Radio astronomy

Interview with Seth Shostak, senior astronomer for the SETI Institute. Shostak discusses his graduate studies at Caltech where he began studying galaxies and conducting research at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory. He describes his postdoctoral appointment at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, where he continued his work measuring rotation curves of galaxies. Shostak provides an overview of radio astronomy through the years, particularly the developments in galaxy mapping throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He reflects on the history of dark matter and the developments leading to its discovery. Shostak also discusses his time at University of Groningen, as well as his graduate thesis work under the advisement of Dave Rogstad, Maarten Schmidt and Alan Moffet.

Interview with Lev Gindilis, Russian astronomer and a pioneer of modern SETI research. Leonid Gurvits translated this interview in real-time. Gindilis discusses his studies in optical astronomy at Moscow State University. He describes how the work of his friend Nikolai Kardashev inspired him to switch his area of focus and join the radio astronomy department. Gindilis recounts helping to build the RATAN 600 telescope, as well as his work organizing meetings on SETI topics, including the First Soviet-American Conference on Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence in 1971. Gindilis reflects on the philosophical aspects of extraterrestrial communication, such as the question of mutual understanding. He discusses Kardashev’s investigations into CTA-21 and CTA-102 and the importance of the discovery of variability. The interview concludes with Gindilis’ reflections on international collaboration in SETI research and the effects of the Cold War.

Interview with Russell Alan Hulse, American physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics. This is a four-part interview, and Hulse is joined by his wife, Jeanne Kuhlman, throughout. Kristen Frederick-Frost and Roger Sherman (Curators, Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History) were also present for this interview. Part 1 covers Hulse’s childhood in the Bronx, his family life, and his early interest in science. Hulse discusses skipping a few grades in elementary school and being accepted at the Bronx High School of Science. He describes his time as a physics major at Cooper Union and his graduate studies at University of Massachusetts, where he studied radio astronomy with Joe Taylor. Hulse talks about his early experience with computers, programming, and his growing technical expertise. In Part 2, Hulse and Kuhlman discuss their relationship over the years and their common interest in science. Hulse goes into detail about his time at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, working on scientific computer modeling.  He also talks about his consulting work after earning the Nobel Prize. Part 3 of the interview covers Hulse’s time at UMass, building the radio astronomy program. He also discusses his work leading to the discovery of the binary pulsar. Part 4 focuses on Hulse’s outreach efforts, such as working with local public libraries and schools to promote science education, as well as his work at the University of Texas.

Interview with Kenneth Kellermann, American astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The interview focuses on Kellermann’s role in the early development of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), beginning in the 1960s. Kellermann goes into detail about the collaborations on VLBI between the American, Australian, and Swedish scientific communities. He also describes the informal exchanges he took part in with Russian scientists. Kellermann discusses the network of scientists from both the US and USSR that worked together on VLBI, and he speaks on his relationship with Iosif Shklovsky. The interview then shifts to Kellermann’s work on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, beginning with his time in Australia. He talks about various SETI conferences, particularly the First Soviet-American Conference on Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence in 1971 in Byurakan. The interview concludes with Kellermann sharing his current thoughts on SETI and how the work has changed over time.

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.

The interviewee has not given permission for this interview to be shared at this time. Transcripts will be updated as they become available to the public. For any questions about this policy, please contact [email protected].

Interview with Jay Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy at Williams College. Pasachoff discusses his childhood in New York City and his early interests in astronomy, telescopes and math. He recalls participating in a summer math program at Berkeley after his high school graduation, before he enrolled at Harvard as an undergrad. He recounts being invited to partake in observational research at Sacramento Peak Observatory, where he worked with Jacques Beckers and Bob Noyes. Pasachoff then explains his decision to continue at Harvard for his graduate studies, where Bob Noyes became his thesis advisor. He remembers finishing his PhD while also working at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory, doing radio astronomy work. Pasachoff discusses the events that led to his postdoc at Caltech, and his subsequent move to Williams College. Throughout the interview, Pasachoff remembers many of the solar eclipses he has observed and his research surrounding them. He also discusses the many textbooks he has written over the years. 

