Maynooth University Cat Updates

Posted in Maynooth with tags , , on October 27, 2022 by telescoper

Earlier today I found myself on the South Campus of Maynooth University where I encountered Maynooth University Library Cat looking not entirely gruntled. Behind bars like that I thought he looked like he was in the doghouse!

Anyway, this meeting reminded me of some important campus cat news from earlier in the week. On Tuesday afternoon I was just about to start my usual 3pm lecture on Vector Calculus and Fourier Series in Hall H on the North Campus. It was quite warm that day and all the windows on the side of the room (which is on the ground floor) were open. As soon as I started talking about line integrals I was interrupted by a plaintive mewing from outside which turned out to come from a small white cat who made its way outside to the rearmost window, climbed in and took a seat in the back row. It was quite disconcerting to see its little head looking at me, and its appearance put me right off my stride for a bit, but fortunately it didn’t ask any difficult questions and eventually dozed off.

I’ve never seen this cat before but apparently it has been hanging around near the Phoenix restaurant, where presumably it is being fed. It has no collar and, as far as I know, no name. We have recently experienced another visitation by rodents in the Science Building and wonder if it could be persuaded to investigate on our behalf?

So now we have a black cat on the South Campus and a white cat on the North Campus, polar opposites. Perhaps one is the anti-cat of the other? I do hope they don’t annihilate each other if they ever meet!

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That Tory Cabinet Reshuffle…

Posted in Art, Politics on October 26, 2022 by telescoper

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The Leiden Sexual Harassment Case: Update

Posted in Harassment Bullying etc, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , on October 25, 2022 by telescoper

When I wrote less than a week ago about the case of an (unnamed) Professor at Leiden University being “removed for extremely unacceptable behaviour” I did not know the identify of the culprit but predicted that “it’s just a matter of time before the identity of the Professor concerned is revealed”.

Well, Leiden University still hasn’t officially revealed the Professor concerned but this article by Dutch news agency NRC gives a name: it is Tim de Zeeuw. The Wikipedia page I linked to there has already been updated with:

In 2022, Tim de Zeeuw was suspended from the University and barred from campus after being found to have violated professional conduct policy pertaining to harassment and sexual harassment of women employees. [10] This misconduct was found to have occurred repeatedly over many years. As of 18 October 2022 he is currently suspended (with pay) and allowed to use his university affiliation on his research papers but barred from campus, interaction with students, and all administrative and department responsibilities.

There may be some frantic editing of that page, but the cat is now well and truly out of the bag. I don’t know Tim de Zeeuw personally but he is indeed an eminent scientist in the fields of galactic dynamics and galaxy formation & evolution. For many years he was also Director of the European Southern Observatory, a position of great power and influence. If he has done what he is alleged to have done, however, this distinction counts for nothing and he should be removed from his post. Indeed that should have happened some time ago but I think there may be unresolved legal issues preventing his outright dismissal.

UPDATE: Tim de Zeeuw has now issued a statement, among other things confirming he is the person at the centre of this case but not showing very much in the way of contrition…

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In the Name of JWST

Posted in LGBTQ+, Politics, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , , , on October 25, 2022 by telescoper

JWST – nice telescope, shame about the name

I’ve blogged before about the problematic naming of the James Webb Space Telescope. Its name was changed in 2002 from the Next Generation Space Telescope to the James Webb Space Telescope after James E. Webb, a civil servant who was NASA’s chief administrator from 1961 to 1968.

It’s not uncommon for scientific space missions like this to be named after people once the proposal has moved off the drawing board and into serious planning. That happened with the European Space Agency’s Planck and Herschel to give two examples. In any case Next General Space Telescope was clearly never anything but a working title. Yet naming this important mission after a Government official always seemed a strange decision to me. Then news emerged that James Webb had enthusiastically cooperated in a McCarthyite purge of LGBT+ people working in government institutions, part of a wider moral panic referred to by historians as the Lavender Scare. There have been high-profile protests (see, e.g., here) and a petition that received over a thousand signatures, but NASA has ruled out any change of name.

The main reason NASA give is that they found no evidence that Webb himself was personally involved in discrimination or persecution. I find that very unconvincing. He was in charge, so had responsibility for what went on in his organization. If he didn’t know then why didn’t he know? Oh, and by the way, he didn’t have anything to do with infrared astronomy either…

I still think it’s a shame that this fantastic telescope should have its image so tarnished by the adoption of an inappropriate name.

Anyway, yesterday I saw that the Royal Astronomical Society has issued a statement about this issue, which I encourage you to read in full. It begins

At its meeting in July the governing council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) took a decision to write to the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA to express its concerns about the original JWST naming process, the apparent failure to investigate James Webb’s background and the dismissal of requests to rename the telescope.

