Author Archive

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

An Open Letter to the Times Higher World University Rankers

Posted in Bad Statistics, Education with tags , , , , , , on September 20, 2023 by telescoper

Dear Rankers,

I note with interest that you have announced significant changes to the methodology deployed in the construction of this years forthcoming league tables. I would like to ask what steps you will take to make it clear to that any changes in institutional “performance” (whatever that is supposed to mean) could well be explained simply by changes in the metrics and how they are combined?,

I assume, as intelligent and responsible people, that you did the obvious test for this effect, i.e. to construct and publish a parallel set of league tables, with this year’s input data but last year’s methodology, which would make it easy to isolate changes in methodology from changes in the performance indicators.  This is a simple test that anyone with any scientific training would perform.

You have not done this on any of the previous occasions on which you have introduced changes in methodology. Perhaps this lamentable failure of process was the result of multiple oversights. Had you deliberately withheld evidence of the unreliability of your conclusions you would have left yourselves open to an accusation of gross dishonesty, which I am sure would be unfair.

Happily, however, there is a very easy way to allay the fears of the global university community that the world rankings are being manipulated. All you need to do is publish a set of league tables using the 2022 methodology and the 2023 data. Any difference between this table and the one you published would then simply be an artefact and the new ranking can be ignored.

I’m sure you are as anxious as anyone else to prove that the changes this year are not simply artificially-induced “churn”, and I look forward to seeing the results of this straightforward calculation published in the Times Higher as soon as possible, preferably next week when you announce this years league tables.

I look forward to seeing your response to the above through the comments box, or elsewhere. As long as you fail to provide a calibration of the sort I have described, this year’s league tables will be even more meaningless than usual. Still, at least the Times Higher provides you with a platform from which you can apologize to the global academic community for wasting their time and that of others.

1 Comment »

Barcelona – Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé

Posted in Barcelona, Music with tags , , on September 19, 2023 by telescoper

Oh go on, then. No explanation necessary…

1 Comment »

Welcome (and Goodbye) Week

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth on September 18, 2023 by telescoper

So Welcome Week has started in Maynooth, although I’m keeping a low profile ahead of my departure to foreign climes and haven’t seen any of the new students, who I’m assured definitely exist. I will be on campus tomorrow though as I have various things to do in my office before handing over the keys until next year. I think pint or two may well be drunk at some point this week to celebrate my departure too.

Although I’m not involved in Welcome Week activities, this week is nevertheless going to be extremely busy, and not just because of preparations for my trip to Barcelona. After a short hiatus in December, Euclid developments are well and truly back and I’ve got a stack of telecons to deal with. I had three today, and that’s just the start. I won’t get away from those while on sabbatical, of course, but at least I don’t have to organize them around teaching and other departmental activities.

I was chatting with my PhD student online this afternoon and it struck me that this will be the first time since 2020 that the Autumn Semester will start properly at Maynooth and students will get a full twelve weeks of in-person teaching with a study week. For the three previous years, teaching started late for new students because of a knock-on effect of the Leaving Certificate results being delayed by Covid-19 reasons. That meant that there was a truncated orientation process and term was a week shorter, i.e. 11 weeks instead of 12. I have been teaching first year physics students during that period, and it was quite a headache figuring out how to tweak things to make everything fit without rushing too much. Now all that is behind us, and a more relaxed start of term is possible, but it’s my successor in the role of first-year lecturer who will reap the benefit.

Teaching term starts later in Maynooth than in many other Irish universities. This year lectures commence on 25th September, a week today, by which time I’ll be in Barcelona. This has its advantages, but the disadvantage is that teaching is supposed to carry on until Friday December 22nd, just three days before Christmas…

Leave a comment »

Memories of Barcelona

Posted in Architecture, Art, Biographical with tags , , , on September 17, 2023 by telescoper

I’ve had this poster for 30 years. It’s survived several relocations and is now on my bedroom wall in Maynooth. I bought it on a holiday in Barcelona in 1993 which, coincidentally, was the centenary of the birth of Joan Miró, and the reason for a special exhibition.

