1- Present yourself : who you are + describe your job
My name is Alysha, and I am a science operations specialist for Gemini South Observatory. I am responsible for observing queue programs at night, operating the telescope, and improving the infrastructure during the day time, such as reduction scripts and instrument checks.
2- Can you explain your study + professional paths?
I was an undergrad for a long time because I could not decide what I liked more - I ended up taking three degrees. I had a job during my entire undergraduate career. I either worked part time in the wind tunnel labs, a science radio station, a radar lab that ran experiments at the local lake, or doing projects all over the astronomy department, to name a few. I volunteered around the department, taking large scripting projects and data reduction tasks that were daunting but needed to be done. I learned all of my skills with ds9, IDL, IRAF, and python this way. I got a reputation in the department for this, so I ended up creating a job for myself that I called "slack-puller." The incredibly busy faculty and grad students could ask me to help write reduction codes for any of their sciences, or create websites to present findings. Most importantly, I became the resident observer. My undergrad school has a large facility-class observatory, and one of the faculty I worked with asked if I would like to be trained to observe his data for him to commission a new instrument I was helping to test. After this first time, I advertised my enthusiasm for observing, so I readily volunteered for any data runs that faculty or students needed done. During this time, I realized that graduate school was not for me. I noticed how busy and stressful that life seemed, and more and more, I noticed cut-throat politics, and high competition, that I thought would wear me down. I loved this life too much to succumb to the tedium of graduate school. As I was edging more and more away from this path, I found resources to search for observer jobs that could satiate my love for the night runs. I managed to find a few REU programs that were at observatories, and during the summers, I was learning the trade at new stations all over the country. I graduated, and after working in a wafer lab for 6 months, I found a full-time job at a smaller observatory in New Mexico, where I was responsible for the entire operation of the telescope and all 8 instruments during the night. With a free tuition program, I enrolled in the graduate school for astronomy with the parent school, and will soon complete my Master's degree. I continued to monitor these jobs as they came up, and continued applying for anything I found interesting, until I accepted the position I have now at Gemini South.
3- How long have you been working in an observatory?
I first trained on a professional telescope when I was 19 years old, so 10 years.
4- Pros and Cons (Likes/Dislikes) of your life in an observatory?
I love that the job feels like "jack of all trades, master of none." I get to experience all different kinds of science, and I involve myself in engineering tasks, and telescope shutdowns. It's sort of like going behind the scenes, and I have always been fascinated with hands-on mechanics. I have plenty of opportunities to learn new coding skills, and I still like to volunteer around the office to help out scientists with data reductions. I have more free time to enjoy a lot of hobbies outside of work, such as surfing and traveling. Some of the dislikes are that it can get lonely on the summit, and it is really hard to stay awake on the 5th night of a run in the middle of winter where the nights are 16 hours long. Switching back and forth from a day schedule is physically painful, sometimes. But these are minimal compared to the benefits.
5- What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?
I remember when I was giving a new group of graduate students from the parent school a tour of the telescopes at my observatory in New Mexico. A member of the faculty was there, giving them information about the telescope. I was in the back, goofing around with some friends I knew from school. The telescope was parked, of course, but as a joke, one of the operators had put a sign near one of the big, red brake buttons that said "Danger: Do Not Push! Emergency Brake Only! Telescope will be damaged if Pressed" or something to that nature. This was a redundant brake system, so there were similar red buttons all over the telescope levels, but only this one had been marked. Also, more brakes were engaged, but only one needed to be pressed to deactivate the az/alt motors. The professor noted it, and re-emphasized to his students to use caution and not touch anything. Without missing a beat, my friend said "Oh wait, you don't want us to touch this?" and smacked the big red button. The professor yelled and *squeaked* in surprise, which turned into a explicit exclamation. He was visibly angry. HIs students and I were trying not to laugh, but I explained that there was no harm done, and the student had known this before pressing the button. I had already told him about the redundant brake system and the joke sign. Bonus: The professor's exclamation was inadvertently recorded by another student who was filming the telescope. The soundbyte was turned into a ringtone that the student used for months.
6- What is the scariest thing that has happened to you at the observatory?