Until that investigation takes place and the results are made public, the RAS now expects authors submitting scientific papers to its journals to use the JWST acronym rather than the full name of the observatory. In this case, the previous requirement for the acronym to be spelled out at first mention will not be observed. This change will also be reflected in our communications more generally.

This does at least acknowledge the problematic nature of the name and the message it sends to LGBT+ scientists around the world and it the statement as a whole is to be welcome.

I think I’ll continue to use the name James Webb Space Telescope on this blog, though, as a reminder that the name should just be changed. Even in shorthand it’s an insult.

 

 

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Astrophysics & Cosmology Masterclass at Maynooth

Posted in Education, Maynooth, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , on October 24, 2022 by telescoper

Regular readers of the blog – both of them – may remember that we have twice previously presented a Masterclass in Astrophysics & Cosmology in Maynooth. Well, owing to popular demand, we’ve decided to do a re-run of the event on Wednesday 16th November 2022 during this year’s Science Week. Last year’s event was a big success, with over a hundred schools joining in, with probably over a thousand young people listening and asking questions.

Like last year’s event this year’s will be a half-day virtual event via Zoom. It’s meant for school students in their 5th or 6th year of the Irish system. There might be a few of them or their teachers who see this blog so I thought I’d share the news here. You can find more information, including instructions on how to book a place, here.

Here is the flyer for the event:

I’ll be talking about cosmology early on, and John Regan will talk about black holes later on. After the coffee break one of our students will talk about why they wanted to study astrophysics. Then I’ll say something about our degree programmes for those students who might be interested in studying astrophysics and/or cosmology as part of a science course. We’ll finish with questions either about the science or the studying!

Here is a more detailed programme:

Fortunately this year I don’t need to dash away at noon to do a lecture!

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Remembering Violet Gibson

Posted in History, Politics with tags , , , on October 23, 2022 by telescoper

A few years ago I posted an item about Violet Gibson. Last week Dublin City Council unveiled a plaque in her memory, outside her childhood home, which reminded me of her story.

The story of Violet Gibson is both bizarre and tragic. She was born in 1876 into a well-to-do family living at No. 12 Merrion Square in Dublin, where the above plaque is now located. Her father, Edward Gibson, was made Baron Ashbourne in 1886. To cut a long story short, Violet Gibson turned up in Rome in 1926 where, at 11am on 26th April of that year, she attempted to shoot Fascist Leader Benito Mussolini with a pistol. She only failed in this task because Mussolini moved his head at the instant she pulled the trigger, and the bullet just grazed his nose. She tried to fire again, but her gun jammed. She was then seized by the angry mob of fascist supporters with whom she had mingled to get close enough to shoot. She was almost lynched but saved by the police. Eventually, the authorities came to the conclusion that she was insane and she was sent back to England. She spent the rest of her life in a psychiatric institution in Northampton. She died there in 1956, at the age of 79.

P.S. If you want to find out more about Violet Gibson, I recommend a book about her life called The Woman Who Shot Mussolini by Frances Stonor Saunders.

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How to be good at Physics

Posted in Education, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , on October 22, 2022 by telescoper

A couple of articles appeared recently that I encourage people to read who are studying physics, or interested in studying physics.

The first article by Carl Wieman is from Physics Today and is entitled How to become a successful physicist. It is aimed at graduate students, though most of what it says is relevant to those at an earlier stage of their studies. Here’s an excerpt from near the beginning:

The primary characteristic of a successful physicist is being a good problem solver.

The article goes on to say some very interesting and instructive things, and is well worth reading in its entirety. There are one or two things that I don’t agree with though. One is the statement that…

…textbook problems provide all the information needed and have a single well-defined path to a solution.

That’s true of many problems at an elementary level, but problems at undergraduate or graduate level often have more than one way of finding the solution. That’s certainly true of many that I set as assignments. Indeed, sometimes the students come up with better ways of approaching them than I did! The important difference between textbook and research problems is that you know the textbook problems have a solution. Research is scarier because you don’t know at the outset that an answer can be found!

The second article, by Ethan Siegel, is called The secret to becoming an excellent physicist. Here is a quote from that, revealing the “secret”:

It’s simplicity itself: you become good at physics by solving physics problems. That’s it: that’s the secret. If you want to become competent at physics, you will solve physics problems in the area you wish to learn.

I hope you get the message. It’s not about rote-learning facts and formulae. The brain is much more than a memory device. It’s all about problem-solving. The ability to do that effectively can only be learned through practice.

I’m currently teaching two modules on Mathematical Physics and I devote most of the time in lectures for both of them to doing worked examples rather than proving theorems or presenting facts, theorems, derivations, formulae, etc to learn. I spend quite a lot of time in lectures giving students things to work out, which makes classes more interactive, but students also have tutorials built around problem-solving tasks to complement this.

If you’re interested you can see my post on How to Solve Physics Problems; there is also a video version here.

