There are a limited number of people who can say that they have saved Alan Alda’s life or went to high school with Robin Williams. In addition, a select group of astrophysicists and astronomers can lay claim to the discovery of 70 percent of the universe.
In the scope of Nicholas Suntzeff’s life, he has eyed all three.
Suntzeff, professor of observational astronomy at Texas A&M U., has seen his life take him from San Francisco to a 21-year stint in Chile before a final journey back to the U.S. in College Station.
“[In Chile,] I basically got to do research for 100 percent of the time,” Suntzeff said. “It was a dream.”
Suntzeff can chalk off a prestigious government fellowship to his proverbial list.
The Jefferson Science Fellowship is a fellowship with the U.S. State Department. Fellows are based in Washington, D.C., but have an opportunity to work abroad in order to articulate accurate science for statecraft, which is becoming an increasingly key component in 21st century diplomacy.
“I am the first astronomer they have ever picked,” Suntzeff said.
As a Jefferson Fellow at the State Department, he will in effect, attempt to help break down the wall of ignorance that separates countries from the West.
“One of the things I am interested in is to work with the Arab countries to help them to build a large telescope,” Suntzeff said. “It is a good way to bring countries together in an international treaty around a science project.”
While Suntzeff has been at A&M, he has had an effect on those who have studied and researched under his tutelage. “Although I knew very little about astronomy when I met him, Nick has taught me how to be an astronomer,” said Sam Gooding, a graduate student in astronomy.
Gooding also received his bachelor’s degree in physics at A&M, and has been researching with Suntzeff since his arrival.
There are also non-physics majors who give Suntzeff a top-notch rating as a professor. Zach Walton, graduate student in mechanical engineering, is one of those people.
“Dr. Suntzeff is one of the few great professors I have had the privilege to learn from,” Walton said. “His main goal, which he expresses the first week of classes, isn’t that you are able to understand the most difficult aspects of math or physics, but instead that you learn something, anything really.”
Kevin Krisciunas, Suntzeff’s colleague and a lecturer in physics and astronomy, said Suntzeff’s pragmatic approach was fundamental in being selected for the fellowship.
“Nick has sat on various national committees that decide scientific priorities for expensive projects,” Krisciunas said. “It is useful to have people at the table who will not just rubberstamp the agenda of the chairman of the meeting.”
In 1998, Suntzeff and a colleague from the High-Z Supernova Team discovered that the universe was expanding at an accelerating rate and 70 percent of the universe is composed of dark energy, which is responsible for the expansion.
“The data just said we had just seen 70 percent of the universe that no one else had ever seen before,” Suntzeff said.
So far, the discovery has held up under scrutiny. Scientists are still unsure what the nature of dark energy may be. With discoveries of this magnitude, Suntzeff said he hoped he did not mess up.
Yet with prestige, comes scrutiny. As recently as April, Suntzeff got criticized for his view on String Theory. On this occasion though, Stephen Hawking gave the minor insult at a public lecture at A&M in April. On the question about whether or not he believed in String Theory, Suntzeff said “yes” and began to explain his reasoning. However, in the middle of his explanation, he heard something loud and mechanical.
“The famous guy over there in the wheelchair just said ‘no, I don’t believe in string theory,’” said Suntzeff. “So I felt like crawling in a hole at that point.”
To the audience’s laughter, Suntzeff responded with “take back everything I just said.”