Solar physics

Dr. George Doschek, retired scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), is interviewed at the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland, by Ryan Hearty, oral history fellow at the American Institute of Physics. Doschek describes his early life in Pittsburgh and later career, spanning five decades, at the NRL in Washington, DC. Subjects include: Doschek’s childhood in Pittsburgh, growing up in a household supportive of music and science; undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Pittsburgh; coming to NRL and early activities in solar physics; work on spectroscopy at NRL, including on the missions OSO-1 to OSO-8, the 11 SOLRAD satellites, Skylab and the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), the P78-1 spacecraft, Yohkoh, and Hinode; and managing the Solar-Terrestrial Relationships Branch.

Interview with Loren Acton, American physicist and astronaut. Acton recounts his childhood in rural Montana and his decision to study engineering physics at Montana State University. He describes becoming interested in geophysics, leading him to pursue graduate school at the University of Colorado. Acton recalls his graduate work at the Lockheed Pao Alto Research Laboratory, working on his first solar x-ray experiment. He discusses his involvement in the astrogeophysics department at Colorado and his work on solar radiation satellites at the Naval Research Laboratory. Acton stayed at Lockheed upon completing his doctorate, and he describes his work on projects that employed instruments carried on rockets and satellites. He reflects on his exciting appointment as a payload specialist on the space shuttle, flying in 1985. Acton then turns to his time at Goddard Space Flight Center working on the Solar Max Mission, and he also discusses his collaboration with Japanese scientists on the Spacelab 2 mission. He discusses his return to Montana State University to help form the solar physics program. The interview concludes with Acton’s reflections on running for elected office and the role of scientists in politics. 

This interview was conducted as part of the background research for David DeVorkin's biography of George Carruthers. This is a focused interview with George “Pinky” Nelson, an astronaut trained in physics and astronomy who flew three times on the space shuttle between 1978 and 1989. The interview covers his selection as a mission specialist astronaut and his experiences going through the selection process. It also covers his specific astronomical interests in solar physics and how his general interests in the space sciences, as well as a personal interest in flying, led him to apply to be an astronaut. The main body of the interview relates to Nelson’s description of the selection process, and his contacts with Naval Research Laboratory astronomer George Carruthers, who applied to be an astronaut in the same group as Nelson but was not chosen.

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.