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Aaron Chippendale
My life as a scientist
I am now working on the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope.
This will have one million square metres of effective collecting
area. It'll be 100 times more sensitive than the best radio telescope
we have today! Australia is part of an international group who propose
to build it and we have just the right of type of 'radio-quiet'
space to do it in.
The best thing about my job is the variety of challenges and the prospect
of doing something towards answering the ultimate question of 'life,
the universe and everything'. The thing I hate is not having enough
time to follow up every single one of the many exciting research paths
and opportunities I come across.
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"As Einstein said: "Imagination
is more important than knowledge" and in my job that is
true." |
How I got here
I started mucking around with batteries, switches and lights when
in preschool. I had some teachers who had us doing interesting experiments
and my father taught me to use a soldering iron. That was probably
a mistake because I used it to modify his music stand to put my
telescope on!
Einstein was a big hero for me when I was young. This guy had so
much insight into science and philosophy and he also spent a lot
of time sailing!
I studied engineering with honours in Aerospace Avionics at the
Queensland University of Technology. I've just started working on
a PhD thesis in Astrophysics at the University of Sydney.
Fave food: Sushi
and Indian (but not together!)
Fave movie: Pi
the Movie, Wayne's World, Go, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,
LOTR.
Fave book: The Hitchhikers' Guide
to the Galaxy, The Idiot, The Mars Trilogy. |
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What I think of science as a career
Is my area of science a 'happening' field? How more happening could
you get? I'm applying the latest technology to figure out where
the universe came from!
Science is there every day. I have to be able to speak science
as well as engineering. I really enjoy working in between both
of these
and I feel that's where ideas flourish. As Einstein said: "Imagination
is more important than knowledge" and in my job that is true.
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