I’d add one piece of advice. If you really want to develop as a physicist, don’t just solve a lot of easy problems; challenge yourself by tackling difficult ones too. Don’t be afraid to get “stuck” or make a mistake, as those are both necessary parts of the learning process. Above all, develop the confidence in your ability to take on a problem and back yourself to solve it and don’t be deterred if the answer doesn’t come quickly!

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A New Head for the UK

Posted in Biographical, Politics with tags , , on October 21, 2022 by telescoper
The UK’s new Head of Lettuce Government

Although I no longer live in Britain, every morning I look at the UK news media to check the previous night’s football results and find out who is the latest Prime Minister.

I had a quick look this morning before work and unless I’ve misunderstood things, Liz Truss has been replaced as PM by a lettuce.

I think we need to know whether the lettuce voted leaf or romaine ‘cos the answer to that little gem could be the tip of the iceberg that may end up determining whether its popularity will rocket… (continued, p. 94)

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SpaceX for Euclid

Posted in The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , , , , , on October 20, 2022 by telescoper

Aa few months ago I posted a piece about the European Space Agency’s Euclid Mission which had been due to be launched in 2023 on a Soyuz ST 2-1b rocket. That no longer being possible because of Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, it seemed there would be a lengthy delay in the launch of Euclid, with late 2024 seeming the earliest feasible date for launch on the obvious alternative, the new Ariane 6.

I ended that piece with this:

It seems to me that the best hope for a resolution of this problem would be for ESA to permit the launch of Euclid using something other than Ariane 6, which means using a vehicle supplied by an independent commercial operator. I sincerely hope ESA is able to come up with an imaginative solution to this very serious problem.

In the Dark, 17th June

Well I’ve just read official confirmation that a few hours ago ESA Council has approved the proposal to launch Euclid on a Falcon 9 rocket operated by SpaceX. If all goes well -specifically if the Euclid Consortium member states agree with this move – it might be possible to launch Euclid by the end of 2023. Although I don’t have any firm information about what date is being proposed I believe it could be as soon as July 2023.

Setting aside any personal opinions about Elon Musk, the Falcon 9 has proved to be very reliable, with the latest version having 110 out of 110 successful launches. Euclid will not be in an Earth orbit, like most of the satellites so far launched by SpaceX, but has to be delivered to the 2nd Lagrange Point, L2. That should not pose to much of a difficulty, however.

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Non-disclosure Nonsense at Leiden University

Posted in Harassment Bullying etc with tags , on October 19, 2022 by telescoper

I saw last night that a Professor at Leiden University has been “removed for extremely unacceptable behaviour”. The announcement from the University can be found here though it has been modified; the original form said “dismissed for gross misconduct”.

A related article (original in Dutch) says in English translation about the case:

It concerns a systematic pattern of denigration, abuse of power, gender discrimination, belittling in public, and the constant threat that the complainants’ careers would be damaged. The professor also made comments ‘with a sexual charge’ and the committee found that in one case ‘he had approached an employee in an undesirable manner’.

My initial reaction to this was dismay that someone had behaved in such a way for what seems to have been a considerable period of time, but relief that a case had been brought against this “Professor”.

But wait.

A statement from the Executive Board at Leiden University includes:

Because the committee has also established that the scientific quality of this professor is indisputable, there is no reason to deprive him of his professorship.

So the Professor is not actually being dismissed. He will be able to carry out research, presumably on full salary, His punishment for toxic behaviour thus effectively amounts to an indefinite period on sabbatical. Perhaps I am being excessively cynical, but I read the above statement as implying that the Professor has a portfolio of research grants that the University wants to keep.

Worse, the name of the Professor has not been released, presumably because there is a non-disclosure agreement covering this case. Neither I nor anyone I know at Leiden knows who it is; at least some may but not be legally allowed to say. Nor do I know what field he works in. It may or may not be related to Astronomy. This is a nonsense, for at least two reasons.

The first is that someone who has behaved in such a way should be named on principle, so that potential collaborators and future employers know what he has done. In previous posts on this topic I have defended confidentiality (e.g. here) during an investigation, but I do think that once it has been decided that a disciplinary offences have been committed there should be full disclosure.

The second is that failing to identify the individual concerned has led to a proliferation of rumours inside and outside Leiden (none of which I am prepared to repeat here). As a result, the finger of suspicion is no doubt now being pointed at the wrong people and that will continue to happen until the name of the abusive Professor is revealed. The environment at Leiden must be very difficult right now.

The hands of Leiden University may well be tied by a legally-binding non-disclosure agreement, but I think this case just demonstrates what a nonsense what such agreements are. And in my view it’s just a matter of time before the identity of the Professor concerned is revealed anyway. It will only take one person to leak it.

P.S. Please don’t email me to ask who it is. I honestly have no idea!

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