Since it’s a rainy Sunday afternoon and I’m feeling a bit nostalgic with just a week to go before I go to Barcelona once more, I thought I’d rummage through some boxes of old photographs to share some pictures taken on that trip in 1993. The first one is me being a bit scared on the funicular railway. The last picture shows my holiday mate David in blue (to the centre left) looking rather fetching from the rear as he ponders the Sagrada Familia:

Back in 1993 the Sagrada Familia was basically a building site. Thirty years on, it still isn’t finished but will be completed in 2026. Possibly. So I’m told.

3 Comments »

15 Years In The Dark

Posted in Biographical, The Universe and Stuff on September 15, 2023 by telescoper

When I logged onto WordPress yesterday I received a message that it was the 15th anniversary of my registration with them, which is when I took my first step into the blogosphere. That was way back on 15th September 2008.

I actually wrote my first post on the day I registered but unfortunately I didn’t really know what I was doing on my first day at blogging – no change there, then – and I didn’t actually manage to figure out how to publish this earth-shattering piece. It was only after I’d written my second post that I realized that the first one wasn’t actually visible to the general public because I hadn’t pressed the right buttons, so the two appear in the wrong order in my archive.

Such was the inauspicious beginning of this “shitty WordPress blog”!

Since then I have published 6507 blog posts posts which have received well over 5M page views. The largest number of hits I have received in a single day is still 8,864 (in 2014, at the peak of the BICEP2 controversy). Scientifically we’ve seen the discovery of the Higgs Boson and gravitational waves, both of which resulted in Nobel Prizes, as did the studies of high-redshift supernovae. The Planck mission mission was launched, did its stuff, and came to a conclusion in this time too. Most recently we have had the launch of JWST and have started to see the first science results. Euclid was launched earlier this year. Science at least has moved forward, even many other things have not.

This year saw my 60th birthday, so I’ve been blogging for about 25% of my life so far. I’ll have to keep going until I’m 90 to reach 50%…

Leave a comment »

New Publication at the Open Journal of Astrophysics

Posted in OJAp Papers, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , , , on September 15, 2023 by telescoper

Time to announce yet another new paper at the Open Journal of Astrophysics. This one is hot off the press and was published today (15th September 2023).

The latest paper is the 36th  so far in Volume 6 (2023) and the 101st in all. The authors are Kareem El-Badry (Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, USA), Kevin Burdge (Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), Jan van Roestel (Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam,NL) & Antonio C. Rodriguez (Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, USA).

The primary classification for this paper is Solar and Stellar Astrophysics and its title is “A transiting brown dwarf in a 2 hour orbit”.  The article reports the discovery of a brown dwarf in a very short orbit around a low-mass star with a discussion about the evolution of this orbit probably due to magnetic braking. Amazingly, the entire binary system would fit comfortably inside the Sun (although that’s not actually where it is).

Anyway, here is a screen grab of the overlay of the published version which includes the  abstract:

 

 

You can click on the image of the overlay to make it larger should you wish to do so. You can find the officially accepted version of the paper on the arXiv here.

1 Comment »

Enquiring into UK Astronomy

Posted in Science Politics, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , on September 14, 2023 by telescoper

Apparently I still have a few readers in the UK, so I thought I’d share a bit of news aimed at them.

It seems the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee of the House of Commons has initiated an inquiry into ” how well placed the UK astronomy sector is to showcase the UK as a science superpower and maximise its leadership in international programmes”. Apparently this will examine the status of the UK’s astronomical research base and assets, UK access to international astronomical facilities and contribution to international programmes. It will also explore astronomy’s potential contribution to the UK economy and what considerations should inform the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s next Strategic Delivery Plan, due in 2026. 

I don’t know why STFC doesn’t just use ChatGPT to write its strategic plan like everyone else, but there you go.

Anyway, the Committee welcomes submissions addressing any or all of the following:

  • The strengths and weaknesses of UK astronomy and how these compare to other nations
  • The opportunities and challenges facing UK astronomy and whether it is receiving sufficient support
  • What the aims and focus of UK astronomy should be
  • The extent to which UK astronomy contributes to the UK’s status as a science superpower
  • Whether the UK is maximising the contribution that astronomy can make to the wider UK economy
  • What role astronomy is playing in encouraging greater diversity and inclusion in STEM and public interest in science

To find out more information and/or submit a submission go here. The deadline is 27th October.

