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July 2009
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Canadian Astronomer Profile: Dr. Arif Babul

Arif Babul

Professor
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria

 

Education Background:

Research Interests:

"Over the course of my career, I have worked on a wide variety of topics ranging from flow of matter onto black holes and exotic early-universe features such as “superconducting cosmic strings,” to the distorting effects caused by the bending of light beams by gravity as predicted by Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. However, the topic that has truly captured my imagination is the quest to understand how cosmic structures, like galaxies and the larger galaxy clusters came to be.

"Observations inform us that the Universe emerged from the fires of Big Bang, nearly 15 billion years ago, in an exceedingly smooth and homogenous state. And yet, gazing out at the Cosmos today, we see a highly organized Universe in which matter is spun into rich web-like chains of galaxies, occasionally punctuated by massive dynamic swarms of up to a thousand bright galaxies held together by their mutual gravity, all woven around giant voids millions of light-years across. Explaining the transition from the smooth beginnings to today's highly organized Universe is a truly fascinating riddle.

"For many years now, I have been working with a number of collaborators, such as Professors Tom Quinn of the University of Washington, Neal Katz of the University of Massachusetts, Michael Balogh of the University of Waterloo, Gil Holder of McGill University and Henk Hoekstra of the University of Victoria to name a few, to understand how the various components (gas, dark matter, galaxies and stars) mix and mingle, and give rise to the observed cosmic sculptures.

"The quest is as much a challenge of perseverance as of creativity, requiring an understanding of a wide range of physics as well as facility with a host of tools ranging from analytic calculations carried out with nothing more than a pen and some paper, to involved numerical simulations where we attempt to simulate the entire evolution of the Universe, replicating the Universe's 15 billion year history in anywhere from two weeks to several months, depending on the degree of detail that we wish to capture in the simulations."

Professional Accomplishments:

"Over the course of my career, I have strived to establish a record of publications that emphasizes excellence over all other considerations. Three-quarters of my published papers over the 10 year period 1994-2003 (inclusive) rank within the top 10% in terms of citations. Moreover, between 1 to 3 of my papers published in each year between 1994 and 2003 (inclusive) rank in the top 10%.

"Of these, I am especially proud of the following five publications:

  • Babul, A., Balogh, M.L., Lewis, G.F., Poole, G.B., “Physical Implications of the X-ray Properties of Galaxy Groups and Clusters”, 2002, MNRAS, 330, 329.
  • Babul, A., Ferguson, H.C., “Faint Blue Galaxies and the Epoch of Dwarf-Galaxy Formation”, 1996, ApJ, 458, 100.
  • Squires, G., Kaiser, N., Babul, A., Fahlman, G., Woods, D., Neumann, D., Boehringer, H., “The Dark Matter, Gas and Galaxy Distributions in Abell 2218: A Weak Lensing and X-ray Analysis”, 1996, ApJ, 461, 572
  • Miralda-Escude, J., Babul, A., “Gravitational Lensing in Clusters of Galaxies: New Clues Regarding the Dynamics of Intracluster Gas”, 1995, ApJ, 449, 18.
  • Babul, A., Rees, M.J., “On Dwarf Ellipticals and the Faint Blue Counts”, 1992, MNRAS, 255, 346.

"Most of these either rank within the top 1% in terms of citations received, or fall just shy of the 1% threshold. Based on an independent analysis of astronomy and astrophysics papers published in reputable refereed journals worldwide over the period January 1981 to December 1998 by Dr. D. Burstein of the Arizona State University, the second of these papers is one of the top 10 high-impact papers in the year of its publication. Only four other Canadian astronomers/astrophysicists have had publications listed amongst the annual top 10 over the period 1981-1998. Beyond the statistics, a number of these papers represent a watershed in their respective sub fields."

Why study/work in Canada?

"My decision to leave a tenure-track faculty position at the New York University
in the U.S. was informed by two key considerations:

1 - Research Excellence.
"With active high-calibre researchers like Don Vandenburg and Chris Pritchet on the faculty, a reputation of being the highest impact astronomy and astrophysics group in Canada, the University of Victoria, and the drawing power to attract the top-notch graduate students, the University of Victoria was a "happenin" place. And in the past seven years, the excitement has continued to build up with the hiring of top-notch young faculty, like Sara Ellison and Henk Hoekstra, the securing of a number of Canada Foundation for Innovation infrastructure grants, and the establishment of vibrant linkages with the Herzberg Institute for Astrophysics through the good offices of Doug Johnstone and David Crampton. It is safe to say that the group has evolved a tremendous depth in extragalactic astronomy and astrophysics.

