Interview with Robert Schoelkopf, Sterling Professor of Applied Physics and Physics at Yale, and director of the Yale Quantum Institute. Schoelkopf describes the origins of the Quantum Institute and the longer history of quantum research at Yale, and he recounts his childhood in Manhattan and then in Chappaqua as the son of art dealers. He describes his early interests in science and tinkering, and his undergraduate education at Princeton where he worked with Steve Boughn and Jeff Kuhn in the gravity group. Schoelkopf discusses his job at the Goddard Space Flight Center before beginning graduate work at Caltech. He describes his research under the direction of Tom Phillips in detector development for astrophysical applications and Josephson junctions, and he explains his ambition to focus on developing devices. Schoelkopf discusses his postdoctoral research at Yale to work with Dan Prober on mesascopic physics, and he explains his involvement in microwave research for quantum information and his explorations into the limits of electrometry. He discusses the opportunities that led to his faculty appointment at Yale, his involvement in building qubits and what this would portend for the future of quantum information. Schoelkopf describes the formative influence of Michel Devoret and Steve Girvin and he explains how these collaborations contributed to upending some aspects of theoretical quantum information. He describes how qubit research has matured over the past twenty years and how this research has contributed to industry and commercial ventures, but why he remains focused on basic science within a university setting. At the end of the interview, Schoelkopf predicts some of the practical contributions that true quantum computing can offer society and why he is excited about the next generation of quantum information scientists.
Interview with Surjeet Rajendran, Associate Professor of Physics at Johns Hopkins University. He provides an overview of his current research activities with David Kaplan in black hole physics, new short distance forces, and modifications of quantum mechanics, and he shares his reaction on the recent g-2 muon anomaly at Fermilab. Rajendran explains why he identifies as a “speculator” in physics, he recounts his childhood in Chennai, India, and he discusses his grandparents’ communist activism, his Jesuit schooling, and how science offered a refuge for rebellion from these influences. He explains his decision to transfer from the Indian Institute of Technology to Caltech as an undergraduate, where he worked with Alan Weinstein on LIGO. Rajendran discusses his graduate research at Stanford, where KIPAC had just started, and where Savas Dimopoulos supervised his work on PPN parameters and solving the seismic noise problem on atom interferometers for LIGO. He describes his postdoctoral work, first at MIT and then at Johns Hopkins, when he began to collaborate with Kaplan on axion detection and the electroweak hierarchy problem. Rajendran explains the rise and fall of the BICEP project, and his Simons Foundation supported work on CASPEr. He discusses his interest in bouncing cosmology and firewalls in general relativity, and he conveys optimism that LIGO will advance our understanding of black hole information. At the end of the interview, Rajendran reviews his current interests in the Mössbauer effect, and explains how nice it was to win the New Horizons in Physics prize, and he prognosticates on how the interplay between observational and theoretical cosmology will continue to evolve and perhaps resolve fundamental and outstanding questions in the field.
Interview with Stanley Deser, emeritus Ancell Professor of Physics at Brandeis and a senior research associate at California Institute of Technology. The interview begins with Deser and the interviewers reflecting on the origins of general relativity and the key players involved in the field. Deser describes his time at the Institute for Advanced Study and recalls sneaking in to see one of Einstein’s seminars. He reflects on his time at Harvard under Julian Schwinger and then his transition to the Institute to work with Oppenheimer. Deser also discusses his earlier life, escaping Poland to New York and studying under Melba Phillips at Brooklyn College. Other topics include the famous Bern Conference of ’57, the beginnings of his work in general relativity, and his collaborations with Charles Misner and Richard Arnowitt. Toward the end of the interview, Deser traces his thinking on quantum gravity over time and his ideas for where the field might go in the future.
Interview with James Gunn, American astronomer and Emeritus Eugene Higgins Professor of Astronomy at Princeton University. Gunn discusses his graduate work at Caltech where he worked with Guido Munch. He describes his graduate thesis on the correlation function of galaxies and recalls his growing interest in cosmology at the time. Gunn traces the development of dark matter research during the 1970s and 1980s, reflecting on the important contributions of his peers as well as his own. He discusses his other research interests such as Omega matter and virial discrepancy. Gunn also describes his role in the growth of the cosmology department at Caltech.
Interview with astrophysicist and cosmologist Neta Bahcall, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Astronomy at Princeton University. Bahcall discusses her undergraduate studies in physics and math in Israel before her move to Caltech. She recounts her PhD work with her advisor, William Fowler, as well as collaborations with Maarten Schmidt. Bahcall explains how she was studying nuclear physics at Caltech when she first learned of the virial discrepancy and became interested in galaxy clusters, prompting her to shift her studies toward astronomy. Bahcall describes her work on quasars and the beginnings of her work in cosmology. Throughout the interview, she provides an overview of galaxy cluster research in the 1970s, as well as the beginnings of dark matter research. Bahcall discusses many of her influential papers over the years, on topics such as clusters, large construction, dark matter and omega matter. She describes how her research on clusters relates to cosmology, as well as how her work intersects with radio astronomy. Bahcall reflects on the impact of being a woman in the field, and at the end of the interview, she shares memories from the 1985 IAU meeting on dark matter.
