Computer Science – Sound
Scientific paper
Sep 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.5502g&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #55.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.584
Computer Science
Sound
Scientific paper
Carl Sagan often reminded us that we are privileged to be space explorers, and we should never take public support for granted. As jobs go, planetary exploration sure beats flipping burgers. It can also seem like a bourgeois extravagance in a world with some serious mayhem and deprivation. We've all encountered the attitude epitomized by the recent Onion headline: "NASA Announces Plan to Launch $700 Million into Space". But planetary science is highly relevant to some burning societal issues. Indeed it is slightly strange to see concepts we labored over in grad school, like "albedo", "insolation” and "infrared opacity” now tossed about in Newsweek. Today, the man and woman in the street are quite aware that climate modeling and glaciology are relevant. It is up to us to explain that comparative planetology is also indispensable. In my career so far, I've tried to balance deep involvement in both research and public outreach. Sometimes this feels like too many jobs, but at least sometimes they are synergistic. Being an active researcher, you can speak to the public with an inside, authentic, behind-the-scenes voice. Interacting with the media on a regular basis helps you (indeed forces you) to stay current in a broad range of subject matter, and that can nurture your research. That all sounds pretty high minded, but public speaking, writing, and media interviews are great fun, and they get easier. Actually, writing is often as much fun as dental work. But usually worth it. These activities feed the soul (and the ego and even occasionally the bank account...). If they help spread the word about the wonders of the solar system, the mysteries of life in the universe and the experiences of working scientists, well that's pretty cool, too.
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