Meet Kevin, Emily and Bob

When Dr. Joseph Harrington began giving a colloquium about exoplanets in Canada, Kevin Stevenson didn't have an inkling his world was about to head south: Florida, that is! A Kelowna Canadian child, Kevin grew up skiing the slopes of Big White, rock climbing, and playing baseball, soccer. and football. At night he would wistfully scan the night sky, imagining himself a star sailor exploring the outer reaches of the universe. Eventually he applied to become an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency. Though his application was declined, his yearning to explore outer space did not diminish.

As he listened to Dr. Harrington, Kevin realized that research in exoplanets would take him where he wanted to go.

He spent Christmas 2007 with his family playing tennis and sipping ice cappuccinos by the pool. He even honed his rock climbing skills at UCF's rock wall. During the semester, he began fulfilling his dream to explore outer space.

Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, Kevin frequently visits other solar systems to measure exoplanets by their own light with Dr. Harrington in UCF's Planetary Sciences Group.

An Interview with Emily

Q: What was your defining moment in choosing your present education choice, astronomy?

A: Summer of 2003, when I attended an advanced Summer Program. It was pretty selective: only a 1/3rd of students get in. Our choices ranged from Mechanical Engineering to Fine Arts to Literature. I was selected for the astronomy program. It was very exciting because we had hands on experience with the observatory telescope. I remember staying up to 3:00 in the morning, finally falling to sleep on the observatory floor. I still have photos of the Dumbbell Nebula we took through their digital camera, plus my classmates. (see Emily's photos on her gallery)

Q: Of all of the schools why did you choose the University of Central Florida?

A: My professors at MIT listed the top universities offering PhD programs in Planetary Sciences and Astronomy and UCF was listed. I had the opportunity to attend a DPS meeting and it was then I firmed up my decision.

Q: How's that?

A: It was cold and wet in New Hampshire and UCF's campus was bright and sunny. A big contrast, I enjoyed all the flowers, nature walks, and the mild temperature, plus I found the graduate students at UCF very friendly.

Q: What research was going on at that time?

A: Exo-planets, small bodies and asteroids. Plus I felt the professors were a good match because they are known in their field, not fresh out of school. It was all pretty exciting, especially the ongoing research of Dr. Yan Fernandez, whose overarching goal is to understand the thermal, physical, and compositional environment of the Solar System's creation. He also uses telescope in Arizona, Hawaii, and Chile to study active comets, dormant comets, near-Earth asteroids, and outer Solar System objects.

Q: It does sound exciting. So where do you suppose your interest in outer space came from?

A: I've always had an interest in protecting our planet, and that includes protecting earth from small bodies, like an asteroid impact. My parents foster cared for the animal shelter, so I grew up nurturing unwanted kitties and dogs. One of my fondest memories were of six black kittens I help care for. So that's probable why I feel protective of earth. Plus I've always been curious, wondering how things worked, so naturally I liked science.

Q: Little girls were not always encouraged to have an interest in science, where did your support come from?

A: Girl Scouts. I eventually became a counselor in training at a Girl Scout Summer camp, where I tried to foster an interest in science and nature as my counselors had done to me when I was young. Another incident that comes to mind is while growing up I loved to read, so much that the local librarian noticed and relaxed the rules just for me! Instead of one book I could take two. I thought that was pretty special.

Q: Are you still involved with Girl Scouts?

A: Yes. Here at UCF we have public awareness night, whereas the scouts can come to our Observatory and ask questions. Our most recent topic was the Moons of Jupiter. I find the scout leaders very supportive of the Girl Scout's interest in astronomy encouraging questions such as is there or was there life on Mars.

Q: Where do you see yourself in Astronomy's future?

A: I would like to be a professor and continue my research.

Q: Do you have any parting thoughts?

A: I have been pleasantly surprised by how nature oriented Orlando Florida is. I grew up hiking, camping, back packing the White Mountains of New Hampshire. And I am amazed at all the nature trails, reserves and places to explore. Just recently I saw manatees swimming in a beautiful blue river, with other wildlife nearby as well. And every weekend I explore some place new, and have an amazing new experience. There's just so much to see and do here.

An Interview with Bob Macke

Q: Going back in time, when you were little, did you have an interest in science?

