Dr. Pat Osmer, Ohio State University:
I had the good fortune to participate in the Kitt Peak summer student program for the three summers from 1963 through 1965, and I consider that the experience I gained from the program was crucial to the subsequent development of my career. I learned about the program somewhat by chance through my adviser, Peter Pesch, when I was in my sophomore year as a beginning astronomy major at the Case Institute of Technology (now part of Case Western Reserve University). I think the Kitt Peak program was relatively new at the time, and the REU concept and programs that are now so well known only came into existence later.
I had the great fortune to work with Helmut Abt, who was an excellent mentor. Looking back, I would say that the three most important parts of the summer experience were the opportunities to 1) participate in research projects and be a co-author on refereed papers, 2) meet other students and astronomers and be in an active research environment, and 3) gain invaluable hands-on experience with instruments, computers, and telescopes. Among my fond memories are going to Kitt Peak with Helmut to work on the 84-in telescope and on the Kitt Peak optical spectrographs, learning to observe with them and to develop photographic plates (yes, telescopes were identified in English units in those days and plates were the detectors of choice), and learning to program the CDC 160A computer in assembly language (talk about prehistoric, I think it only had something like 16K of memory and paper tape was a main I/O unit).
I think the combination of the high-quality education provided at Case and the summer experiences at Kitt Peak were main factors in my being able to go on to graduate school at Caltech and then begin my postdoctoral career at Cerro Tololo, and I strongly believe in the value today of summer REU or equivalent programs for students who wish to pursue a career in astronomy. I am very grateful for the opportunities that the Kitt Peak summer program offered me in the 1960s.
Dr. Wes Lockwood, Lowell Observatory
Larry Fredrick (Chair, University of Virginia) suggested some places to apply for summer work after my first year of graduate school and I was lucky enough to land at KP, working for Roger Lynds. Mainly this meant hanging out in a basement lab with Bob Barnes doing I don’t remember what. I suppose it was instrumentation work -Roger was in charge of some site testing hardware for the 4-m telescope. He called this PIMA (Polaris Image Monitoring {apparatus?}
We got to go to the mountain a few times. I recall learning to take direct plates, since Roger was then identifying Quasars by their colors. I picked up two new vices: coffee and pool.
The big event of the summer was on my first weekend in Tucson. I went camping alone in the Chiricahuas at a remote end of the road camp, and was attacked by a bear while sleeping. This made the national news. I still have clippings from the Tucson papers.
When I returned to Charlottesville in the fall of 1964, the Fan. Mountain site had been chosen and work had begun on the small reflector there. Four years later, I was hired as a Junior Astronomer at Kitt Peak. I cannot account for this incredible stroke of luck except for the prior friendship of Larry Fredrick and Art Hoag, and the fact that John Graham (whom I replaced) was deported to Chile after his visa for the USA ran out.
Dr. Fred Chaffee, University of North Carolina, former Director Keck Observatory
My direct experience of NOAO comes from the early days when it was still Kitt Peak National Observatory. In the fall of 1963, when I arrived as a new grad student at UA, KPNO was a fledgling observatory of much promise and excitement. I was fortunate enough to get a summer job there as a student during the next 4 years, learning about stellar spectroscopy under the watchful guidance of Helmut Abt. Helmut became my PhD thesis advisor and I can say unequivocally that working with Helmut set me on the wonderful career path I’ve enjoyed ever since. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to KPNO and Helmut’s support of students almost 50 years ago now.
Dr. Harold Reitsema, Ball Aerospace, Boulder:
I was a second-year graduate student at New Mexico State University in the Spring of 1974 when I saw a poster announcing summer student positions at KPNO. I had visited Kitt Peak on an observing run with a faculty member and was well aware of the energy surrounding Kitt Peak. I was encouraged by the faculty at NMSU to apply, and was very pleased to be selected for participation. I was assigned to Dr. Gary Grasdalen, who was active in studies of star formation and remnant disks using (primitive) IR detectors. The experience was important to me on several levels. I was exposed to world-class experts in a wide variety of astronomical fields, and I felt welcomed and included by these icons. I had excellent interactions with other summer students, and I had the opportunity to perform original research under the supervision of an inspiring mentor. This came at the perfect time for me, when I was completing my course studies and looking forward to dissertation research. The KPNO experience helped me prepare for my dissertation work by giving me experience in hands-on research and confidence in my abilities. An ancillary result was some humility associated with the scope of the task - while I did prepare an MS for a publication, I was well aware that it was quite primitive compared to a dissertation and helped me scope the effort possible for a dissertation project.
The dynamic astronomy environment in Tucson convinced me that I could do well there, and I came back to Tucson as a post-doc at the U of A in 1977.
