley, C. Payne, H.N. Russell; work at Yerkes from 1937: nebula spectroscopy, stellar composition, stellar atmospheres; contacts with 0. Struve, S. Chandrasekhar, B. Stromgren; optical design work during World War II. Move to Cal Tech, 1947, contacts with W. Baade, I. Bowen, F. Zwicky, N. Schmidt, L. Dubridge, etc.; organization, administration, research conditions, and allocation of observing time at Mt. Wilson and Palomar Observatories; work in building up astronomy department at Cal Tech, character of staff relations, and fund-raising. Postwar work oil, abundances of elements, white dwarf stars, high-dispersion spectroscopy, radio astronomy, and quasars; ideas about cosmology and other topics. Involvement with military advising at Cal Tech from 1950, satellite reconnaissance, and industrial advising; early work on rocket astronomy and as senior adviser to NASA (ca. 1957-1977). Editor of “Stellar Atmospheres” series; work with National Academy of Sciences and author of its 1972 astronomy survey; efforts to popularize astronomy. Ideas about large space -- and ground-based telescopes. Particular attention is given to the organizational strengths and weaknesses of important astronomy organizations.
Childhood in New York City; studying astronomy and literature at Harvard (1925-1929, M.A. 1930); work during the Depression in real estate and at Columbia; graduate-education in the new astrophysics at Harvard (1934-1937), contacts with H. Shapley, C. Payne, H.N. Russell; work at Yerkes from 1937: nebula spectroscopy, stellar composition, stellar atmospheres; contacts with 0. Struve, S. Chandrasekhar, B. Stromgren; optical design work during World War II. Move to Cal Tech, 1947, contacts with W. Baade, I. Bowen, F. Zwicky, N. Schmidt, L. Dubridge, etc.; organization, administration, research conditions, and allocation of observing time at Mt. Wilson and Palomar Observatories; work in building up astronomy department at Cal Tech, character of staff relations, and fund-raising. Postwar work oil, abundances of elements, white dwarf stars, high-dispersion spectroscopy, radio astronomy, and quasars; ideas about cosmology and other topics. Involvement with military advising at Cal Tech from 1950, satellite reconnaissance, and industrial advising; early work on rocket astronomy and as senior adviser to NASA (ca. 1957-1977). Editor of “Stellar Atmospheres” series; work with National Academy of Sciences and author of its 1972 astronomy survey; efforts to popularize astronomy. Ideas about large space -- and ground-based telescopes. Particular attention is given to the organizational strengths and weaknesses of important astronomy organizations.
Childhood in New York City; studying astronomy and literature at Harvard (1925-1929, M.A. 1930); work during the Depression in real estate and at Columbia; graduate-education in the new astrophysics at Harvard (1934-1937), contacts with H. Shapley, C. Payne, H.N. Russell; work at Yerkes from 1937: nebula spectroscopy, stellar composition, stellar atmospheres; contacts with 0. Struve, S. Chandrasekhar, B. Stromgren; optical design work during World War II. Move to Cal Tech, 1947, contacts with W. Baade, I. Bowen, F. Zwicky, N. Schmidt, L. Dubridge, etc.; organization, administration, research conditions, and allocation of observing time at Mt. Wilson and Palomar Observatories; work in building up astronomy department at Cal Tech, character of staff relations, and fund-raising. Postwar work oil, abundances of elements, white dwarf stars, high-dispersion spectroscopy, radio astronomy, and quasars; ideas about cosmology and other topics. Involvement with military advising at Cal Tech from 1950, satellite reconnaissance, and industrial advising; early work on rocket astronomy and as senior adviser to NASA (ca. 1957-1977). Editor of “Stellar Atmospheres” series; work with National Academy of Sciences and author of its 1972 astronomy survey; efforts to popularize astronomy. Ideas about large space -- and ground-based telescopes. Particular attention is given to the organizational strengths and weaknesses of important astronomy organizations.
In this interview Gunnar Randers discusses his career and his involvement in science policy. The interview is based on Randers's autobiography, Light Years. Topics discussed include: his childhood in Oslo and Sauda; Svein Rosseland; University of Oslo Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics; astrophysics; Mount Wilson Observatory; Boy Scouting; nuclear processes in the Sun; Harvard University; Edwin Hubble; Martin Schwarzschild; California Institute of Technology; five dimensional relativity; H. P. Robertson; Albert Einstein; Yerkes Observatory; University of Chicago; S. Chandrasekhar; Edward Teller; the American scientific milieu; service in the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment during World War II; Harald Ulrik Sverdrup.
