Waiting with Baboons
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CAREER VIEW NATURE|Vol 455|30 October 2008 MOVERS NETWORKS & SUPPORT Colin Lonsdale, director, Haystack Observatory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sustenance for sustainability Westford, Massachusetts Scientists who seek intensely curiosity-driven research to short- interdisciplinary study could be term goals. Within the next 2 years, 2006–08: Assistant director, the beneficiaries of increasing they plan to recruit at least 10 Haystack Observatory, interest in the emerging field of faculty members, 10–20 graduate Massachusetts Institute of sustainability research, with new students and up to 5 postdocs to Technology university programmes offering tackle technical issues surrounding 1986–2008: Research novel opportunities. Portland State alternative energy sources, scientist, Haystack University in Oregon and Cornell sustainable urban communities Observatory, Massachusetts University in Ithaca, New York, are the and developing the metrics of Institute of Technology most recent entrants to the field. They sustainability. He also hopes to set 1983–86: Research follow the example set by institutions up a visiting faculty programme associate, Pennsylvania State such as the School of Sustainability at to forge national and international University, University Park, Arizona State University in Tempe. connections. Pennsylvania Broadly defined, sustainability Cornell’s Institute for Computational bridges disciplines to determine how Sustainability involves scientists from Colin Lonsdale says radio astronomy is experiencing a to meet the resource needs of the both Cornell and other US research revolution. The new director of the Haystack Observatory present without adversely affecting institutions, whose work will involve in Westford, part of the Massachusetts Institute of future generations. In practice, merging disparate data sets related Technology (MIT), believes that new instruments will that means assembling teams of to areas such as environmental probe unexplored parts of the distant Universe and allow ecologists, economists, biologists and science and economics. One scientists to answer crucial questions about how stars and social scientists to find solutions and example is modelling the evolution galaxies first formed and continue to grow. strategies for big problems, such as of fish populations to assist with the This is the second such revolution for Lonsdale. When meeting future energy needs. designation of no-fishing zones. working on his PhD in the early 1980s, he demonstrated Portland has received US$25 million The main focus of the NSF grant is how energy is transported in extragalactic radio sources from the James F. and Marion L. Miller to train some 12 graduate students by studying radio jets and hotspots, using the then-new Foundation towards sustainability each year. Cornell also wants to MERLIN array run from Jodrell Bank Observatory at the research and teaching, and Cornell’s attract postdocs who are interested in University of Manchester, UK. He calls his decision to $10-million National Science computer science or applied maths. pursue a PhD there “career-defining”. Foundation (NSF) grant will be used Carla Gomes, the institute’s director, As a postdoc at Pennsylvania State University, Lonsdale to develop the field of ‘computational says that “computer scientists aren’t used interferometry techniques to study all aspects of sustainability’ — using computer- aware that their expertise can impact extragalactic radio sources. His expertise in data-reduction science techniques to manage natural issues of sustainability, and we hope software led him to a research scientist position at the resources more effectively. to inject computational thinking into Haystack Observatory. “That’s when things took off for Portland’s provost, Roy Koch, problem solving.” ■ me,” says Lonsdale, who helped to detect an unusual radio says their approach is to connect Virginia Gewin signal from a complex, ultraluminous infrared galaxy created by the explosions of 50 supernovae. That discovery, made together with his astronomer POSTDOC JOURNAL sister Carol, stunned colleagues. It not only yielded the first images of many simultaneously exploding stars inside a galaxy, but also altered the prevailing theory of how Waiting with baboons galaxies generate intense radio sources called masers, I have found it hard to return to my research in Ethiopia after my six-week according to long-time colleague Phil Diamond, director of hiatus. The fear of the unknown is gone, but so is some of the excitement. And the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. Diamond says it this time, I have no one from the outside world with me. The scouts and our took Lonsdale’s imagination and tenacity to demonstrate assistant are around, but there is nobody with whom to muse about science that these galaxies are starbursts. over a warmish beer. And, as any semi-sane person can tell you, having too In 2000, Lonsdale turned away from pure research, much time for your own thoughts can be utterly destructive. instead devoting his time to developing the Murchison For the first few days here, I ranted and raved silently, even finding it difficult Widefield Array (MWA), an array of low-frequency radio to go outdoors. It was too much ‘reality’ hitting me — I’m here and I’m more or telescopes in Western Australia. He says the MWA, less alone. I considered the gelada baboons my only distraction, and negativity scheduled to begin operation in 2010, will target questions threatened to devour me. I had to try to see the positive aspects of this such as how to measure solar storms accurately. experience. After all, I want to be here and I love my job. How can I deal with the Lonsdale says advances in digital electronics have circumstances surrounding it? opened up a new frontier in radio science. Diamond fully I came to see that I have been given something that I never had in the city: expects that Lonsdale, who got funding for the MWA in time. It is a precious thing, and not all that frightening. Now I am filling my time with the things I never get to do back home — reading articles, doing extra difficult times, will use his expertise to help position MIT’s analyses, working overtime and writing letters. And I’m finding it a positive involvement in the next generation of radio-telescope experience. I still love all social distractions, but I don’t constantly bemoan my technology — the Square Kilometre Array. Diamond is solitude. Only my attitude has changed. Perhaps that’s enough to carry me optimistic about the effect Lonsdale can have on this through. ■ ■ project, which he calls “the big daddy of radio astronomy”. Aliza le Roux is a postdoctoral fellow in animal behaviour at the University of Michigan. Virginia Gewin 1276.