Have fun!

5 Comments »

Astronomy Volunteers Needed!

Posted in The Universe and Stuff with tags , on September 14, 2023 by telescoper

NASA apparently needs volunteers for an upcoming a forthcoming analysis:

From Private Eye

I’m not sure whether this involves a telescope, or an endoscope, or some other device yet to be erected, but I am always prepared to bend over backwards to help such initiatives. If you are similarly receptive, please apply to NASA. I’m sure they’ll be gratified by your submission.

3 Comments »

Physics as Fun

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth on September 13, 2023 by telescoper

To add to all the excitement I’ve just had a visit from a representative of ESB Networks who installed a new “smart” meter at my house in Maynooth. That process involved cutting off the electricity for about 15 minutes, which was long enough to set off my burglar alarm. Now that’s sorted, I have to go round resetting the clocks. All of that after I wasted half an hour this morning watching my laptop do compulsory Windows updates which involved two restarts.

Anyway, despite the distractions I’ve been working busily at home and getting ready for my departure abroad. This is the first year for a while that I haven’t been involved in Welcome Week or the Student Orientation process, which are ongoing. I have, however, looked at the online registrations so far and confirmed that there will indeed be some students in Theoretical Physics for the forthcoming academic year.

Yesterday I saw this cartoon by Gary Larson so thought I’d share it here.

It reminded me of this picture I have in the past shown at Open Days

I think there are many people out there who think physics, especially theoretical physics, isn’t something to be enjoyed. I think it is, or at least that it can be. I also think the best way to succeed at physics is by enjoying it, and I hope the new and returning students at Maynooth enjoy their theoretical physics over the next year while I am slaving away on sabbatical in Barcelona…

Leave a comment »

Let’s Make “No pay” Open Access Real…

Posted in Open Access, Politics with tags , on September 12, 2023 by telescoper

I took the liberty of reblogging this short post by Olivier Pourret about “No Pay” Open Access to direct readers to it and to make a couple of points. One is that you have to realize that “publishing-industry representatives” have a vested interest in the much of the discussion is about possible models for what might happen in the future, some of us have been busy making “No Pay” Open Access real in the here and now.

EU council ‘no pay’ publishing model is realistic

For some background, the article refers to a Council of Europe a document (PDF) that calls for “transparent, equitable, and open access to scholarly publications”.  In its conclusions, the Council calls on the Commission and the member states to support policies towards a scholarly publishing model that is not-for-profit, open access and multi-format, with no costs for authors or readers. In other words, it calls for Diamond Open Access. The covering press release includes:

If we really believe in open science, we need to make sure that researchers can make their findings available and re-usable and that high-quality scientific articles are openly accessible to anyone that needs to read them. This should be particularly the case for research that benefits from public funding: what has been paid by all should be accessible to all.

Mats Persson, Swedish Minister for Education, Ministry of Education and Research

This is clearly how Open Access should be, though I am still worried that the sizeable publishing lobby will still try to persuade research agencies and institutions to pay the existing fees on behalf of authors, which does not solve the problem but merely hides it.

I know I’m not alone in thinking that the current publishing ecosystem is doomed and will die a natural death soon enough. In my view the replacement should be a worldwide network of institutional and/or subject-based repositories that share research literature freely for the common good. Universities and research centres should simply bypass the grotesque parasite that is the publishing industry. Indeed, I would be in favour of hastening the demise of the Academic Journal Racket by having institutions make it a disciplinary offence for any researcher to pay an APC to any journal.

We are lucky in physics and astronomy because arXiv has already done the hard work for us. With the existence of arXiv, old-style journals are no longer necessary. It is great that arXiv is being joined by similar ventures in other fields, such as BiorXiv and EarthArxiv. A list of existing repositories can be found here. I’m sure many more will follow. The future is Diamond.

What is needed is a global effort to link these repositories to each other and to peer review mechanisms. One way is through overlays, as demonstrated by the Open Journal of Astrophysics, there being no reason why the idea can’t be extended beyond arXiv. Other routes are possible, of course, and some of these are mentioned in the article I reposted. I would love to see different models developed, but that needs action, not words.

3 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »