Samuel Okoye
Early Life
Samuel was born in Umuahia, Nigeria. His father died when he was ten years old. Samuel won a scholarship to study physics at University College in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was linked to the University of London, UK. He got a paid fellowship to study for his PhD in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, UK.
Year born: 1939
Research Areas: Radio Astronomy, Galaxies, Crab Nebula
Masatoshi Koshiba
Early Life
Masatoshi was born in Toyohashi, Japan. His dad was in the Japanese army and served in China during World War II. His mum died when he was just three years old. As his father was an officer in the army, Masatoshi was expected to go to military school. A month before the entrance exam he contracted polio which left him very weak, and he was unable to join. He went to school in Tokyo during World War II when frequent bombing devastated the city. He only became interested in physics when one of his teachers doubted him.
Year born: 1926
Research Areas: Neutrinos, Detectors, Particle Physics, Cosmic Rays
"I grew up like a million average people, and I do silly things too!"
John Johnson
Early Life
John Johnson grew up in St Louis, USA. He has a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of Missouri-Rolla and a PhD in Astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley. John’s interest in astronomy was sparked when he saw the Perseids meteor shower. He was 21 at the time and did not take any astronomy courses before he started his PhD. John did not have a lot of confidence when he started studying astronomy.
Year born: 1977
Research Areas: Exoplanets
"I found the opportunity to find planets orbiting other stars irresistible. Once I learned that this was a viable career path, I immediately hopped on board."
Beth A. Brown
Early Life
Beth was born in Roanoke, Virginia, USA. She was always asking questions as a child and wanted to know how things worked. She had a passion for science fiction. During a school trip to an observatory, she looked through a telescope for the first time and saw the Ring Nebula. That was the inspiration she needed to decide to study astronomy. She was the highest achieving student in her high school. Beth then went to Howard University to study astrophysics.
Year born: 1969
Research Areas: Black Holes, Elliptical Galaxies, X-ray Emission, Data Archives
"Space fascinated me. I was into anything that had to do with space."
Beatrice Tinsley
Early Life
Beatrice was born in Chester, UK, but her family moved to New Zealand after World War II. Beatrice won a scholarship to study at Canterbury University where she got a degree in physics.
Year born: 1941
Research Areas: Galaxies' Evolution, Cosmology
"I never mind spending time [with students] if they really want to learn astronomy or exchange ideas."
Haida Liang
Research Areas: Imaging and Sensing, Conservation, Science and Art
"I’m working on the boundary between optical imaging and history… physics and history are the two things that I love."
Anthony Aveni
Early Life
Anthony grew up in West Haven, Connecticut in the USA and attended a poor inner-city school. He went to Boston University where he just passed his degree in physics. Anthony went on to study for a PhD at the University of Arizona, working on the new telescope at Kitt Peak. During this time, Anthony and his wife were struggling to get by, and so he started to look for jobs which earned more money. He managed to get a position at Colgate University and moved across the country to New York State.
Year born: 1938
Research Areas: Archaeoastronomy, Ancient Astronomy in the Americas, Mayans
Jarita Holbrook
Early Life
Jarita was born in Hawaii and grew up in California in the USA. They are from a family with strong academic links (both parents got science degrees) and Jarita decided to follow in their parents' footsteps and studied physics at Caltech. Jarita went on to get a PhD in astrophysics from the University of California, investigating star formation.
Year born: 1965
Research Areas: History, Cultural Studies of Astronomy, African Indigenous Astronomy
Allan Chapman
Early Life
Allan was born in Swinton, Lancashire in the north of England. As a child, he was always interested in tinkering and making things. He made his own telescope when he was 11 and used it to look at the Moon. He was from a working-class family and career options were limited. When he left school without qualifications, he was expected to start work in a local factory. Instead, Allan decided to get a job in a local library.
Year born: 1946
Research Areas: History of Science, History of Astronomy, Broadcasting
Stargazing
Of course unlike a hundred years ago, not all astronomers look through telescopes. Now they can programme complex computers to model what they see. The programmes are told to follow the laws of physics, and then the simulations are forwards and backwards in time to get a fuller understanding of what is happening.
In astrophysics, you need to combine the computer simulations, and the observations from telescopes, to be sure about a theory.
Perhaps the most obvious career relating to space and astronomy is ‘star-gazing’. Looking into the Universe and trying to figure out what is going on.