Tag: Congratulations

On Friday last week (07/19), Maggie of House XWCL, first of her name, phaser of segmented apertures, protector of 1/4-20 drivers and the first piezoelectric motors, breaker of drywall barriers, the aligned, enthusiast of The Expanse and master of optical waterwheels made Tucson a little brighter that day with the successful defense of her dissertation!

Maggie’s talk took us on a journey through the world of extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) instrumentation and revealed what is coming next for the development of the MagAO-X successor, GMagAO-X, slated to be installed on the upcoming Giant Magellan telescope. If you’re like me, you were mesmerized by the complexities of GMagAO-X’s parallel deformable mirror design and learned a lot about the optomechanical specifics of MagAO-X and the HCAT testbed.

It came to the surprise of no one that Maggie emerged from the closed-door session of the defense victorious and ready to take on the post-student world like an absolute boss. To celebrate, we all convened in the Steward Observatory 3rd floor Interaction Area to sample some celebratory bubbly and treats. Thanks to Jialin, Eden, and Josh for helping me supply some Maggie-approved sweets including coffee cake, jelly empanadas, cookies, and peach melba-flavored macarons (a reference to the sci-fi show ‘The Expanse’).

If you have a spare moment and you’re in the Steward Observatory building gaze upon the new the cork-shaped hole in the ceiling at the 3rd floor Interaction Area [edit: kidding].

Maggie has accepted a job offer to work as an optomechanical engineer as part of the staff at the Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics here at Steward Observatory where she will put her talents towards the latest space-based telescope projects. Though she is moving to a different office space, we’re all super thankful she will stay close to the group both professionally and physically.

We capped the day off with a fun celebration comprised of family and friends. Congrats again, Maggie!

Song of the Day

The song of the day is Death Cab for Cutie’s “Transatlanticism” which is also the title to the album which Maggie, Eden, and I saw them play live, in its entirety, last September in D.C. completely serendipitously. This also just happened to be the first show of the nationwide tour…!

It’s a long track with a dramatic build-up, but think I speak for Eden and Maggie as well when I say that this song captures very fond memories that we share together.

Here ye here ye! Thee Jay Kenneth Kueny has hence been dubbed doctor of thee optical sciences. He has wrestled the snakes and been announced victorious. Foremost amongst our graduates, expert in discs, shepherd of DMs, detective to driven halos, he has more than earned his place among our doctored elite.

We were treated to an expertly crafted overview of adaptive optics, our instrument, and the structure of disks. Jay gave a masterclass in the highlights of his large repertoire of work, giving us the novel and compelling in his quest for some of the most impressive disk pics. We know Jay works hard, but damn he worked hard! And his committee seemed to think he was up to snuff too.

One test passed, and then another: a celebratory fizzy drink uncorked flawlessly.

Of course, the food supplied was borderline divine. Mel, Jay’s partner and friend of XWCL, brought Time Market level chocolate cookies and the largest focaccia sandwich I have ever seen, divided up into edible chunks. Katie made delicious mini tarts, covered in a fruit salad perfect for the summer season as well as providing the modern man’s fruit salad, a bounty of fruit gushers. The 8th floor of Meinel has never seen such a defense feast.

One would be putting lightly to say this man got tested. Dr. Kueny has triumphed in some of the hardest arenas our field has to offer. He has added to MagAO-X’s optical benches, code base, and scientific legacy. Astronomy is lucky to have a researcher like him apply himself to the field.

So raise a glass to Dr. Kuney! Expert of extended objects! Distinguished of palate! Chief of interpersonal pranks!

Fortunately he will be staying at Steward for a postdoctorate position, so there won’t be far to miss him. We’re so thrilled to see what he’ll get up to next.

There’s something bittersweet in having one of the faces you’ve known longest leave the research group. I’ve got to see Jay being a triumph of a graduate student since before I was even a graduate student. Jay brings a joy and humor and mischievousness to our group as if he wasn’t suffering from the long hours and scientific challenges like the rest of us. You could call him a model researcher, but he’s also just a incredible guy. Cheers to you Dr. Jay!

Song of the Day

A long time ago Jay and Maggie and I got to catch a Death Cab for Cutie concert, immortalized in her graduation post, but we also caught a Postal Service concert the same night. (The band just happened to also be in town.) So this song is from them and for all the heights Jay has reached.