Dr. Gloria Koinegsberger, UNAM, Mexico
In 1979—1980 I was a first year grad student in Case Western Reserve University when I was accepted as a Summer Student at KPNO. Upon my arrival at N. Cherry Ave, I was received by Dwane Carbon who informed me that I would be working with Carol Christian and Andy Bernat. Little did I know that during this Summer I would not only learn something about photometry and echelle spectroscopy, but I would establish ties that would turn out to be crucial for my future academic career and, I dare say, for the progress of astronomy in Mexico.
My undergraduate thesis dealt with the analysis of temporal variability in the Wolf-Rayet star HD 50896. I had learned to do wavelength calibrations of 1-dimensional digitized spectra. But the echelle spectroscopy project at KPNO opened up (literally and figuratively!) another dimension: learning to digitize plates, apply the density-to-intensity calibrations, do the line identifications, were experiences that have served me well during my entire academic career. But there is more. Upon sighting the observing calendar on one of the bulletin boards I noticed that there was free time available on the 2m Coude’ Feed. Along with HD 50896, we had observed in Tonanzintla several other WR’s which also appeared to have periodic variability. So, I wrote a brief proposal requesting some of the free time and was granted 4 nights of bright time.
My impression at arriving at KPNO was of complete astonishment. There was a Solar Telescope! The 2m and 4m telescopes had night assistants! The Coudé Feed had a mirror that would roll out on rails at the beginning of the night and feed the light into the spectrograph! You could literally walk inside the spectrograph! My adventures over the 4 nights observing run are a topic for some other time. The relevant points here are: 1) I lived the experience of observing in KPNO and got a taste of what it’s like to have a National Observatory; 2) while there, Phil Massey phoned to ask if someone could get him a spectrum of CV Serpentis; I did, and this taught me the basics of an open system of collaboration, one I now firmly believe in. It also was the start of a long-standing friendship lasting to the present days.
I returned to Mexico to a research position at the Instituto de Astronomia (IA) at UNAM, Mexico’s National University. In 1986, I read a note written by Steve Grandi in the NOAO Newsletter about the networking developments at NOAO (I think it was the December 1986 issue….I still have the copy). In Mexico, we were completely disconnected, in terms of computer networks and even phone lines were a disaster. So I phoned Steve to ask how we at the IA could join the network being set up at NOAO. Had I not met him during my Summer Student visit, I probably wouldn’t have thought to phone him. He recommended that I contact Peter Shames at STSCI. The rest of the story is also for another occasion, but the bottom line is that this led to Mexico’s first fully-operational Internet link being established in 1989. The connection was achieved using Mexico’s telecommunications satellite “Morelos I” to link land stations at NCAR and on the roof of our Astronomy Institute building in Mexico City. Needless to describe the new doors this link opened for scientific research at our University and the potential for world-wide collaboration, and in particular, collaboration with our US colleagues.
Finally, in 1990 I was designated Director of the Instituto de Astronomia. The IA is responsible for the operation of the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional, situated in both Tonanzintla and in San Pedro Martir. The latter was still under development with numerous daunting operational problems. My familiarity with KPNO gave me the encouragement to seek advice from people there. In fact, some of my technical staff were invited to visit KPNO so they could discuss specific problems we were having (one of which, I believe, had to do with the power plants at SPM). This, together with the fact that several of our research staff had observed at NOAO, helped us frame a vision for the operation of our SPM observatory as a National observatory.
When one quantifies the achievements of institutions, there are contributions that do not fall within the parameter space usually used today. I believe that NOAO’s contributions go way beyond those that are generally recognized through the use of today’s metrics. I shall forever be grateful for its generosity and openness.
Dr. Eileen Friel, Director, Lowell Observatory
I am an alumna of the summer research program. I was introduced to astronomy in 1978 as a summer intern at KPNO. This was before the REU program began at NSF, but it all operated much the same way. It would be wonderful to put together a list of former summer students. I have a feeling it would include many of us in the field now. The program has had an enormous impact. Even now when I come down for NOAO business or for an observing run, memories of that first summer in 1978 are still fresh in my mind. The experience I had that summer, and the people I met really determined my career and I am grateful for it.
I started the CTIO REU program while I was at Maria Mitchell Observatory. It was the first international REU program funded by NSF (There are many more now). We debated whether to run it during the northern or southern summer, but opted for the southern summer so that it would be integrated with the Chilean student program. It worked very well, and I think can claim to be a success. I ran the program for its first two summers before I went to NSF.
The student programs at NOAO have been a fundamental aspect of the professional lives of many astronomers.
I’m sure you’ll hear the same from many of us.
