You're driving to an unfamiliar address and, like
magic, your global-positioning system (GPS)
device leads you to the right spot. A triumph
of technology? Partly, says Ramanath Cowsik,
director of the McDonnell Center for the Space
Sciences. But that gadget also owes its existence
to Einstein's theory of gravitation, which gave
scientists the tools they needed to develop a
direction-finding application for satellite signals.
In hundreds of critical ways, space science
enriches our daily lives. "You can't touch things
and say, `here is science' or `there is science,'"
says Cowsik, who is also a professor of physics,
"but I can't imagine anything we do that is not
deeply affected by this kind of fundamental
science. In fact, it is the very fabric of life."
At the McDonnell Center, founded in 1975
by a gift from the late James S. McDonnell, a
consortium of researchers -- 60 scientists, 30
students and 20 engineers and staff -- is working
to illuminate mysteries in space science. The group
comes from a broad range of disciplines: physics,
earth and planetary sciences, biology, chemistry
and engineering. And their research reflects a
far more sophisticated understanding of space
than the moon-planets-and-stars version that
most people learn in grade school.
"When we say `space,' we think of two things:
inner space and outer space," says Cowsik. "The
inward-bound journey takes you to subatomic
particles and how they're put together. In outer
space, you not only find the planets, sun and other
stars, but also the galaxies, black holes and other
interesting phenomena. Over the last several
decades, scientists have realized that there is
an exciting interconnection between what is
happening in the cosmos and the inner
workings of this microcosm inside the atom."
One example is dark matter, the mysterious
gravitational force that holds galaxies together
in outer space. Though scientists can't see it
with a telescope, they can infer its presence by
probing inner space, the heart of the nucleus,
with high-energy accelerators. But it takes
particle physicists and cosmologists working
together to open new vistas into the study
of dark matter. At the McDonnell Center,
researchers in diverse fields -- cosmic rays,
seismology, neutrino physics, astronomy,
experimental gravitation, astrophysics, and
the study of pre-solar stardust -- are seeking
answers to questions about inner and outer
space. James Buckley is using gamma-ray
telescopes to detect signals from dark matter
in nearby galaxies. Mark Alford is exploring
quark matter, found at the center of neutron
stars. While traditional astronomy is based
on electromagnetic waves, Clifford Will and Wai
Mo Suen are doing gravitational wave research
that will be useful to NASA in its upcoming
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) project.
Other scientists study the elements that make
up stars or the gases that provide information
about the formation of the solar system; still others
focus on objects -- galaxies, pulsars, supernova
remnants -- at the outer-most reaches of the
universe. In the Earth and Planetary Remote
Sensing Laboratory, directed by Raymond Arvidson,
researchers are actively involved in analyzing
data from Mars lander missions and planning new
planetary probes.
Cowsik himself, a pioneer in the field of
astroparticle physics, has also done important
work in astronomy, cosmology and non-accelerated
particle physics. In 2001 he established the
Indian Astronomical Observatory at Hanle in south-
eastern India; at 15,000 feet, it is the highest
observatory in the world. His 1972 paper describing
the role of neutrinos and other weakly interacting
particles in the formation of galaxies and dark matter
is widely recognized for its seminal contribution to
cosmology. And his research continues to uncover
clues to the structure of the universe.
"In the long run, our goal is to understand the
origins of the universe and the origins of life," says
Cowsik. "Where did it originate? How did we come
here? Where do you find life? What kinds of life
are there? These questions can be answered
only when you have expertise at various levels."
Sometimes theoretical questions lead
to unexpected practical applications. With
funding from the National Science Foundation,
Cowsik was working on an instrument to
measure gravitational forces when he realized
it might have another important use. In earth-
quakes, seismologists can measure forward,
backward and sideways motion -- but not the
twisting movement of the earth that results
in devastating damage to buildings. Cowsik
is now working on a rotational seismometer
capable of measuring that phenomenon.
"If I succeed in developing a sensitive
yet low-cost instrument, then we can deploy
such instruments in large numbers across the
world, especially where there are fault lines,"
he says. "With these measurements, we can
then establish new building codes that make
life safer for those living close to these earth-
quake-prone zones -- and save countless lives."
In many cases, the research that he
and his colleagues are doing has garnered
national recognition. The Earth and Planetary
Sciences Department, formed as a direct
result of the McDonnell Center's founding, is
widely known as one of the best in the world.
One major reason for all this success, adds
Cowsik, is the Center's wide-ranging expertise.
"Science has expanded so much,
yet at the same time has become so very
specialized. Nobody can comprehend the
whole of science today. But here each person
has communication lines to a host of other
scientists, and a great synergy develops. The
story of science is like that: interconnectivity."
Unlocking the
Secrets of Inner
and Outer Space
"Nobody can
comprehend the
whole of science today.
But here each person has
communication lines to a
host of other scientists,
and a great synergy
develops. The story of
science is like that:
interconnectivity.
Ram Cowsick
G
L
O
B
A
L
R
E
A
C
H
"You can't touch things and say, `here is science'or
`there is science,' but I can't imagine anything we do
that is not deeply affected by this kind of fundamental
science. In fact, it is the very fabric of life."
Ram Cowsick
T h e a r t o f e d u c a t i o n
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T h e a r t o f e d u c a t i o n
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