Childhood and father's influence; high school in Washington, DC. Enters Washington & Lee University, 1923; becomes assistant at Yerkes Observatory, 1926, while continuing courses; B.S., 1927. Marriage to Helen Barrett. Contacts with Otto Struve, Mario Schoenberg, Dmitri Mihalis. Invention of UBV system; work on A-type stars, MK system, Ph.D. Work during 1930s on effects of metals in spectra; revision of HR Diagram, work on "spottedness" of stellar surface; changes of interest, paper on two-dimensional arrays, 1937. Problems of promotion and tenure at University of Chicago. Struve's administration, departure, and experiences at National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Decision to stay at Yerkes; effects of World War II, including Yerkes Optical Bureau and Greenstein-Henyey camera. Work on spiral arms, work with Walter Baade, William Pendry Bidelman, Jason Nassau; use of Case Schmidt telescope, and Case Survey for OB stars; paper on "natural groups"; recognition of spiral arms, 1951; physical collapse, 1952. Yerkes administration under Struve, Bengt Strömgren, 1950-1957, and Gerard Kuiper. Problems at Kitt Peak. Editor at Astrophysical Journal until 1952. Work with William Pendry Bidelman, Harold Johnson on UBV system. Associate at Lick, 1955; interest in forms of galaxies and classification schemes. Visiting professor at Caltech, 1956; contacts at Mt. Wilson; Edwin P. Hubble. Recognition of supergiant galaxies, 1960. Alfred Joy's review of Yerkes Spectral Atlas. Director of Yerkes, 1960-1963; creation of Astronomy Department at University of Texas; plans for Southern Hemisphere Observatory, eventually taken over by Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy. Younger staff departs Yerkes, courses moved to Chicago. Chairman of Astronomy Department, 1960-1966. Wife's illness and death; own illness in 1966. Also prominently mentioned are: Nathaniel Apter, Geoffrey R. Burbidge, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, G. K. Chesterson, Agatha Christie, Louis Henyey, Lou Hobbs, Henry James, Phillip Keenan, Oliver J. Lee, Aden Meinel, H. R. Morgan, Henry Norris Russell, Alice Weatherspoon, Benjamin Wooten; Marvin College, McDonald Observatory, and Sky and Telescope.
Childhood and father's influence; high school in Washington, DC. Enters Washington & Lee University, 1923; becomes assistant at Yerkes Observatory, 1926, while continuing courses; B.S., 1927. Marriage to Helen Barrett. Contacts with Otto Struve, Mario Schoenberg, Dmitri Mihalis. Invention of UBV system; work on A-type stars, MK system, Ph.D. Work during 1930s on effects of metals in spectra; revision of HR Diagram, work on "spottedness" of stellar surface; changes of interest, paper on two-dimensional arrays, 1937. Problems of promotion and tenure at University of Chicago. Struve's administration, departure, and experiences at National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Decision to stay at Yerkes; effects of World War II, including Yerkes Optical Bureau and Greenstein-Henyey camera. Work on spiral arms, work with Walter Baade, William Pendry Bidelman, Jason Nassau; use of Case Schmidt telescope, and Case Survey for OB stars; paper on "natural groups"; recognition of spiral arms, 1951; physical collapse, 1952. Yerkes administration under Struve, Bengt Strömgren, 1950-1957, and Gerard Kuiper. Problems at Kitt Peak. Editor at Astrophysical Journal until 1952. Work with William Pendry Bidelman, Harold Johnson on UBV system. Associate at Lick, 1955; interest in forms of galaxies and classification schemes. Visiting professor at Caltech, 1956; contacts at Mt. Wilson; Edwin P. Hubble. Recognition of supergiant galaxies, 1960. Alfred Joy's review of Yerkes Spectral Atlas. Director of Yerkes, 1960-1963; creation of Astronomy Department at University of Texas; plans for Southern Hemisphere Observatory, eventually taken over by Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy. Younger staff departs Yerkes, courses moved to Chicago. Chairman of Astronomy Department, 1960-1966. Wife's illness and death; own illness in 1966. Also prominently mentioned are: Nathaniel Apter, Geoffrey R. Burbidge, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, G. K. Chesterson, Agatha Christie, Louis Henyey, Lou Hobbs, Henry James, Phillip Keenan, Oliver J. Lee, Aden Meinel, H. R. Morgan, Henry Norris Russell, Alice Weatherspoon, Benjamin Wooten; Marvin College, McDonald Observatory, and Sky and Telescope.