my background in astrophysics
TRANSCRIPT
How A PhD in Astrophysics
Opened Me to the Universe
Bill Quirk
Rotary Presentation
Reasons to Have a
Career in Science Its Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Many Job Opportunities
Academic
Research in other fields
Industry
Government
Unlimited opportunities
Astronomy VS Astrophysics?
Astronomers use instruments to observe
the universe
Astrophysicists study how the Universe
works
What do astronomers observe?
Stars
Planets
Dust & gas between planets
Galaxies
Galaxy clusters
Material between galaxies
Structure of universe
Dark matter & Dark Energy
How do astronomers observe?
Optical telescopes
Infrared telescopes
Radio telescopes
Balloon and aircraft carried infrared
telescopes
Satellite carried infrared, optical,
ultraviolet, X-ray, & gamma-ray telescopes
Types of stars
Main sequence stars
Red giants
White dwarfs
Variable stars
Periodic stars
Nova
Supernova
Neutron stars & black holes
Stellar evolution
Stars
hundreds of times the mass of the sun
few 1/100 the mass of the sun
Biggest stars
Hot, millions of years, black holes
Smaller stars
Cooler, billions of years, white dwarves
Stellar evolution
Supernova Jet
Supernova Explosion
Supernova Remnant
Galaxies
Irregular
Spiral
Elliptical
Galaxy cluster
Galaxy
Shapes
Galaxy types
What do astrophysics try to explain?
Formation of stars
Formation of planets
Stellar atmospheres
Stellar interiors
Planetary atmospheres
Planetary interiors
Formation of galaxies
Cosmology
How do astrophysicists work?
Study observations
Formulate a question
Determine relevant physics, chemistry,
etc.
Preliminary calculation with calculators
and basic equations
Personal computers
Multiprocessing super computers
Computer Programs
Question
Relevant physics, chemistry, etc.
Write basic equations
Write difference equations for computer
Debug program
Find bad code
Add new parameters
Add new physics
Bill Quirk
What has he done?
How did he use his scientific background?
Married Two Children
Married Laurel Quirk, March 25, 1971
Zephyr born 1981, UC Santa Cruz 2003,
Councilor & teacher of high school social
studies in Ukiah, lives off the grid
Ian born 1987, UC Berkeley 2009
Rock band drummer
PG&E
Graduate of Columbia U. NYC
BS in Engineering 1967
PhD Astrophysics 1970
Post Doc Caltech 1970-72
Climate Research NASA Goddard NYC 1972-77 (CO2 Warming, long range forecasting)
McKinsey & Company Management Consultant 1977-78
Amdahl Computer 1978-79
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
1979-2005
Climate Research 1979-81
Nuclear Weapon Design 1981-1993
Foreign Nuclear Weapon Analyst 1993-
2005
Hayward City Council 2004-12
Sacramento Job Interviews 2011-12
Please encourage your kids and grandkids
to pursue a career in science or engineering.
It is good for them and good for the country