2 - Kinder, Gentler Society.
"Second of my two reasons is a more personal one. Having immigrated to Canada at the age of ten and grown up here, I am very conscious of the tremendous privileges that the Canadian civil society offers to its citizens, privileges and in fact, its underlying philosophy, that unfortunately most of us take for granted. Having lived in the US and the UK, both my wife and I came to appreciate that Canada - with its vibrant pluralistic multicultural ethos is the best place to live, and THE place that we wanted our children to call home."

Interested in becoming an Astronomer?

"I'd argue that astronomy and astrophysics are among the most challenging of the sciences, but also the most fun! We don't have laboratories or accelerators; we can't
typically put a material from a distant galaxy over a bunsen burner flame, we can't build a star on a tabletop shut it down and start again with different conditions, and we certainly can't rerun the Big Bang experiment over and over. Instead, like detectives, we extract clues from the light and motions from distant stars and galaxies, and then, by drawing together these clues using concepts and ideas from a wide range of areas --- from particle physics to gravitation, from electromagnetism to organic chemistry, from computer science to material sciences, from biology to geophysics --- begin to weave the clues into a coherent, logical description of the formation and the evolution of cosmic structure. An astronomer must be a person that thrives in the unknown, loves to
be challenged - even to the brink of frustration - and does all this for the sheer joy of it! After all, nobody amasses great wealth doing astronomy. For this reason, it important that students who wish to pursue a career in astronomy and astrophysics, do so with their eyes wide open.

"The path to becoming an astronomer or astrophysicist with the privilege of conducting
independent research is a long and at times, frustratingly arduous. Most astronomy positions require a Ph.D. degree. Before embarking on this journey, students should look inside themselves and ask why they want to do so? If the answer is that they have a passion for the subject, are deeply curious about Nature and the Universe, and have been blessed with judicious mix of an analytic disposition and a creative imagination, then I would say that they are ideal candidates to pursue a career in astronomy.

"Second, I would assert they need to cultivate a "go-getter" attitude, be it in high school or undergraduate school. The self-driven students create opportunities for themselves, opportunities that allow them to put their skills and passion on display. These can range from starting science clubs in high schools, to meeting with professors in undergraduate school to find out more about local research efforts, to taking advantage of the NSERC summer researcher awards. Making yourself and your interests known will draw out teachers and faculty members more than willing to help you along on your journey with advice, engage you in actual research projects (excellent experience) and perhaps even, agree to write strong letters of recommendations on your behalf. Graduate schools often look for evidence of sustained interest and self-motivation when evaluating student applications.

"Finally --- and by putting this last, I certainly do not mean to imply that this is the least important because it definitely is not ---is the ability to push hard in order to pursue excellence when called upon. And here, I mean excellence in a variety of aspects. There is the pursuit of excellence in one's education - doing well with consistency. It is often said that one only really needs to do well in mathematics and sciences, but I would assert that languages and social sciences are also important. All four areas contribute to one's ability to engage in critical thinking. Language and communications are further important, for a scientist who cannot speak or communicate his or her ideas to others will be at a disadvantage.

"Here, I should also mention that there is a general assumption that students who wish to pursue graduate programs in astronomy should also major in astronomy in their undergraduate years. I personally don't view an astronomy undergraduate degree as a prerequisite. Yes, a strong grounding in the physical sciences is essential but that grounding can come from programs in Engineering (I graduated from the Eng Sci program at UofT), or physics or joint math/physics, physics/astronomy, etc. Then, there is the pursuit of excellence in terms of identifying and applying to schools with top-notch programs or dynamic researchers in your area of interest. And there is the pursuit of excellence in researching into the very people you'd like to work with to ensure that your interests, temperaments, and goals are compatible. Graduate school should be a wonderfully creative experience that propels you to a successful career, not a drudgery!"

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