Quasars

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 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 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 Anne Kinney, Deputy Center Director of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Kinney recounts her childhood in Wisconsin and her early interests in science. She describes her undergraduate experience at the University of Wisconsin where she pursued degrees in physics and astronomy. Kinney discusses her time in Denmark at the Niels Bohr Institute before completing her graduate work at NYU relating to the International Ultraviolet Explorer. She explains the opportunities leading to her postdoctoral appointment at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore where she focused on obtaining optical data and near-infrared data to understand spectral energy distribution for quasars and blazars. Kinney discusses her work on the aberrated Hubble Telescope and her new job at NASA Headquarters where she became head of Origins before she was transferred to Goddard where she became division direct of the Planetary Division. She describes Goddard’s efforts to promote diversity and she describes her subsequent position as chief scientist at Keck Observatory before returning to Washington to join the National Science Foundation to be head of the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Kinney provides a broad view of the NSF budgetary environment, and she explains the circumstances that led her back to NASA to her current work. She describes where Goddard fits into NASA’s overall mission and she explains her interest in promoting NASA in an educational framework to children. At the end of the interview, Kinney conveys her excitement about the James Webb Telescope and why she is committed to ensuring that NASA is a driver behind the broader effort to make astronomy and physics more diverse.

Interview with Roger Blandford, the Luke Blossom Professor at the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University and Professor of Physics at SLAC. He discusses his current work developing alternate understandings of the Event Horizon Telescope image, on fast radio bursts, and on the notion that handedness has astrophysical origins. Blandford describes the history of cosmology as a respectable discipline within physics, and he credits the rise of VLBI in the 1960s and 1970s for demonstrating the evidence of black holes. He recounts his childhood in England, his early interests in science, and his education at Cambridge, where his thesis research on accretion discs and radio sources was supervised by Martin Rees. Blandford discusses his postdoctoral work on astrophysical particle acceleration and plasma and QED processes in pulsars and a formative visit to the Institute for Advanced Study and to Berkeley. He describes his initial impressions of Caltech where he joined the faculty and where he worked closely with Roman Znajek, and he explains the distinctions between radio jets and relativistic jets. Blandford explains his reasons for moving to Stanford to set up the Kavli Institute and he describes his involvement with the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. At the end of the interview, Blandford contends that the most exciting developments in the field have been on exoplanet research, why the possibilities in astrobiology give him cause for optimism, and why the concept that astronomical discovery arrives as “logically unscripted” resonates with him.

In this interview, Joseph Taylor, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics, Emeritus, at Princeton University, recounts his upbringing in and around Philadelphia, and the centrality of Quakerism throughout his childhood. He describes his undergraduate experience at Haverford, where he developed his interest in physics and in experimental radio astronomy specifically. Taylor discusses his graduate work at Harvard, and why the mid-1960s was an exciting time for radio astronomy, and he describes his thesis research under the direction of Alan Maxwell on observing radio galaxies and quasars to create two-dimensional maps. Taylor describes the impact of the discovery of pulsars, just as he was completing graduate school, and he explains his decision to join the faculty at the University of Massachusetts to start the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory. He describes the fundamental advances in pulsar research in the 1970s, and he recounts his early and soon to be significant interactions with Russell Hulse, and he describes the logistical challenges of setting up research at the Arecibo Observatory. Taylor describes the intellectual origins of discovering gravitational radiation, and he explains his decision to join the faculty at Princeton which centered around its strength in gravitational physics. He discusses the long period of time between his research and the Nobel Prize for which he was recognized, and he discusses the impact of the prize on his life and his research. Taylor discusses his tenure as Dean of Faculty at Princeton, and in the last part of the interview, he describes his current and recent interests in WMAP, and why he welcomes the strides his field has taken toward greater diversity.  

In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Meg Urry, Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Yale University, and Director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. She recounts her childhood in Indiana and then in Boston and she discusses her family background and what she gained as a result of having a father who was a professor of chemistry. Urry describes her undergraduate experience at Tufts, where she developed her career interests in physics, and she describes a formative summer working at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, where she became the first person to identify the first gravitational lens source of a background quasar. Urry discusses the circumstances leading to her graduate work at Johns Hopkins, where she conducted research with Art Davidsen, and she explains how she got her first job at the Goddard Space Flight Center where she spent a majority of her time during graduate school. She describes her research with Richard Mushotzky on blazars, and she explains some of the cultural differences between physics, which she felt was overly hierarchical and astronomy, which was more laid back and which employed many more women. Urry discusses her postdoctoral research on Seyfert galaxy spectra at MIT with Claude Canizares, who at the time was building the Chandra X-ray Observatory. She describes her second postdoctoral position at the Space Telescope Science Institute where she focused on the unification of radio-loud AGN, and she describes the decisions that led to her first full-time job at Space Telescope. She describes the high-pressure work environment at Space Telescope, and some of the structural disadvantages she experienced as a woman. Urry reflects on some of the shifting distinctions in the terms astronomy and astrophysics, and she explains the centrality of supermassive black holes during her tenure at Space Telescope. Urry recounts her decision to join the physics faculty at Yale, and she describes her excitement at the prospect of teaching in an academic environment. She describes how she maintained her collaborations with her former colleagues associates with the Hubble telescope. Urry describes tenure as chair of the department, and she reflects on her efforts to encourage a culture of greater diversity and inclusivity in the department, where she championed the recognition and promotion of many women and people of color, and she shares her ideas on how the physics community can work collectively to continue to advance this work. Urry discusses her work as president of the American Astronomical Society, and she reflects on the lessons of perseverance she learned from her father. At the end of the interview, Urry provides an overview of the current state of research on supermassive black holes, and she describes her work conveying scientific concepts to a broader audience. At the end of the interview, Urry explains the specific threats that science faces in a culture of eroding trust in public institutions.

In this interview, Radhakhrishna (Dinesh) Somanah discusses topics such as: his educational background, Loyola College, George Sudarshan, University of Mauritius, Mauritius Radio Telescope, Raman Research Institute (RRI), Ravi Subrahmanyan, International Astronomical Union (IAU), Nadeem Oozeer, radio astronomy, Richard Hundstead, quasars.