Astronomical News

Staff at ESO

Peter Gray

Returning to ESO after an absence of eleven years feels very much like coming home. The ESO I knew from those heady days of the VLT construction and the birth of the Paranal Observatory still feels very much the same. There are many familiar faces from those days, my Garching col- leagues and the many co-workers with whom I shared the excitement of building the VLT and setting up Paranal Engineer- ing. Equally as enjoyable is the chance to meet so many new faces, many young people along with experienced older new-hands. ESO has certainly grown, both in numbers of people, but also in the depth and breadth of the experience and expertise of its staff, but it retains the Peter Gray same look and feel of ESO as “the” place of technical and scientific excellence in my trade, I launched my career as an processes were gradually built up into the astronomy, telescopes and instrumenta- astronomical engineer and spent the successful engineering support team at tion engineering. After nearly thirty years next twenty years moving around interna- Paranal, which has continued to the pre- of working in engineering at many of the tionally among most of the major obser- sent day. world’s major observatories, it really does vatories in the world, working in instru- feel like coming home. mentation, engineering operations At the end of 2001, after five years of the support and large telescope projects. most exciting time of my life at Paranal, How I ended up working as an engineer I was on the look-out for new challenges. in astronomy is an interesting story. I When I first left Australia in 1992, I I decided to switch wavelengths and try started out at the University of Sydney in worked for five years at Steward Obser- my hand at radio astronomy engineering Australia studying physics, then mechani- vatory in Tucson, Arizona on a variety so I left Paranal to take up a position cal engineering. As part of the engineer- of projects including mirror casting and with the National Radio Astronomy Ob­­ ing degree it was necessary to spend polishing in the Mirror Lab, the Multi-­ servatory (NRAO) in the US ALMA project time working in industry. My first choice Mirror Telescope (MMT) telescope 6.5- office in Charlottesville, Virginia. During at the time was working for a large hydro- metre upgrade, the Large Binocular Tele- this time I worked closely with many of electricity company, since it sounded fun scope and various other instrumentation the ALMA project staff, both at NRAO to travel around to remote places, looking projects. That was an exciting time, and ESO, and became familiar with the after dams and pumps. However as fate ­working for Roger Angel and other people techniques, technologies and instrumen- would have it, I didn’t get the job and was at the Mirror Lab, audaciously casting tation of millimetre-wave astronomy. I forced to take my second choice, work- and polishing big mirrors in the base- left the ALMA project at the end of 2002 ing at the Anglo–Australian Observatory ment of the University of Arizona football and moved on to the Gemini Observatory (AAO) in Sydney and some exciting stadium. as Associate Director of Engineering. months up at the 4-metre Anglo Australian Telescope at Coonabarabran. Those In 1997 I started work for ESO in Chile For the next five years I worked as the were the days when 4-metre telescopes as the Assembly, Integration and Verifica- Head of Engineering at Gemini Observa- were state of the art, when program- tion (AIV) manager for the VLT project. I tory where I built up the operational engi- ming meant punched cards and everyone was responsible for the organisation, neering support to transition the Gemini was happy to have 3-arcsecond images. coordination and execution of the AIV telescopes from commissioning to rou- work up until first light of the four VLT tel- tine science operations and used my I ended up liking it so much that after escopes. This work began with the first ­Paranal experience to implement a similar graduation I started working at the AAO telescope in 1997 when Paranal existed set of engineering operations systems as a young mechanical engineer, helping as a construction site. As each VLT was and procedures. During this time I led the build instruments and improving tele- finished, we continued to provide engi- Gemini engineering team through a num- scope performance. During this time I neering support to Commissioning, and ber of advanced developments includ- helped pioneer the technique of multi- then Science, Operations. As Paranal ing low emissivity silver coatings and object spectroscopy using optical fibres, transitioned from construction to opera- laser guide star adaptive optics systems. which has now been extensively exploited tions, my position became one of Head by the AAO and other major observato- of the Engineering Department. The During the last four years I have worked ries. After ten years at the AAO, learning ­infrastructure, staffing and engineering as the Assistant Project Manager at the

The Messenger 150 – December 2012 71 Astronomical News

Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Project last 20–30 years of my working life in big cycling is my current passion, which is Office in Pasadena, California. I worked projects and astronomical organisations how I met my wife, Leslie. Although on a number of tasks, including the to help ESO deliver the largest and most ­Californian, Leslie has actually spent design and planning of the telescope technologically advanced telescope so far. most of her life in northern Montana as enclosure and structure, project assis- a cowgirl, backcountry horse riding, tance to the TMT–Japan project offices, In between times, those who know me, ­skiing, hiking and road cycling. Leslie and the investigation and planning of the know that I’m seldom idle outside of work I now have a combined “stable” of twelve on-site construction phase and the on weekends. bicycles, including several beloved detailed long-term operations planning ­Pinarellos. As well as sharing her passion for the observatory. Over the years, whatever the remote for road bikes, Leslie shares with me location of the observatory, I’m always our grown-up son Hunter, a young entre- Now back at ESO once again as the Pro- out and about, whether it be paragliding preneur living back in Pasadena, whom ject Engineer for the European Extremely in Tucson, mountain biking at Paranal, we proudly boast is a successful small- Large Telescope (E-ELT) project, I’m using windsurfing in Antofagasta, or kiteboard- business owner employing several people these accumulated experiences of the ing in La Serena and Hawaii. Road and helping to kick start the US economy.

Fellows at ESO

Noé Kains my undergraduate physics degree, I was lucky enough to be supported by schol- Looking back, my path to becoming an arships that enabled me to continue astronomer is perhaps a slightly uncon- my musical education in parallel; some- ventional one. Like most other astrono- thing that would have been very difficult mers, I have early memories of being in Belgium. After working on an astron- interested in space and rockets. I also omy project for my Master’s thesis, I remember being entranced by the night decided to apply for a PhD in astrophys- sky during summer family holidays — ics, which I started at the University of I was lucky to spend entire summers sail- St Andrews in Scotland in 2006. Again, ing around the North Sea, and I particu- throughout my PhD I kept up a busy larly enjoyed sailing at night, which gave musical parallel life, which I think made me plenty of opportunities to get away the PhD experience much easier. I was from light pollution and see the night sky lucky to have a supervisor who fully sup- in all its glory. ported this, even when I disappeared for weeks at a time on concert tours! I was born and raised in Brussels, and During almost four years in Scotland, my moved to London when I was 17 to love for astronomy developed further begin an undergraduate degree in phys- and the fun I had working on my PhD ics at Imperial College, because I enjoyed convinced me that this was the career I physics and maths at school, but also wanted to pursue. because I had decided very early on that Noé Kains I wanted to go and see other things My first observing trip, in 2007, was a than the small country in which I grew up. 23-night run on the 1.54-metre Danish of the Chilean night sky, running outside Apart from my long-standing obsession telescope at La Silla. If 23 long winter between two exposures of the Galactic with London, there was another reason nights did not dent my fascination for Bulge to look at the bright trail of the that I wanted to move to the UK in particu- observing, clearly my commitment to this Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. lar. Since the age of six, I had been study­­ was no fluke! Every day I was amazed Two (thankfully slightly shorter) further ing the piano and I knew that the more to wake up in this strange place in the observing runs in La Silla only strength- flexible education system in the UK would middle of nowhere, and every night I ened my attachment to the place, so ESO allow me to pursue both interests. During spent hours marvelling at the splendour was a natural place for me to consider

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