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Matthew Bailes interviewed by Ragbir Bhathal in the Australian astronomers oral history project [sound recording]
Bib ID 3807244
Format AudioAudio, OnlineOnline
Author
Bailes, Matthew, 1963-
 
Online Versions http://nla.gov.au/nla.oh-vn3807244
Access Conditions Access open for research, personal copies and public use. 
Description 2006. 
3 digital audio tapes (195 min.) 
Series Australian astronomers oral history project 
Summary

Matthew Bailes, born 1963 in Alice Springs, N.T. speaks about his parents and family; his childhood; views on religion; schooling; scientific heroes and interests in reading; undergraduate years at University of Adelaide; his interest in university student politics; why he majored in physics; the lecturers in physics at University of Adelaide; Don McCoy; going to Mount Stromlo for PhD thesis; meeting Dick Manchester from Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF); the first measurement of proper motion of pulsar; first pulsar parallax measurement; work on origin of pulsar velocity; highly cited papers; Dick Manchester; Ken Freeman, astronomer at Mount Stromlo; NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre; Jodrell Bank Observatory at Manchester University; Andrew Lyne; the discovery of a planet and the retraction of this discovery; writing software for large ATNF pulsar survey; Sir Graham Smith (Astronomer Royal); Bernard Lovell; Dennis Walsh (gravitational lens); motivations for moving to ATNF and then Swinburne Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing; Rachel Webster.

Bailes discusses the Swinburne Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing Centre; Margaret Mazzolini; On-line astronomy course; Chris Fluke; educational movies and additional source of funds; Virtual Room; using supercomputer for correlation work; papers written in collaboration with a large number of astronomers; the discovery of pulsars; Jocelyn Bell; the discovery of millisecond pulsars in 47 Tucanae and significance of the discovery; binary radio pulsar PSR 1259-63; eccentric orbit around Be star; pulsar statistics; birth rate and spin periods of radio pulsars; discovery of nearby binary millisecond pulsar, PSRJ0437-4715 and significance of discovery; very bright pulsar; test of General Theory of Relativity; model on pulsar velocities; experimental confirmation; survey frequency: 20cm and 70cm; Parkes Southern Pulsar Survey, low luminosity pulsars; binary pulsar distances; comments on differences between Labor and Liberal policies for science; strengths of Australian astronomy; on changes taking place in universities; establishment of new research centre in astronomy at Swinburne; role of Swinburne in public education and outreach; his family; major achievements in life to date.

Notes

Recorded on November 23, 2006 at Swinburne University, Vic.

Also available online via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.oh-vn3807244

Subjects Bailes, Matthew, - 1963- - Interviews.  |  Swinburne University of Technology. - Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing.  |  Australia Telescope National Facility.  |  Astronomers - Australia - Interviews.  |  Radiation sources.  |  Pulsars - Detection.
Occupation Astronomers.
Other Authors Bhathal, R. S

Members of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori communities are advised that this catalogue contains names and images of deceased people. All users of the catalogue should also be aware that certain words, terms or descriptions may be culturally sensitive and may be considered inappropriate today, but may have reflected the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written.