Profile

James Gilbert
I WON! This has been such a blast :) Now, let's go launch a space balloon...
Curriculum Vitae
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Education
I went to Torquay Boys’ Grammar School between 1998 and 2005, Bath University between 2005 and 2009, and since 2013 I’ve been ‘back at school’ at Oxford University. -
Qualifications
I’ve got a Master of Engineering (‘MEng’) in Electronics with Space Science and Technology, and A-Levels in Physics, Maths and Design & Technology. My main GCSEs were in Science, Maths, English, Design & Technology, Music, and Spanish. -
Work History
I was an electronics engineer at the Australian Astronomical Observatory in Sydney, Australia. I’ve also been a hotel porter, a builder, a burger ‘chef’, an ice cream seller, and a rock concert photographer. -
Current Job
I’ve gone back to university to do a PhD in Astrophysics, building equipment to observe stars and galaxies with some (rather large) telescopes. -
Employer
University of Oxford department of Physics
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Favourite thing to do in my job: When you think “well this is a crackers idea, but let’s just try it”, and it works!
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My Work: I build robotic telescope instrumentation for mapping the Universe!
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My Typical Day: I’ll be tinkering with some hardware – usually a robot – or writing code to test it.
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I work in a lab, but there aren’t any white coats. In my lab you’ll find three computers, a box full of tools and an iPod dock. You’ll also find Steve and Sandra, who are robots.
Steve doesn’t look like you or I, but he has a very important job to do in the world of astronomy. In a couple of years, Steve will be on top of a telescope in the Canary Islands, taking care of the complicated task of moving one thousand optical fibres into *just* the right place to catch the light from individual stars in the sky. This has to be done so quickly and with such accuracy that humans would find it impossible. With Steve, astronomers will be able to precisely measure the electromagnetic spectrum coming from one thousand stars (or faraway galaxies) in just one hour. That’s more than 2 million every year!
This is Steve! What you can’t see is how he can place things to an accuracy of the width of a human blood cell!
So on a typical day I’ll be working on Steve’s control system, either hardware (computer networks and motor controllers) or writing code for his ‘brain’.Don’t tell the astronomers, but Steve has two secret modes:
copying human handwriting, and
making gin and tonics.(Sometimes the freedom to experiment goes a bit far.)
I love my work. I’m allowed to work pretty much however I want, because it’s the results that matter. I have a boss, but I’m never told what to do. When you’re a scientist, there’s always something you know a lot more about than anyone else, and there is a mutual respect for that. You become an expert among other experts 🙂 You still have to work hard and you still have to meet deadlines, but your work is exactly that – yours!
Ask me about Steve if you like, or about Sandra the ‘spinebot’ or ‘Starbugs’! Starbugs are my favourite past project 😀
This is ‘the office’:
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What I'd do with the prize money: I’d launch a high-altitude balloon project, where students like you get to send experiments to the edge of space! (pics below)
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This is a weather balloon just after launch (Image credit: flickr/superciliousness)
This is the view from a weather balloon on its way to the edge of space! (Image credit: flickr/jabella)
Did you know that the outer atmosphere of Earth, about 30 km up, is similar to the conditions on the surface of Mars? Did you know that large rubber balloons filled with helium can go there?As a way to get school students thinking about what might be useful to take to Mars in the future, I’d fund a high-altitude balloon project to send a range of student-designed experiments right into the heart of our harsh stratosphere, where the air is thin, the (electromagnetic!) radiation is high and the temperature is low. Just like on Mars 🙂
When the balloon bursts due to the low air pressure around it, it would be tracked on its fall back down to Earth, picked up, and the experiments would be returned to their creators. Oh and there’d be an awesome on-board movie of the whole thing.
Here’s an example of a similar balloon by a guy called Dave Akerman. Dave uses a cheap computer called a Raspberry Pi to track the balloon and also to take photos and videos from ‘the edge of space’. My balloon would be similar, but with *your* experiments on board too.
I think this is a pretty neat idea, and you can help to make it a reality if you kindly give me your vote!
Also I’d be really interested to hear what YOU would send to Mars 😀
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Imaginative, resourceful, ambitious.
What or who inspired you to follow your career?
I realised that I didn’t want to be an engineer who designed commercial products, but that I wanted to do something with a broader purpose. Discovering more about the Universe and where we came from is one of those things.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Always in trouble for homework (lack of). Nothing serious though..
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Perhaps a wildlife photographer :)
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Quite possibly one of these: Coheed & Cambria, Dream Theater, Radiohead, Rammstein m/
What's your favourite food?
Indian – the spicier the better.
What is the most fun thing you've done?
Touring California in a campervan with my soon-to-be wife.
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To always do work I feel is meaningful. To always know good people. To always remember to be happy.
Tell us a joke.
How do you throw a party in space? ………………. You planet.
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My profile link:
https://ias.im/u.88333
My Comments
what is your favourite Disney film? (1 comments)
do you like to thing yourself as clever? (2 comments)
What sport do you do? (1 comments)