Interview with Peter Donald MacDougall Parker, Professor Emeritus of Physics at Yale. Parker recounts his childhood growing up in New York City and Massachusetts, attending Amherst College, the excitement of being a graduate student at Caltech in the 1960s working on nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics, his postgraduate position at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and his move to Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory at Yale University in 1966. Parker recalls over five decades of research, teaching, and service work that includes: experimental nuclear physics and astrophysics work using tandem accelerators, solar neutrino flux, and dark matter search; teaching every single physics course offered at Yale and developing a new course; committee work; the gradual changes in gender demographics in the physics department at Yale. Also prominently mentioned are Willy Fowler, Richard Kavanaugh, Thomas Tombrello, John Bahcall, Ray Davis Jr., Allan Bromley, and his twin brother Robert Parker.
This is a three-part interview with Sir Robert S. J. Sparks, the Chaning Wills Professor of Geology in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. The interview begins with anecdotes from Sparks’ childhood and memories of undergraduate geological field trips while at Imperial College. He recalls the influences of John Ramsay and George Walker, the latter of whom became his PhD advisor. Sparks discusses Walker’s emphasis on writing and publishing, and he talks about some of his early publications. Sparks then describes his time in the U.S. at the University of Rhode Island, describing key differences between the scientific communities in the U.S. and Europe. The second session focuses on Sparks’ time at Cambridge, his teaching philosophy, and the culture within the Earth Sciences department at Cambridge. He discusses the different funding opportunities he secured from the NSF, NERC, and BP. Sparks recalls his sabbatical in Australia and recounts the factors leading to his appointment at Bristol. In the third session, Sparks reflects on his most influential papers over the years, as well as changes he has witnessed within Bristol’s earth sciences department. He discusses his involvement in the Royal Society and American Geophysical Union, as well as his time as President of both the Geological Society of London and the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI). The interview concludes with Sparks’ reflections on the many accolades he has received in his career and his thoughts on the role of scientists as public intellectuals.
Interview with Kenneth I. Kellermann, emeritus Chief Scientist at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the 2024 Jansky Lecturer, and a pioneer in American radio astronomy. The interview begins with Kellermann recounting his childhood in New York, highlighting his early education and the influences that led him to pursue a career in science. He shares his experiences at MIT, discussing the pivotal moments that sparked his interest in physics and radio astronomy. Kellermann then describes his transition to Caltech, where he studied under the mentorship of John Bolton, and his significant graduate work on the spectra of radio sources. Kellermann details his postdoctoral experiences at the Parkes Observatory in Australia, where he conducted groundbreaking observations of Mercury, Venus, and Mars. He explains the collaborative nature of early radio astronomy, emphasizing the importance of mentorship and his hands-on approach to research. Kellermann also discusses his time as the director at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, reflecting on the professional networks and opportunities that shaped his career. At the end of the interview, Kellermann highlights the challenges and rewards of working in astronomy, emphasizing the role of serendipitous scientific discovery.
This interview with physicist Robert Diebold is part of a series conducted during research for the book Tunnel Visions, a history of the Superconducting Super Collider. In it, Diebold recalls his introduction to the SSC project at the 1982 Snowmass workshop and his subsequent move to the Department of Energy, as well as his perspective on the site-selection process for the SSC. He states that Texas was the standout site and that there was not a clear-cut second-place site, and he further notes that, while Texas had political advantages, the technical advantages of the site drove the high evaluation of it. Diebold also discusses differences in DOE oversight structures around the SSC under Energy Secretary John Herrington and Energy Secretary James Watkins, and the long effort to implement a cost-and-schedule-control system on the project. He reflects on how leadership of the SSC was structured and the people selected for key roles. The interview concludes with a discussion of factors driving cost increases on the project and their impact on relations between DOE and project leaders. Diebold posits that SSC Laboratory Director Roy Schwitters’s management style led to a deterioration in those relations.
Interview with Randolph Kirk, Scientist Emeritus at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center. Kirk discusses pursuing his PhD in planetary science, his interest in remote sensing and his thesis work on developing time photoclinometry. He describes in detail many of the changes that have taken place in planetary mapping over the years, as the field has shifted from analog techniques to digital. Kirk talks about the process of working with a software vendor to develop mapping software needed for USGS. He discusses his work on mapping Venus using radar altimetry, as well as the creation of the Venus globe, one of his favorite projects. Kirk describes the workflows of planetary mapping within USGS and the collaboration between draftsmen, geologists, airbrush artists, and other technicians. He talks about the process of deciding on landing sites for new rovers or landers, and he recalls the differences between mapping the landing sites for Mars Pathfinder versus Viking. Other projects mentioned include the Mars Exploration Rover, Curiosity and Cassini. The interview concludes with Kirk explaining the importance of planetary mapping in ensuring that data collected from space missions is synthesized into useable products.