When I was working at McDonald Observatory, which is near the Chihuahua desert in west Texas, I had some scares with the local wildlife. There were rattlesnakes, copperheads, mountain lions, and wild boars (Javelinas) that could grow to the sizes of a small black bear, and were just as dangerous. The telescopes were separated by some steep paved hills from the astronomer's lodge. I was observing with another graduate student, and I decided to make the 10 minute walk back to the lodge and get some snacks for us, and stretch my legs. Flashlights were provided all over the site, and naturally I had one with me. However, when I walked outside, I left it off, deciding to enjoy the night sky in Texas, which is really quite incredible. It's one of the darkest sites in the lower 48. 20 miles and several mountains separate us from the nearest man-made light source, so it is truly an inky black at night. I am walking to the second set of iron-grated stairs, which serve as a shortcut between the telescope and the lodge, looking up and day dreaming. Before I reach the landing, I feel something breathing, and then snuffing on my leg. I scream in fright, and the suckling (baby Javelina) squeals in surprise. I flick on my flashlight and sprint toward the stairs. I hear grunting and snuffing behind me, but I don't turn around. I can hear something big following me, but I just keep running towards the stairs. I reach them, and descend 5 or 6 steps down until I grab the rail and look back. I see mama looking at me from the landing, snorting and grunting. Her tusks were short, wide, and blunt, but her statue was enormous. She came up to my waist at least, and outweighed me almost by triple, I would say. And she was not happy that I scared her baby. She continued to snort and brace at me. I went down the stairs, and ran into the building. I was able to find someone to walk back with me. Staying awake that night was pretty easy after that.
7- When was a time that you weren't sure if you could do something, but you did it?
Since I was alone every night in New Mexico, any technical/mechanical problem that came up during the night was my responsibility. Through experience, I learned how to fix these myself, and there were instructions online for some cases. But, there's a first time for everything, and sometimes these problems were ones I had never seen before. The operators were expected to fix things as long as we were confident we could, and we were inherently trusted to know our limits and call one of the engineers during the night if there was something we could simply not fix. In no way were we to endanger the telescope or equipment further attempting something we did not know how to deal with. I spent a lot of day time with the telescope, working with engineers so I could deal with these problems better at night. It wasn't always enough though. There were several times during the night, well in the wee hours of the morning, where I trusted my knowledge of the telescope and attempted something new to fix a problem and get back on sky. At these points in time, I should have called the engineers, but I trusted my skills and managed to limit sky time loss when I was able to deal with these faults myself. I learned very well how to take calculated risks.
8- What advice would you give to someone interested in working at an observatory? Anything specifically if they are a woman?
Experience is more important than anything. Grades and papers do not matter as much for this work, so concentrate on getting practical experience if you can. Instrumentation is a great place to start, and hands-on experience will go a long way. I never got too focused on one project, because I thought it would limit my skill set. I took a lot of tasks that no one wanted to do because there was little short-term reward. But I learned a lot about data reductions and scripting this way, and my discipline was not limited to one type of science. Be sure to advertise what you are interested in as well, because people will remember these things if you are vocal enough.
I have not encountered any problems because of my sex in my work. I am not consciously aware of any benefit or disadvantage it has dealt me, and I have not experienced problems with any coworkers related to anything personal about me. I attribute my experience and career more to my personality - I am extroverted, and I am happy to talk to people about what interests me. I am vocal about interest in projects, and I am happy to remind people that I am available to help. I spent more of my free time working during the days with the engineering staff, and I volunteered during my free time to help with projects that interested me, such as an in-house instrument commission, and telescope shutdown and mirror recoating. I am aware that other women have had problems in this field because of their sex, and that we are underrepresented in this field. For this, find your allies. They will be there, and will help you create change. It's not always up to someone else.
9- What do you do for fun at the observatory?
During the nights, I will talk with my coworkers, and we will often take turns playing music and sharing new things with each other. I will often take up drawing during a long exposure. During bad weather nights, I read or play board games with coworkers. When I wake up, I like to exercise before beginning my night shift, and I will cook meals to share with my observing buddy before we have to go in to work.
10- What do you do for fun when you're *not* at the observatory?
This job is great because I am able to leave my work mostly at work. I have time for all of my non-science related hobbies. I use my free time after a night shift to travel, sometimes on a camping trip, and sometimes to other countries. I garden and go to the beach and surf or swim during the days. I can read and draw in my free time, and during football season, I never miss a game.
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