Interview with Phillip James Edwin Peebles, Albert Einstein Professor of Science, Emeritus, at Princeton University. Peebles describes his enjoyment in pursuing the issues in cosmology that are most interesting to him in retirement and he explains his appreciation for the importance of taking a sociological perspective to science. He describes his first exposure to cosmology as a field to specialize in during graduate school and he surveys some of the experiments and observational advances that have propelled theoretical cosmology. Peebles recounts his childhood in Manitoba, and he discusses his undergraduate education at the University of Manitoba. He describes arriving at Princeton in 1958 and how he became a student of Bob Dicke's. Peebles discusses his thesis research on the possibility that the fine-structure constant might be evolving. He describes staying at (and never leaving) Princeton for his postdoctoral work, and some of the exciting promises of infrared astronomy and radio astronomy. Peebles conveys the simple process of joining the faculty, and he describes the developments leading to the prediction of the cosmic microwave background. He discusses the trend of particle theorists pursuing questions in cosmology, and he reflects on the impact of the Vietnam era on Princeton. Peebles conveys the significance of the introduction of cold dark matter and his perspective on the inflationary theory of the universe. He explains why LambdaCDM has become standard in the field and why COBE was so important. Peebles surveys the many observational projects that are currently being planned, and he reflects on the "buzz" that he felt in advance of winning the Nobel Prize. He describes how his life has been affected by this honor, and he reflects on how the Department of Physics has changed over the course of his long career. At the end of the interview, Peebles emphasizes his interest in remaining close both to theory and experimentation, and he shares his sense of curiosity at what clues might be found from the epoch of light element production in the very early universe.

Interview with Alan Rogers, Research Affiliate and retired as Associate Director of the MIT Haystack Observatory. Rogers discusses his current work on the EDGES project and he suggests the possibility that this research will yield insights on the nature of dark energy. He recounts the circumstances of his birth in Rhodesia and the opportunities that led his family to the United States. Rogers discusses his education at MIT, his interest in radio astronomy, and his research under the direction of Alan Barrett. He narrates the origins of Very Long Baseline Interferometry and its application at the Haystack Observatory. Rogers explains geodesy and why the Mansfield Amendment changed the funding structure at Haystack. He describes becoming Associate Director of Haystack and how he became involved in cell phone infrastructure projects in the 1990s. Rogers explains how EDGES started, its value for measuring ozone concentrations, and he discusses his work for the Event Horizon Telescope. He explains his research contributions for the discovery of hydrogen in the early, cold universe and the value he places on the SRT telescope for educational purposes. At the end of the interview, Rogers explains his desire to expand understanding of low-frequency arrays, particularly in the SKA.

Interview with Sheperd Doeleman, an astronomer at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, founding member of the Black Hole Initiative, and founding director of the Event Horizon Telescope. He surveys his global initiatives and his interest in fostering black hole research in Africa and he describes how the pandemic has slowed down his work. Doeleman affirms that he is of the generation for which black holes were always “real” and not theoretical abstractions, and he provides a history of the discovery that supermassive black holes were at the center of galaxies. He reflects on the applied science that was achieved in the course of creating EHT, and he describes the unique values that land and space-based telescopes offer. Doeleman recounts his childhood in Oregon and his admission to Reed College when he was fifteen. He explains his motivations in completing a solo research mission in Antarctica and he describes the opportunities that led to his graduate research at MIT, where he worked with Alan Rogers at the Haystack Observatory on the 3mm VLBI. Doeleman narrates the technical advances that allowed his team to achieve an eight-fold increase in bandwidth, and he describes the EHT’s administrative origins and the events leading to the measurement of the Sagittarius A* black hole. He describes what it meant to image the black hole, and he conveys the deep care and caution that went into the analysis before EHT was ready to publicize its findings. Doeleman discusses winning the Breakthrough Prize as the public face of a large collaboration, and at the end of the interview, he considers the ways that EHT’s achievement can serve as a launchpad to future discovery.