A: Okay, it's been a while since I went back in time. My DeLorean is in the shop. :) But here goes... As a child, I was fascinated by all things "science", especially astronomy, astrophysics and planetary science. My father would attend the Lunar and Planetary Science conferences in Houston (back when the conference was held at JSC) and would come home with all sorts of books, slides, etc. on the planets and other astronomical things. It was so cool. Every year when he went, I would eagerly await his return to see what he brought back. (He would also bring home the ginormous yellow bound volumes of conference abstracts. That was my introduction to scientific communication. Not so cool, since I couldn't understand most of it.) What is doubly cool is that now I attend the conferences myself. (And instead of being weighed down by volumes of abstracts I just get a little CD with all that stuff -- in color even!)

Q: How did your family influence your current research path?

A: Um, the dad at LPSC thing. Yeah. For the most part, I come from a rather intellectual family, and so academic success and studying in your area of interest were encouraged. Especially science and technology. (My dad is a geologist, and my uncle is a computer scientist/electrical engineer who often presented us gifts of electrical gadgets that we would have fun with before we opened them up to peek at their innards.)

Q: What was your defining moment when you made the decision to follow the career path you are on?

A: On the science end of the career path, I cannot think of a time when I wasn't interested in science. Near the end of high school, I needed to apply to college and I figured that MIT would be a nice school to which to apply. When I got accepted, it was obvious that I would go there (Who wouldn't, if given the opportunity?) and study physics (with astrophysics as my "area," though that was less of an issue at the undergrad level). As for the Jesuit end of the career path, I was in graduate school at Washington University (in St. Louis) working toward a PhD in physics while researching presolar grains. I attended a retreat throught the campus Catholic ministry, and while in silent prayer came to recognize my call to religious life. I felt the need to integrate my intellectual, spiritual and social life in a special way. I found what I needed in the Jesuit order, and eventually left grad school--with a "consolation prize" Master's degree--to join the order.

Q: How did you end up at the University of Central Florida?

A: I was actually invited to UCF. I had done some meteorite research with Guy Consolmagno at the Vatican Observatory. He is good friends with Dan Britt. When Dan told him about the funding he had for meteorite research, stating that all he needed was a PhD student to do the work, Guy replied "it just so happens that I know someone in need of a PhD." The PhD is a necessary step in my preparation for eventually working at the Vatican Observatory. UCF is a nice school. I don't spend much time there, since my research takes me to meteorite collections around the country and the world, but Florida makes for a nice "home base." The other members of the planetary science group, and the students in physics and mathematics that I encounter on a regular basis, are a lot of fun to be with and we form a nice little community. The weather in December and January ain't bad either. :)

Q: And tell me about your current research –– it sounds interesting.

A: I study meteorite physical properties -- density, porosity and magnetic susceptibility. The work is a survey of these properties for as many meteorites of as many different types as possible, with a particular emphasis on ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites. We already know that these properties can provide us with some valuable information about meteorite parent bodies (the objects from which they originated). For instance, comparison of porosity measured in meteorites with the porosity measured in the analogous asteroids tells us something about asteroid structure. In this case, it tells us that asteroids are more like rubble-piles of loosely bound stones rather than one giant solid rock. I hope that the survey will provide additional clues about parent body structure, formation and even perhaps something about the early solar nebula out of which these formed. In order to do the research, I must visit multiple major meteorite collections and study lots and lots of stones. In order to secure permissions from curators, my methods have to be fast, non-contaminating and non-destructive. I have already visited collections at the Vatican, the American Museum of Natural History (New York) and the Smithsonian Institution - National Museum of Natural History Washington DC). I am currently on a research trip that will take me to the Monnig collection (Texas Christian University, Fort Worth), the Institute of Meteorites (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque) and the Center for Meteorite Studies (Arizona State University, Phoenix). Future travels include the Field Museum (Chicago), the Natural History Museum (London) and le Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (Paris).

Q: What is your secret research dream?

A: Hrm... Secret dream.... I don't know that I have an answer to that one. I guess my "pie in the sky" hope, beyond all degree of reason, would be that the research unlocks an answer to one of the great problems plaguing solar system formation. Is that what you are looking for?