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Profile: Dr. Michael Tripicco
Biography
Astronomer? Computer Programmer? Manager? In his work at NASA's
Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Dr. Mike Tripicco juggles
all these responsibilities, and more.
Mike grew up in Mamaroneck, New York (part of Westchester County, north
of New York City). As a kid, he leaned toward science in the "typical
ways: dinosaurs, rock collection, chemistry set, etc." When he was about
8 years old, he got a department store telescope for Christmas. "I was
fascinated to observe the Moon, Jupiter and its moons, and Saturn's
rings," Mike recalls. About the same time, the Apollo lunar landings
started, and Mike watched excitedly with the rest of the world as humanity
took its first steps on the moon.
These experiences helped seal Mike's interest in science. But it
didn't necessarily mean he was headed for a career in astronomy.
In high school, he took AP chemistry, physics and calculus as well as
several advanced anatomy and physiology classes. He was also
introduced to computers, and learned not only programming, but how
to hack the machine!
After high school, Mike went to college at the University of Rochester (http://www.rochester.edu/), intending to major in chemistry.
During his sophomore year, however, a conflict between class times
forced him to choose between Organic Chemistry and Astronomy.
In a fateful decision, Mike chose the latter, "and never took another
chemistry class!" he cheerfully reports.
A Ph.D. in Paradise
Mike's love of astronomy soon took him away from more than chemistry.
In 1982, he went to graduate school at the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy (http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/). There, Mike
did research for his Ph.D. using the Mauna Kea Observatories (http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/), a telescope complex located over
13,000 feet above sea level, high atop Hawaii's mount Mauna Kea.
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Telescopes atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, one of the highest mountains in the world. |
To collect data for his Ph.D. thesis, Mike got to use the 2.2 meter
(88 inch) telescope at Mauna Kea. The telescope was still guided
by hand, which meant Mike had to "steer" the telescope himself,
pointing it at whatever he wanted to observe. "I spent many cold
nights sitting on the (telescope) platform in the pitch-dark,
listening to music, guide paddle in hand," Mike says.
Show me a picture of the telescope Mike used for his thesis!
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The Andromeda Galaxy (http://zebu.uoregon.edu/messier/m31.txt) (image by the Electronic Universe Project (http://zebu.uoregon.edu/))
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Mike also used the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/) on Mauna Kea. His
work there lead to several scientific papers about the chemicals
found in stars.
Mike studied globular clusters in the nearby spiral Andromeda Galaxy
(M31) for his thesis. He completed his research in 1987,
and received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Hawaii.
From Galaxies to Goddard
After Hawaii, Mike moved to the University of Maryland (http://www.astro.umd.edu/) for post-doctoral study. There, he
continued his research by developing complex computer programs to
aid in the understanding of spectra from stars. While doing this,
he noticed two things: first, that he really enjoyed the computer
programming part of the work, and second, that the market for
traditional astronomy jobs at universities was extremely tight.
So, in 1995, Mike switched tracks and decided to be a full-time
computer programmer. He checked out the nearby NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/)
which prizes programmers with a detailed knowledge of astronomy.
Soon, Mike was working as a contract computer programmer at
Goddard's Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics (LHEA) (http://lhea.gsfc.nasa.gov/).
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Swift (http://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/)
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Today, Mike is still at LHEA, writing programs that analyze data from
X-ray and Gamma Ray telescopes. He's employed by SSAI (http://www.ssaihq.com/)(Science
Systems and Applications, Inc.), a local company that provides
programmers for Goddard. Mike writes programs that analyze data from
NASA missions like the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/XTE.html) and the upcoming Swift (http://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/) satellite, which will
hunt for Gamma Ray Bursts. Mike has even become involved in some of
the management work at SSAI. He now has to juggle hiring new staff
and overseeing budgets, in addition to his programming responsibilities!
After several years, what does Mike have to say about his decision
to pursue programming instead of astrophysics? "I find that I much
prefer this kind of work (supporting space science) to being a
researcher myself. Writing good, portable software which is used
by scientists worldwide is very challenging, and I take great
satisfaction in the discoveries and advances made possible by my
work." He adds, "Likewise, the management work brings its own set of
challenges and rewards, which are quite different from those found
in the pure research world."
A Typical Work Day
Since Mike is involved in many different projects, he can often
be found working on two or three tasks - simultaneously! For
example, Mike manages the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE)
data archive. The archive contains all the data from the RXTE
satellite: over a terabyte (1,000,000,000,000 bytes) of data so far.
