Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)

Michael Wilson

by

sgontcho

What is your role in the DESI project ?

In the past, I’ve largely taken highly polished versions of data and attempted to draw definite conclusions about our Universe, in particular whether we understand gravity as well as we think we do.

For DESI, I’ve gotten closer to the dark art of creating this data and tried to better understand how this might affect the conclusions we can draw.  On a day-to-day basis, I mostly plug gaps by trying to solve the latest problems, which is great.  I enjoy the freedom and learn a lot, but anticipate a more coherent role in the future.
 
Where were you born?  Where do you live now ?
Glengormley, Northern Ireland.  Slightly different from my current abode of Berkeley, CA!
 
What would you say is the most interesting or exciting thing about DESI?
I’ve never been this close to a telescope before so everything is new.  The people are great and my primary motivation is what we will learn about the birth of the Universe.  It’s fantastic that we can say anything at all.  I confess that I also spend a lot of time thinking about what we might do better next time around.
 
If you were not a scientist, what would your dream job be?
Likely something soccer related.
 
Any advice for aspiring scientists?
Get involved early and ask around.  There’s often a snowball effect and you won’t know where you will end up.
 
Finally, what do you do for fun?
Surfing, sailing, cycling and soccer.  Not necessarily in that order.  I’m also a budding wood working enthusiast.

 

 

What is your position or role in the DESI project?
I’m a 3rd year PhD student at University College London (UCL), and have been an active member of the Lyman-alpha working group in DESI for the last 2 years or so.

Where were you born?
I was born in the UK, about 40 miles south of London. I grew up in the same area, in a small village surrounded by countryside – I love going back to visit my parents there and going for long walks in the hills.

Where do you live now?
I now live in London itself, close to UCL. It’s not that far from where I grew up but it feels like a completely different world. Sometimes it’s great to be in the heart of a city like London but sometimes a bit more peace and quiet is nice too!

What do you do as part of DESI?
Within DESI I’ve been working on making mock datasets for the Lyman-alpha working group. These are essentially very computationally-efficient simulations which are designed to produce “synthetic” versions of DESI’s Lyman-alpha survey which we can then use to carry out a number of different tests. In particular, we use them to make sure that our analysis methods are not biased, and to understand the impact that systematic errors can have on our measurements.

What is the most interesting or exciting thing about DESI?
DESI is exciting for so many different reasons, but I find the global nature of the collaboration particularly exciting – when we have our collaboration meetings, it’s like a big family that’s spread all over the world coming together again. I also find the instrumentation side of things really fascinating, and the sheer number of hours that have been spent building all of DESI’s component parts blows my mind!

What do you do for fun?
In summer I try to get outdoors as much as possible and love playing all kinds of sports – cricket is a particular favourite. When the weather closes in for winter, though, I’m very happy to stay warm and dry indoors with a good book or film!