Doing Astronomy the Hard-ware Way - By Ted Williams [19 Sep 2014]
Channel: IUCAA SciPOP
Date: 2014-10-08

Doing Astronomy the Hard(ware) Way - Reflections on Travels with Instrumentation
by
Prof. Theodore (Ted) Williams 
Director, South African Astronomical Observatory , Cape Town & Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University
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The revolution in digital and electronic technology reached Astronomy in the 1970s. In the ensuing decades the instrumentation that astronomers use to ply their trade has seen a remarkable transformation, and this has in turn strongly influenced the course of astronomical investigation and discovery. Dr. Williams has had the privilege to work on a variety of both ground-based and space-based programs, and the benefit of the guidance of expert mentors who were happy to share their wisdom. He will discuss some experiences, both successful and not, and the attempt to blend Science and instrumentation into a rewarding journey.

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Dr. Ted Williams holds an Astronomy PhD from the California Institute of Technology (USA). He has worked on detector technology development for space telescopes at the Princeton University Observatory (1975-79). He is faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers University (1979-present), where he has pursued observational studies of the kinematics and dynamics of galaxies, and developed instrumentation for imaging spectroscopy. He served as the Director of the Graduate Program in Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers and Assoc. Chair of the Department. He led Rutgers’ participation in the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), and served on the SALT Board of Directors from 1998-2012. He is now the Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory since January 2013.