Each day, as RXTE makes new observations, Mike has computer programs
which automatically pick up the processed data and place it in the
archive, making the data available to astronomers
all over the world. Other automatic programs run during the day or
night analyzing RXTE data. When Mike comes in each morning, he looks
at the logs from these programs. (Some of the programs send him e-mail
saying what they've done!) If he sees any errors in the logs, he
has to drop everything and immediately investigate the problem.
Similarly, Mike gets e-mail from several mailing lists where users
of LHEA software report bugs. If mail comes in about a program Mike
is responsible for, he has to quickly diagnose and correct the
problem.
So Mike's day can be pretty unpredictable. If there are no errors
and no bug reports, he has larger projects to work on, like writing
new software for NASA missions. But at any time, he might be
interrupted if a problem is found. Mike is adept at switching
quickly from one topic to another, perhaps working on a new program,
stopping to track down and fix a bug reported elsewhere, and
then resuming his original work. He might also stop to attend
one of several meetings where team members gather to report their
progress and plan future work. Somehow, Mike keeps on top of it
all and makes sure everything gets done: the new programs are
completed on time, the questions from users are answered, and
the RXTE archive stays up and runs smoothly.
Other Interests
When not at work, Mike is still a very busy guy: "I have more
outside interests than my free time allows!" Most important is
spending time with his wife and daughter. The family travels
regularly to visit relatives in New York, with occasional vacations
as far away as Alaska or Hawaii. Mike's also a big music fan,
with a large collection of live and studio CDs. "My musical interests
are all over the map, ranging from bluegrass to classic jazz (not
that 'lite' stuff!) to more modern improvisational rock groups
and so-called 'jam bands.'"
Mike also enjoys movies, and has created a home theater with
widescreen TV and full surround-sound, plus a large library
of DVDs. It probably comes as no surprise that Mike likes
juggling, too! He taught himself from a book when he was
about 12, and has honed his skills, until now he can juggle
up to 5 balls at once! Mike is fascinated by the syncopation
involved in juggling, and especially likes "passing
clubs with other jugglers, i.e., throwing stuff at each other."
Tell me more about Mike's juggling!
Finally, reading for pleasure has been a lifelong interest for Mike.
"I mostly read non-fiction, but for the last few years I've been
in a small reading group here at Goddard which has given me an excuse
to read classic fiction (eg. Joyce's Ulysses (http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/clastext/clspg158.htm))
which I overlooked (or actively avoided!) during my high school and
college education."
Questions and Answers
Q: Who was your favorite teacher in school? What was
this teacher like and how did he/she influence your life?
A: Dr. Myrna Thomas, a biology teacher at my high school
had a lot to do with
me pursuing science as a career. "Doc", as she liked to be called, was the
first PhD I'd ever actually gotten to know, which somehow made that seem
like an achievable goal to me and it demonstrated that scientists were
real people. Besides being a wonderful teacher, she was very friendly
with the math and science geeks -- she sponsored the Gin Club, where
we would all get together in her classroom at lunchtime to play cards
(and despite the name of the club we played Spades exclusively).
Q: If time travel were possible, when and where would you visit and why?
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J.S. Bach |
Frank Zappa |
A: I've always wanted to go back and play some of my favorite modern-day
music for the great composers to see what they'd think about it. Imagine
the fun in playing some Frank Zappa for J.S. Bach (http://www.jsbach.org/)!
Q: What do you think is the most important technological advance that has
occurred in your lifetime?
A: I regularly amuse my daughter by telling her about all of the things
that she takes for granted which didn't exist when I was her age. But
all the gadgets and toys notwithstanding, I think the advance which has
had the most profound impact on me was the space program: the manned
lunar landings as well as the robotic planetary exploration missions and
orbiting observatories. However, the ubiquitous presence of computers in
our lives would certainly be a contender for the title of "most important
technical advance".
Q: What one question in science would you like to see answered in your
lifetime?
A: Although it's completely outside my own field, I'm fascinated by the
question of the origin and nature of consciousness. A neuron is just
a binary switch; it clearly isn't "aware". Yet when several billion of
them are assembled into a human brain, consciousness emerges complete
with thoughts, emotions and boundless creativity. Can humankind build
a conscious machine? If so, imagine the moral and ethical implications!
Q: Do you have a family? Any pets?
A: My wife, Cathy Marron, is a corporate travel agent. Our daughter Melissa
will be entering 8th grade this fall. And we have one pet, a 3-year-old
yellow Labrador Retriever named Madison.
Q: What is the one big dream you have, or the one thing that you would like to
accomplish during your lifetime?
A: To effortlessly juggle five clubs!
Publication Date: November, 2002
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