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Steven G. Black, former chair of the physics and astronomy department, speaks about his time at Washburn University. Students, friends and faculty all conversed with Black regarding his work.
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The radio telescope consists of an outer cylinder to prevent rogue cell signals from interfering with the telescope’s readings. Inside the outer layer is the radio telescope itself, covered in epoxy resin to protect it from the weather.
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Black poses next to the radio telescope. When asked to take a photo, Black leaned on the telescope and smiled.
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Black speaks to Karen Camarda, current chair of the physics and astronomy department. Black discussed the scale of the telescope’s frequencies.
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Camarda smiles after removing the “No Peeking!” sign from the plaque. Black thanked Camarda for the plaque, joking about it being his.
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Black tells Kieth Mazachek, senior lecturer of physics and astronomy, how the telescope’s software works. Black gave audience members a tour of the telescope’s control room.
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Black speaks more about the telescope’s progress to the audience. The ceremony was attended by faculty, students and Black’s acquaintances.
On Sept. 26, Washburn University’s physics and astronomy department celebrated the achievements of Steven G. Black, former chair of physics and astronomy department.
When Black retired in 2018, Karen Camarda, the current chair of physics and astronomy, wanted to acknowledge the work done by Black in acquiring and fixing Washburn’s radio telescope.
Black has been working on the telescope for over 10 years and said that he has finally run out of things to fix.
“I always intended to have a dedication ceremony both to put a plaque up but then also to raise awareness,” Camarda said.
Members of the Washburn community arrived not only to celebrate Black but to learn about the radio telescope itself. Reagan Payton, sophomore physics and philosophy major, came because of her interest in astronomy.
“I was really excited to see this telescope and the dedication ceremony,” Payton said.
Along with seeing the telescope, Payton enjoyed meeting Black and hearing about his experiences in his field. Black spoke on the process of restoration and the challenges the telescope posed.
While being programmed to catch signals of hydrogen clouds in the Milky Way at 1420 megahertz, the telescope would occasionally have interference from a local cell band at 1900 megahertz.
“The frequencies on the cell towers are pretty close to the frequency we listen to, so virtually all the effort has been to try to suppress that,” Black said.
Students are encouraged to reach out to Camarda and Black for use of the radio telescope for research projects or general curiosity.
Edited by Anushma Dahal and Jeremy Ford
